Red Cross hits back at critics saying Sandy response has been 'near flawless'

On the job: A volunteer walks from a Red Cross emergency response vehicle after accepting a 'no-heat' hot meal in Staten Island, New York, on November 7 in this handout photo from the American Red Cross

Double checking: Volunteers with the American Red Cross review their notes as they distribute relief supplies to Hurricane Sandy victims in Ocean County, New Jersey on November 5

The Red Cross recently became the victim of a media storm that has shaken its public image over the past two weeks.

The New York Times on November 2 ran a story under the headline: ‘Anger Grows at Response by Red Cross’

The Associated Press on November 4 ran a story under the headline: ‘Red Cross Carries on After Drawing Criticism — Again — for Its Response to a Major Disaster’

Thirteen days have passed since Hurricane Sandy ravaged the East Coast, killing at least 120 people and causing an estimated $50 billion in damage over a 1,000–mile span.

Helping out: Staten Island resident, Robert Munoz, collects supplies from a mobile Red Cross unit on November 7

The storm destroyed homes around New York City and along the New Jersey Shore, cut off power for more than 8 million people and delivered a major blow to public transportation systems.

Several hundred thousand people in New York and New Jersey are still without electricity, including an estimated 170,000 in Long Island.

Volunteers, public officials and those who have been impacted by the storm are directing some of their anger at the Red Cross.

'I saw them up at FEMA (a claim center outside Breezy Point),’ a 79-year-old storm victim in Queens told an NBC reporter. ‘What would they do? Were they offering anything? No. I need services, I don’t need them to give me coffee.’

Devastation: A volunteer passes a damaged home emblazoned with U.S. flags in the Rockaways

James Molinaro, Staten Island’s borough president, took a recent opportunity to chastise the organization, calling its ‘absence from the relief effort’ an ‘absolute disgrace.’

Molinaro told a New York Times reporter that he had visited a shelter after the storm and witnessed people arriving barefoot. 

‘They were in desperate need,’ he said. ‘Their housing was destroyed. They were crying. Where was the Red Cross? Isn’t that their function?’

The Red Cross and its president, Gail McGovern, are now juggling relief efforts with efforts to keep criticism at bay. The organization publicly apologized last Sunday for not responding sooner to get food, water and other supplies to storm victims in New York and New Jersey.

‘No disaster response is perfect, and we understand the frustration people feel,’ Howe told the Daily Mail. ‘But with nearly 6,000 volunteers delivering millions of meals and hundreds of thousands of supplies, we are serving more neighborhoods and more people every day.’

On site: A handout image from the American Red Cross residents in Long Beach, New York, lining up in a grocery store parking lot to receive meals from the organization on November 3