ALBANY — Sandy got the better of New York — but not of Gov. Cuomo.
As he made his first foray to Washington as governor yesterday, polls showed the hurricane boosted the governor’s already high standing with New Yorkers.
More than two-thirds of state voters approve of the way Cuomo handled the superstorm, according to a Siena College poll.
He outdid both President Obama and Mayor Bloomberg, getting an “excellent” or “good” review from 67 percent compared to 61 percent for the commander-in-chief and 55 percent for Hizzoner.
The news came as the second-year governor, a potential 2016 Democratic presidential contender, visited the White House and congressional leaders to make his case for $42 billion in federal storm aid.
And Cuomo did even better in a Marist College poll released last night, winning a whopping 82 percent thumbs-up for his handling of the storm from city residents.
Government agencies — except the Long Island Power Authority — got good marks in both polls.
The Siena poll found 69 percent attribute recent severe storms to global climate change, while just 24 percent call them isolated weather events — with slightly more Republicans siding with climate change than against.
“There may be a debate about what has caused the global climate change, but for most New Yorkers there is no debate that it is occurring,” said poll spokesman Steven Greenberg.
Siena also found that 72 percent (82 percent in the city) favor a “major infrastructure project” to protect the Big Apple from future storms — though pollsters cited no price tag.
Cuomo is seeking $9 billion from the feds to pay for long-term projects to protect against future storm damage.
Marist found 58 percent of residents thought the city wasn’t properly prepared for the storm, with 19 percent, including three in 10 directly affected by Sandy, saying they don’t think the city will ever be the same.
Still, 7 in 10 Marist respondents approved of Bloomberg’s handling of the storm, while an astounding 85 percent gave Obama a thumbs-up.
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie — who angered some fellow Republicans by embracing Obama in his storm-ravaged state just before last month’s elections — got some big-time Big Apple love too, with Marist finding 81 percent approve of his handling of the storm.
’Cane, pain & gain
Gov. Cuomo is getting rave reviews for his response to Hurricane Sandy from New Yorkers asked to rate the job performance of elected officials, agencies and utilities during the disaster:
Rated excellent or good:
Gov. Cuomo: 67%
President obama: 61%
Mayor Bloomberg: 55%
agencies and utilities:
MTA: 59%
FeMa: 53%
Con ed: 39%
lIPA: 20%
Source: Siena College Poll