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Sandy’s Economic Impact Already Being Felt

Hurricane Sandy Clean-Up on Huntington, Long Island Oct. 30, 2102 (credit: Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)



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Superstorm Sandy

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – In addition to the physical damage caused by what was Hurricane Sandy, the economic impact of the storm will also likely be felt for months to come, experts warned.

“Each day, the city generates upwards of $2 billion in economic activity. Some of that will be recovered later on but a portion of that is lost permanently, about $100,000 million to $200,000 million a day and that will result in probably $3 million to $5 million a day in lost tax revenues for the city,” New York City Comptroller John Liu told WCBS 880.

Across the entire East Coast, tens of thousands of businesses could be without power for the remainder of the week, possibly longer.

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But with a disaster such as Sandy, there is often a rebuilding boom that provides construction jobs which in turn can help stimulate the economy.

“Thus far, our office has approved about $23 million of emergency contracts so that the city can help keep people safe as well as start to clear out from the storm,” Liu told WCBS 880 on Tuesday afternoon.

Some experts said the long-term impact on the whole may not be too bad.

“Assuming that major infrastructure is not damaged, I think the economic impact ultimately will be very small, much like [after Hurricane] Irene,” Moody’s chief economist Mark Zandi told CBS News.

The New York Stock Exchange will reopen Wednesday, after being shuttered for two straight days. This was the first time the trading floor was closed on consecutive days due to weather since 1888.

“People can’t get to work, there’s lost output because of that. Of course there’s a lot of physical damage and that costs a lot of money. But then the insurance money comes in, generally there’s some government aid and the rebuilding begins. So when it’s all said and done a few months down the road, the economic consequences are small or hard to measure,” Zandi told CBS News.

President Obama has already signed disaster declarations for New York and New Jersey, which will free up federal dollars to assist in the recovery effort.