Only a third of NYers say race relations are positive, according to Siena College Poll

New Yorkers largely agree: Minorities, whether defined by ethnicity, race or religion, are discriminated against, a new poll shows.

And when also asked about gender or sexual orientation, more than one-third of those surveyed in the Siena College poll issued Monday on the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday said they had been treated unjustly in the past year.

That broad consensus that discrimination is a common problem unites people from different backgrounds and perspectives: "At least 60 percent of whites, blacks, Latinos, upstaters and downstaters, liberals, moderates and conservatives all view race relations negatively," said Siena College pollster Steven Greenberg in a statement.

In the dozen years since 2008, New Yorkers were more negative about race relations in their state in just one year, 2015.

A total of 73% of the 814 registered voters the Loudonville-based school polled said racial and ethnic minorities in New York state experience discrimination. That is up five percentage points from last year, Siena said. 

Responding to a recent flurry of anti-Semitic assaults, the pollsters added religion to their questions this year, and 78% said religious minorities are discriminated against. 

Only one-third of the New Yorkers surveyed said race relations were positive: in contrast, 51% said so a decade ago.

The Jan. 11-16 poll, which has a margin of error of 4.1%, also found employers have yet to stamp out sexual harassment.

“Three-quarters of women and 69% of men agree that sexual harassment in the workplace in New York is a significant problem, compared to only 22% of men and 21% of women who say it’s not a significant problem,” Greenberg said.