What New Yorkers think

One jarring headline takeaway from a new Spectrum News/Siena College poll of New Yorkers is that three out of four people in our city are somewhat or highly concerned about being the victim of violent crime, with 70% saying they feel less safe than they did before the COVID pandemic. That’s not a shock, given that compared to last year, robberies are up 39%, felony assaults up 18%, and transit crime up 54%. Another is that just 29% now rate the job Mayor Adams is doing as excellent or good, with 35% calling the quality of his work fair and 29% poor.

But dig into the details and this poll has some welcome news for the new mayor, and more optimism than pessimism in one vital area.

New Yorkers are aligned with Adams on just about every major issue identified. A solid majority (58%) back requiring all of the city’s public school students getting COVID vaccines, a policy to which Adams has expressed openness. They overwhelmingly oppose ending special gifted-and-talented programs in schools (67%). Eighty-five percent want more cops in the subways; 60% back breaking up homeless encampments; 89% want to make it easier to admit those who are dangerous to themselves or others into mental-health facilities; and 52% want more funding for the NYPD, with just 17% wanting to cut the police budget.

And somewhat surprisingly amid a supposed exodus of fed-up New Yorkers, 76% of those polled consider themselves very or somewhat satisfied with the quality of life in their neighborhood. That includes broad support for local policing, schooling, sanitation and transportation.

Adams knows that to set the stage for a true post-pandemic recovery, he needs to get the city back on track toward safety, a task that will get far harder if the Supreme Court knocks down the state’s gun licensing laws. But doom and gloom aren’t warranted. New Yorkers still love a lot about their neighborhoods — and see the world roughly the same way as the guy in charge.