CARMAGEDDON
Car thefts in the Big Apple have surged a staggering 191% compared with before the COVID pandemic, according to NYPD data released Wednesday — as Mayor Adams declared that “crime is down” and New York City had turned a corner.
A total of 15,802 vehicles were ripped off across the five boroughs in 2023, an alarming uptick from the 5,438 stolen in 2019, according to the year-end review of crime statistics.
In the last year alone, auto thefts recorded the biggest spike of any major crime category in the city — with the number of stolen vehicles up 15% more than the 13,741 swindled in the same period in 2022.
Despite the surge in stolen vehicles, overall crime across Gotham did drop slightly in 2023 — down 0.3% — compared with the year prior, the figures show.
But the crime rates are up more than 31% overall compared with 2019, per the data.
Hizzoner hailed the year-end stats, homing in on a decrease in citywide shootings and murders.
“New York City remains the safest big city in America. These numbers tell us that we have turned the corner of crime in our city,” Adams said at a press conference.
“Crime is down, jobs are up, tourism is booming,” he added. “When it comes to violent crime, the numbers are even more impressive. Both murders and shootings were down double digits once again in 2023.”
In the last year, murders were down 12%, with 438 in 2022 compared with 386 last year, according to the stats. Shootings, too, dropped 25%, from 1,294 incidents in 2022 to 974 last year.
Burglaries plunged 13% last year, with 13,758 vs. 15,827 in 2022. Rapes were down 10.5% last year compared with 2022 (from 1,625 to 1,455) and robberies dropped 3% (from 17,442 to 16,902).
But felony assaults ticked up to 27,849 — a 6% jump from the 26,195 recorded in 2022.
Auto theft was the only other major crime category to see a spike last year.
The majority of the vehicles nicked were Kia and Hyundai models, according to NYPD Chief of Crime Control Strategies Mike Lipetri.
“When you look at the increase in motor vehicle thefts in
New York City, it’s approximately 1- or 2,000, about 2,000 steals,” Lipetri said. “That’s all attributed basically to the Kias and Hyundais. We see an increase of over 2,100 Kias and Hyundais — that’s a 300% increase from last year.”
The prime hot spots for overall grand larceny auto were in The Bronx and Queens, Lipetri said, adding the majority were brazenly stolen from the streets.
Transit system safer
Hizzoner added that a crackdown on auto thefts last year had resulted in almost 2,000 arrests, the highest in 20 years.
Separately, the year-end NYPD stats showed overall crime in the Big Apple’s transit system had decreased by 2.6% last year.
But Adams acknowledged that more needed to be done to drive down crime citywide.
“We’re not saying mission accomplished. There’s so much more we have to do,” he said. “There are bad guys that are out there that believe they’re going to harm the people of the city.”
Arrests for major crimes overall were up 12% in 2023 compared with the year prior, with cops nabbing nearly 4,400 people for illegal gun possession.
NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban credited the department’s crackdown on illegal guns.
“At the beginning of our administration, shootings in New York City were at a 15-year high and murders were at a 10-year high, but we vowed to combat the pervasive sense of lawlessness,” he said. “It is clear today that the NYPD’s laser-like focus on those who carry illegal guns continues to drive significant reductions in violent crime all across our city.”