Flood protection investments in the city’s most valuable neighborhoods far outpace those most vulnerable to storm surge

By Francesca Regalado

When Superstorm Sandy hit the Rockaways, Richard Gold told his wife he could sit out the storm at home as he did Hurricane Irene, which had swept through the city a year earlier. But the floods rose faster than anyone expected, filling Gold’s block with five feet of water. He was found dead the next morning.