November 20, 2012 - Christie, Obama Get Best Sandy Grades In New York City, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; Voters Like Mayor's Sign Language Interpreter Word format Watch Video: Polling Institute Director Mickey Carroll discusses poll results Clip Information and Download: FLV File - For Website (1920x1080 / 61.5MB) Original .MP4 File - For Broadcast (1920x1080 / 416.7MB) New York City voters say overwhelmingly that Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Michael Bloomberg did an "excellent" or "good" job responding to Hurricane Sandy, but they give their best marks to New Jersey Gov. Christopher Christie and President Barack Obama, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today. Asked who did the best job responding to Hurricane Sandy, New York City voters tell the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University poll: Gov. Christie - 36 percent; President Obama - 22 percent; Gov. Cuomo - 15 percent; Mayor Bloomberg - 12 percent. A total of 89 percent of New York City voters say Christie's response was "excellent" or "good," with, 85 percent for Cuomo, 84 percent for Obama and 75 percent for Bloomberg. Bloomberg's handling of the storm helps lift his overall approval rating to 56 - 34 percent, his highest grades in more than two years. "The storm-of-the-century brings out the best in Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Michael Bloomberg, New Yorkers say. But that love fest between New Jersey Gov. Christopher Christie and President Barack Obama seems to have moved voters especially," said Maurice Carroll, director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. "While all four leaders get very high marks - it seems a hug or two never hurts." Government and relief agencies favored Manhattan over the other boroughs, voters say 51 - 41 percent. Manhattan voters, by a slim 47 - 44 percent, say they were not favored. A total of 86 percent of New York City voters say the overall storm response from first responders was "excellent" or "good." Grades for other organizations are: Utility companies - 37 percent "excellent" or "good," with 58 percent "not so good" or "poor;" Metropolitan Transportation Authority - 75 percent "excellent" or "good;' Red Cross - 66 percent "excellent" or "good." Bloomberg's odd-even gas rationing system is a good idea, voters say 85 - 12 percent. We are experiencing large storms such as Sandy and Irene more frequently because of climate change, voters say 78 - 17 percent, and climate change is caused by burning fossil fuels, voters say 62 - 29 percent. The city, state and federal governments should spend billions of dollars to better protect New York City from futures storms, voters say 80 - 14 percent. When voters are asked if they support this spending if it reduces the cost of disruption and restoration, support rises to 88 - 6 percent. "High marks for the first responders and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority," Carroll said. "But most New Yorkers think the utilities failed their storm-response test. "When power-less people in Queens and Brooklyn looked across the East River and saw most of Manhattan lighting up, they complained about a Manhattan-centric storm response. "Sandy and Irene are the daughters of climate change, New Yorkers say, and burning fossil fuels is at least partly to blame. "If the preventive measures cost billions, New Yorkers say, let's spend