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A recent survey of New Yorkers by The Citizens Budget Commission found that half of the city’s residents are planning to leave the city over the next five years, the New York Post reports.
One of the major reasons that people are ready to pack their bags is because many no longer feel safe in the city, due largely to politicians and other elected officials who have gone soft on crime.
When asked about the safety of the communities, only 37% stated that it was good or excellent. Five years ago, nearly 60% felt their communities were safe.
Only half of those surveyed said they felt that it was safe to use the city’s subway system during the day. When asked the same question in 2017, 80% stated it was safe.
None of this is surprising, as the NYPD reports that there have been significant increases in crime between 2017 and 2023.
The number of reported murders, rapes, burglaries, assaults, robberies, grand larceny, and auto theft has risen from 96,700 in 2017 to 126,800 in 2023.
In addition to growing concerns about safety, an increasing number of residents stated that they were not happy with the quality of life in New York, citing among other things traffic, rats, the city’s cleanliness, government services, and public education.
“People are fed up with the quality of life. There’s a general sense of lawlessness. You go into the CVS and there’s shoplifting. People’s cars get vandalized,” said Councilman Robert Holden in an interview with the New York Post.
