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NYC workers lag US in returning to office over fears of subway crime, COVID

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Social Links for Ariel Zilber
Published May 25, 2022, 11:32 a.m. ET

Manhattan-based workers are not returning to their offices en masse due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and concerns over crime in the subway, according to the latest data.

Overall, New York City had an office occupancy rate of 38.8% in the week that ended May 11, below the 43.4% occupancy rate nationwide, according to data from Kastle, which sells office access cards.

Subway system safety was the largest obstacle in returning to the office, with 94% of respondents saying not enough is being done to address the issue, according to a study by the Partnership for New York City.

Unlike other cities, employees in New York are particularly reliant on mass transit. David Lewis, the chief executive of HR consultant firm OperationsInc, said that makes any return to office more difficult given the latest COVID and crime trends.

“Companies will need to address fears of public transportation if they want to have a hope of getting people to return to the office,” Lewis told Reuters.

Several recent incidents in the New York City subway system have fueled worry among would-be commuters.
Several recent incidents in the New York City subway system have fueled worry among would-be commuters. AP

There have been a series of recent attacks that have included a mass shooting at a subway station in Sunset Park, Brooklyn in April and the death of Michelle Go, a 40-year-old woman who died in January after being shoved in front of an approaching train at the Times Square station.

On Sunday, Daniel Enriquez, who had worked for Goldman Sachs’ Global Investment Research since 2013, was killed while on a Manhattan-bound Q train in an apparently random attack.

Approximately 80% of office workers in Manhattan relied on the subway to get to work before the coronavirus pandemic began, said Kathryn Wylde, chief executive of nonprofit Partnership for New York City.

“The uptick in crime on the subway over the last two years has clearly discouraged people about its safety, and whether it’s an excuse or reality, people are less willing to return to the office unless the crime situation on the subway is dealt with,” she said.

Criminal complaints on the subway system in April were up 24.7% compared with the year before, to a total of 389, according to data from the New York Police Department.

Overall criminal complaints in the subway system were, however, down 15% in 2021 compared with pre-pandemic levels in 2019, though ridership has fallen significantly over that time.

Rising concerns about public safety may prompt more firms to pay for taxis or private shuttles for employees, said Melissa Swift, US transformation leader at Mercer.

New York City lags behind other major markets in bringing employees back to the office, according to recent data.
New York City lags behind other major markets in bringing employees back to the office, according to recent data. Getty Images

“It didn’t used to be an employer’s job to get you to the office, but one consequence of the COVID period is that once work and life blended together you can’t just pry them apart again,” she said.

With Post wires