it. Mayor's Sign Language Interpreter New York City voters approve 53 - 2 percent, with 43 percent offering no opinion, of the job Bloomberg's sign language interpreter Lydia Callis is doing. "Is it what she says, or the way she says it? Whatever, mayoral signer Lydia Callis is almost as popular as her boss," Carroll said. From November 14 - 18, Quinnipiac University surveyed 1,165 New York City voters with a margin of error of +/- 2.9 percentage points. Live interviewers call land lines and cell phones. The Quinnipiac University Poll, directed by Douglas Schwartz, Ph.D., conducts public opinion surveys in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Florida, Ohio, Virginia and the nation as a public service and for research. For more data or RSS feed- http://www.quinnipiac.edu/polling.xml, call (203) 582-5201, or follow us on Twitter. 4. Do you approve or disapprove of the way - Michael Bloomberg is handling his job as Mayor? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Approve 56% 39% 61% 58% 55% 57% 56% 57% 50% Disapprove 34 55 29 34 35 33 37 33 35 DK/NA 10 6 10 9 10 11 7 11 15 COLLEGE DEG AGE IN YEARS............ Yes No 18-29 30-44 45-64 65+ Approve 61% 49% 47% 62% 55% 58% Disapprove 28 40 39 28 35 34 DK/NA 10 10 15 10 10 8 Union Brnx Kngs Man Qns StIsl HsHlds Approve 45% 49% 74% 58% 38% 48% Disapprove 40 40 19 32 52 40 DK/NA 15 11 7 10 10 12 TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way Michael Bloomberg is handling his job as Mayor? (*High also 75% Oct 3 2008, Mar 2008, Jan 2007 & Nov 2005) APPROVE....... High Low Nov 20 Aug 15 Jun 13 May 10 Mar 13 Oct 21 Jul 02 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2008* 2003 Approve 56 51 50 49 54 75 31 Disapprove 34 40 39 42 35 20 60 DK/NA 10 9 11 10 11 6 8 11. Do you approve or disapprove of the way - the Mayor's sign-language interpreter, Lydia Callis, is doing her job, or is that something you don't have an opinion on? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Approve 53% 50% 57% 49% 48% 57% 53% 54% 55% Disapprove 2 2 1 2 2 2 3 1 2 No opinion 43 46 41 48 49 39 43 44 41 REFUSED 2 2 2 1 1 2 1 1 2 Union Brnx Kngs Man Qns StIsl HsHlds Approve 50% 47% 63% 53% 49% 54% Disapprove 3 2 2 1 2 2 No opinion 45 48 35 44 49 43 REFUSED 2 2 1 2 - 1 19. How would you rate - the first responders' overall response to Hurricane Sandy excellent, good, not so good or poor? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Excellent 46% 41% 48% 45% 44% 47% 49% 42% 43% Good 40 42 41 38 40 40 39 45 37 Not so good 7 9 5 9 10 4 5 6 11 Poor 4 6 3 4 3 4 2 4 5 DK/NA 4 3 4 5 4 4 4 2 3 Union Brnx Kngs Man Qns StIsl HsHlds Excellent 49% 46% 45% 46% 43% 48% Good 37 37 41 44 44 43 Not so good 6 8 6 4 8 4 Poor 4 5 2 3 3 2 DK/NA 4 4 5 3 2 4 20. How would you rate - the utility companies' overall response to Hurricane Sandy, excellent, good, not so good or poor? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Excellent 6% 5% 6% 5% 6% 6% 6% 4% 7% Good 31 34 30 34 32 30 28 31 35 Not so good 30 24 32 26 29 31 31 31 27 Poor 28 30 28 28 27 29 28 30 28 DK/NA 5 6 4 7 5 5 7 4 3 Union Brnx Kngs Man Qns StIsl HsHlds Excellent 5% 6% 4% 7% 13% 5% Good 36 32 32 25 29 33 Not so good 34 28 29 31 27 28 Poor 21 27 28 33 28 29 DK/NA 4 7 6 3 2 5 21. How would you rate - the MTA's overall response to Hurricane Sandy, excellent, good, not so good or poor? