Poll: Most New Yorkers feel more unsafe now than before pandemic

Most New Yorkers say they feel more unsafe in their city now than pre-pandemic, according to an opinion poll released Tuesday that focused on crime and political leadership.

The poll, by Siena College and NY1 News, found 70% of those surveyed feeling less safe. A majority of New Yorkers also indicated the city is headed in the wrong direction, 56% to 32%.

And 76% of city residents are concerned they'll be a victim of a crime, compared with 24% who aren't concerned.

Gov. Kathy Hochul got an overall unfavorable job rating, with 54% saying she’s doing a fair or poor job and 35% saying excellent or good.

As for Mayor Eric Adams, 64% of New Yorkers give him a fair or poor job-performance rating, compared with 29% who think he's doing an excellent or good job.

“You would normally say that a newly elected chief executive has a honeymoon period,” Siena College Research Institute Director Don Levy told NY1. “Well, if he had it, it certainly seems to be over.”

The poll, which surveyed 1,000 city residents, was done between May 22 and June 1. It has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.

Crime has been steadily rising in New York City, as elsewhere in the United States. But the NYPD reported recently that even as other crime has kept going up, shootings were down over the last two months compared with the same period in 2021.

At a news conference Tuesday, Hochul responded to the poll’s findings about crime.
“We're not finished and I'll be able to continue to show New Yorkers my depth of my commitment to my Number One job, which is protecting their safety,” she said.

Adams, NY1 reported, said: "My understanding — correct me if I’m wrong — there was an excellent, an A, there was a good, B, there was a C, fair,” he said. “Now, Mommy always told me to try to get an A, but she never told me I failed with a C. I think New Yorkers are looking, they’re saying, ‘We’re going to give Eric a shot. We believe he’s fair.’ ”

“I think that, you know, listen, a C is not an A. But a C is not an F,” he added. “New Yorkers are hard judges and graders. We all know that. And so for a New Yorker to give you a ‘fair,’ they’re saying, ‘We’re going to watch what you’re doing.’ ”

By Matthew Chayes

matthew.chayes@newsday.comchayesmatthew

Matthew Chayes, a Newsday reporter since 2007, covers New York City.