If I remember about SANDY, it was a low grade hurricane, but wide, barely above a tropical storm. It hit when the tides were very high, and two storms from the north also hit at the same time. Plus it came ashore in the most populated area of the USA.
If it had been an area with less population who would have noticed?
Pretty close. Sandy was a surface low drawn into a very strong short wave (upper low) riding along a deep upper trough. Both of those came from the north and west, they were digging south and travelling east. That combo would have caused a nor'easter even without Sandy, but Sandy merged and added energy.
The important thing is that extratropical storms as strong as Sandy happen nearly every year. There was one earlier in 2012 but nobody cared because it hit Newfoundland. The westward movement of Sandy as it merged with the upper low is pure weather. Happens fairly rarely, although a few times in some years when the patterns are right, but doesn't happen in the majority of years. Coinciding perfectly with Sandy was just a timing phenomenon, and nothing more than unlucky weather for NYC.