Jean Mikle

Asbury Park (N.J.) Press

ASBURY PARK, N.J. — Significant progress has been made in the state's signature Superstorm Sandy recovery program for homeowners, but most residents hardest hit by the massive storm remain dissatisfied with New Jersey's rebuilding efforts, according to a new Monmouth University Poll.

Four years after Sandy, 46% of hard-hit residents are satisfied with the state's recovery effort, while 54% are dissatisfied.

These are the results from the latest installment of the Sandy Recovery Panel Survey, which has tracked the experiences of some of New Jersey's hardest-hit residents since Sandy struck four years ago.

The %age of participants who are satisfied with the recovery effort marks a slight improvement from the 40% who said they were satisfied at this time last year, according to the survey. In 2014, only 33% expressed satisfaction with the pace of recovery, while 34% were satisfied in 2013.

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“Satisfaction levels with the state’s recovery remain underwater, although we are beginning to see them creep closer to positive territory as more and more residents finish their rebuild,” said Timothy Tracey, project manager for Monmouth’s Sandy Recovery Survey. “Not surprisingly, reaching the finish line in rebuilding one’s home clearly has a significant impact on satisfaction.”

The survey has tracked the experiences of more than 1,000 hard-hit residents since the first anniversary of Sandy. More than 300 respondents participated in this year's update.

The number of homes rebuilt through the Reconstruction, Rehabilitation, Elevation and Mitigation (RREM) program — the state's largest reconstruction program for homeowners —stands at 4,230, according to the state Department of Community Affairs. Another 3,400 homeowners are somewhere in the rebuilding process.

Here are some more responses from the latest Sandy survey:

• 71% of respondents report they are living in their pre-Sandy homes, up slightly from 66% in 2015.

• 15% say they are permanently displaced. That's up from 12% in 2015, 9% in 2014, and 8% in 2013.

• 15% say they are waiting to move back, compared with 23% in 2015, 28% in 2014 and 38% in 2013.

• 59% who were initially approved for RREM say they have finished rebuilding their homes, up from 32% in 2014 and 5% in 2013.

• 8% of RREM participants say they are still waiting for construction to begin.

• 13% who were initially approved for RREM are no longer in the program (of that number, 56% say they voluntarily withdrew or gave up).

• 59% of the participants in RREM are satisfied with the recovery effort, up from 46% last year, 35% in 2014 and 32% in 2013.

But the amount of progress made in the program correlates closely with how satisfied people are: 71% of those who have finished rebuilding say they are satisfied, while just 33% of those who are not yet finished are satisfied.