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Excellent 26% 17% 27% 26% 26% 25% 28% 17% 29% Good 49 54 49 48 50 48 46 58 41 Not so good 16 13 16 16 15 17 14 18 21 Poor 7 13 5 9 7 7 8 5 8 DK/NA 2 4 2 1 1 3 4 2 - Union Brnx Kngs Man Qns StIsl HsHlds Excellent 27% 24% 31% 22% 20% 27% Good 51 46 49 53 45 50 Not so good 16 19 11 16 22 15 Poor 4 8 7 8 7 6 DK/NA 2 2 2 2 5 2 22. How would you rate - the Red Cross's overall response to Hurricane Sandy, excellent, good, not so good or poor? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Excellent 23% 15% 26% 20% 23% 23% 16% 23% 35% Good 43 36 44 42 42 43 39 50 40 Not so good 14 22 12 17 13 14 19 10 12 Poor 8 14 8 8 7 9 11 7 6 DK/NA 12 13 10 13 14 10 15 10 7 Union Brnx Kngs Man Qns StIsl HsHlds Excellent 29% 25% 19% 26% 5% 22% Good 50 42 38 46 35 45 Not so good 12 14 15 8 31 13 Poor 1 10 8 9 19 9 DK/NA 8 9 19 11 10 11 23. How would you rate - President Obama's overall response to Hurricane Sandy, excellent, good, not so good or poor? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Excellent 48% 5% 63% 36% 44% 52% 39% 61% 50% Good 36 38 32 44 38 35 33 36 42 Not so good 7 24 2 12 8 7 13 1 5 Poor 5 30 1 5 8 3 11 - 1 DK/NA 3 3 1 3 2 3 3 2 3 Union Brnx Kngs Man Qns StIsl HsHlds Excellent 54% 48% 52% 43% 41% 52% Good 38 35 38 37 33 36 Not so good 3 7 5 12 11 5 Poor 2 8 3 6 11 3 DK/NA 3 2 1 3 5 3 24. How would you rate - Governor Cuomo's overall response to Hurricane Sandy, excellent, good, not so good or poor? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Excellent 38% 20% 43% 36% 35% 40% 38% 39% 35% Good 47 56 44 49 49 45 45 49 50 Not so good 9 17 7 11 11 8 11 6 10 Poor 3 4 3 3 4 2 4 2 2 DK/NA 3 3 3 2 1 5 2 3 4 Union Brnx Kngs Man Qns StIsl HsHlds Excellent 39% 38% 40% 38% 23% 38% Good 47 48 50 42 54 46 Not so good 10 8 7 11 17 9 Poor 2 3 2 4 2 3 DK/NA 3 3 2 4 3 3 25. How would you rate - Governor Christie's overall response to Hurricane Sandy, excellent, good, not so good or poor? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Excellent 54% 52% 54% 56% 52% 55% 56% 55% 51% Good 35 40 35 34 37 34 34 38 34 Not so good 3 3 3 4 4 3 2 2 6 Poor 1 - 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 DK/NA 7 5 7 5 6 8 6 3 7 Union Brnx Kngs Man Qns StIsl HsHlds Excellent 49% 53% 55% 55% 52% 55% Good 41 33 38 32 40 36 Not so good 1 5 2 3 2 2 Poor 1 1 - 1 2 1 DK/NA 7 7 5 9 4 7 26. How would you rate - Mayor Bloomberg's overall response to Hurricane Sandy, excellent, good, not so good or poor? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Excellent 29% 16% 32% 26% 27% 30% 28% 28% 29% Good 46 44 48 46 48 45 42 50 50 Not so good 15 19 13 18 15 15 16 14 14 Poor 8 20 5 10 9 8 13 7 4 DK/NA 2 - 2 1 1 3 1 1 3 Union Brnx Kngs Man Qns StIsl HsHlds Excellent 28% 27% 35% 30% 10% 26% Good 47 40 51 47 53 49 Not so good 16 19 9 13 22 13 Poor 6 12 4 8 14 11 DK/NA 3 2 1 2 1 1 27. Who do you think did the best job handling the recovery from Hurricane Sandy: Governor Cuomo, Governor Christie, Mayor Bloomberg, or President Obama? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Cuomo 15% 12% 16% 15% 16% 14% 17% 11% 16% Christie 36 65 27 45 35 36 43 34 31 Bloomberg 12 12 12 12 12 13 11 9 14 Obama 22 5 30 15 24 21 13 31 29 NONE (VOL) 3 3 2 2 3 2 4 2 2 DK/NA 12 2 13 12 10 14 13 14 8 Union Brnx Kngs Man Qns StIsl HsHlds Cuomo 16% 15% 16% 16% 14% 15% Christie 32 38 32 37 38 39 Bloomberg 12 12 13 12 8 10 Obama 24 22 21 19 32 23 NONE (VOL) 3 2 3 3 4 3 DK/NA 13 10 15 13 4 11 28. Do you think the government and relief agencies favored Manhattan over the outer boroughs in their response to Hurricane Sandy or gave all of the city appropriate attention? