A recent poll taken by the Citizens Budget Commission (CBC) showed that about 50% of New York residents plan to leave New York City in the next five years.
Fifty percent of New Yorkers say they plan to leave New York City over the next five years, according to a poll released Tuesday by the Citizens Budget Commission. https://t.co/PzdponuuzK
— NEWSMAX (@NEWSMAX) March 21, 2024
The survey by the nonprofit marked the first since the COVID-19 pandemic, It found that just 30% of New Yorkers rate the quality of life in the Big Apple as satisfactory, marking a 50% decrease from 2017 and 2008. It also showed that only 50% of residents felt safe in their neighborhood and 37% rated public safety as good.
Compared to 2017, New Yorkers said they felt slightly safer using the subway, despite crime rapidly increasing across stations in the state.
In past weeks, New Yorkers have railed against rising crime in subways across the state. With crime increasing, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) was forced to deploy the state National Guard to mitigate the crisis. In a dramatic turn of events, a man was recently shot in the head with a weapon he carried during a brawl in a packed subway vehicle.
In a statement, CBC President Andrew Rein said the figures represented in the poll should be considered contextually, noting that employment levels in the city are slowly returning to the levels they were before the COVID-19 pandemic. He pointed out that it is clear New Yorkers are unhappy with the quality of life in the Big Apple.
“It’s important to consider context — coming out of the pandemic, employment just recently returning to pre-COVID levels, and increasing affordability challenges — but what New Yorkers’ responses crystalize the stark reality that they clearly rate the quality of life and quality of City services as not good,” Rein said.
“Tremendous progress is needed in many areas, especially for certain populations and in certain neighborhoods. Fortunately, the city’s leadership priorities generally align with New Yorkers’, including safety, housing, and clean streets, parks, and public spaces,” Rein added.
CBC’s survey was comprised of nearly 7,000 New Yorkers.
The results of the survey demonstrate the unhappiness of New York residents as they grapple with an ongoing illegal immigration crisis, with over 100,000 unlawful migrants arriving in the city since the summer of 2022.
