I’ve worked on disaster operations in many parts of the US. The reaction you see is not unique to NY & NJ. I have seen victims in all areas go through phases including anger at not receiving help as fast as they think they should get it.
They simply do not understand why it takes so long sometimes to get them the things they need or want. They are in a kind of shock that takes awhile to wear off.
Of course there are always some folks in every situation and state who complain for the sake of complaining just like there are folks in every area who just pick up the pieces and quetly do the best they can.
Oh, I know it’s not unique to NY/NJ, just that they aren’t often his with ‘hurricanes’ and I think it was a rude shock to a lot of them, especially being ‘city dwellers’ and accustomed to services (and not having resources like wood stoves, etc.) that a natural disaster would occur and affect them so profoundly.
I’ve worked police/fire/EMS dispatch during/aftermath of a hurricane in our area (not coastal) & boy, folks really get mad if their power isn’t back on in a couple of hours, at the most a day or two. When it gets on to two and three weeks, folks are becoming ‘not rational’. Fortunately, after a couple of bad ice storms (power out 3 weeks for some in cold weather) & then Isabelle, many folks around here have generators and know to keep gas on hand or go get it at the first sign of “weather”. We personally have more than one generator ..... during the most recent ‘derecho’, power was off for 3 days and we didn’t miss a beat. NY/NJ folks are getting a harsh lesson, especially so when it’s their first major event in decades and they find out the hard way that the only ‘sure thing’ is what you have prepared for yourself.