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Favored Manhattan 51% 56% 50% 55% 53% 50% 53% 56% 50% Gave approp attn 41 34 44 36 40 41 36 37 48 DK/NA 8 10 7 9 7 9 11 7 2 Union Brnx Kngs Man Qns StIsl HsHlds Favored Manhattan 45% 53% 44% 57% 62% 52% Gave approp attn 49 38 47 37 23 40 DK/NA 6 9 8 7 14 8 29. In response to the gas crisis, Mayor Bloomberg recently announced that the city was imposing a gas rationing system, restricting sales to cars with even-numbered license plates on even days, and odd-numbered on odd days. Do you think New York City imposing a gas rationing system was a good idea or a bad idea? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Good idea 85% 87% 87% 80% 83% 86% 88% 82% 79% Bad idea 12 11 10 16 12 11 8 13 18 DK/NA 4 1 3 4 4 3 4 5 3 Union Brnx Kngs Man Qns StIsl HsHlds Good idea 74% 84% 88% 91% 78% 88% Bad idea 22 11 9 7 18 9 DK/NA 4 5 4 2 4 3 30. Do you believe we are experiencing large storms such as Sandy and Irene more frequently as a result of climate change, or don't you think so? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Climate change 78% 44% 87% 74% 73% 82% 70% 82% 83% Don't think so 17 47 10 20 21 14 23 11 16 DK/NA 5 9 3 6 6 4 6 7 2 COLLEGE DEG AGE IN YEARS............ Yes No 18-29 30-44 45-64 65+ Climate change 82% 73% 77% 81% 79% 74% Don't think so 13 22 22 12 17 19 DK/NA 5 5 1 7 5 7 Union Brnx Kngs Man Qns StIsl HsHlds Climate change 76% 71% 85% 81% 79% 82% Don't think so 17 24 10 15 14 13 DK/NA 7 5 5 4 6 4 31. Do you believe climate change is mainly caused by the burning of oil, gas and other fuels, or don't you think so? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Burning fuels 62% 31% 68% 63% 61% 63% 61% 60% 64% Don't think so 29 59 24 29 32 27 29 28 32 DK/NA 9 11 8 9 7 11 10 12 4 COLLEGE DEG AGE IN YEARS............ Yes No 18-29 30-44 45-64 65+ Burning fuels 67% 56% 61% 70% 61% 55% Don't think so 26 34 36 25 29 27 DK/NA 8 11 3 5 10 18 Union Brnx Kngs Man Qns StIsl HsHlds Burning fuels 56% 60% 70% 59% 63% 64% Don't think so 37 30 22 29 32 28 DK/NA 7 10 7 12 4 8 32. Do you support or oppose spending billions of dollars in City, State, and federal money to better protect New York City from future storms such as Sandy? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Support 80% 74% 86% 72% 80% 80% 77% 80% 83% Oppose 14 17 9 22 15 13 15 15 14 DK/NA 6 9 5 6 5 6 8 5 3 33. (If oppose) Would you support or oppose spending billions of dollars in City, State, and federal money to better protect New York City from future storms such as Sandy if it would reduce the cost of disruption and restoration? OPPOSE SPENDING BILLIONS Q32 Tot Support 52% Oppose 43 DK/NA 5 33a. (Combined Q32 and Q33) Do you support or oppose spending billions of dollars in City, State, and federal money to better protect New York City from future storms such as Sandy? IF OPPOSE: Would you support or oppose spending billions of dollars in City, State, and federal money to better protect New York City from future storms such as Sandy if it would reduce the cost of disruption and restoration? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Support 88% 82% 92% 82% 88% 87% 85% 89% 90% Oppose 6 9 3 11 6 6 7 7 5 DK/NA 6 9 5 6 6 7 8 5 4 Union Brnx Kngs Man Qns StIsl HsHlds Support 89% 86% 88% 88% 90% 90% Oppose 5 6 7 6 6 5 DK/NA 6 8 5 6 4 5 Demographic Summary
