41% of New Yorkers have ‘never’ been this concerned about their safety, new Siena poll finds
Crime is top of mind for most New Yorkers, as a majority are concerned that they’ll soon be a victim — and 41% have “never” been so on-edge about their own safety, a grim new poll has found.
About 61% of Empire State residents admitted they’re either very (21%) or somewhat (40%) concerned that they will be the next victim of a crime, according to a new Siena College poll released Wednesday.
That fear is even higher in the Big Apple, where 70% of residents are very (30%) or somewhat (40%) worried they’ll be a crime victim.
Meanwhile, 87% of New Yorkers think crime is either a very or somewhat serious problem while just 11 percent said the issue is either not very or not at all serious.
“Crime isn’t just something that happens to others far away according to New Yorkers,” said Siena College Poll Director Don Levy.
“While 87% say crime is a serious problem in our state and 57% say it is a problem in their community, a disturbingly high 61% say that they are worried about it happening to them, a majority are concerned about themselves or their loved ones being safe in public places and many are taking steps to protect themselves as best they can,” he added.
Almost one in 10 New Yorkers said they have either been physically assaulted or the victim of a burglary over the last year, according to the poll.
Some individuals have even started taking protective measures into their own hands, purchasing security cameras or devices like firearms and pepper spray as well as signing up for self-defense classes.
Forty percent of citizens spent over $100 on goods or services to make them feel safer, or more protected from crime within the last 12 months.
Thirty-four percent of people surveyed said they bought home security cameras not managed by a professional firm, compared to 65% who did not.
That includes 39% of those living in the five boroughs, 30% in the suburbs and 31% upstate, as well as 40% of Latinos, 35% of whites and 31% of African Americans.
Another 24% revealed they purchased a professionally monitored home security system, compared to 76% of people who did not do so.
“Is this the worst it’s ever been? Forty-one percent of all New Yorkers, with little variation across most demographic groups, say that they’ve never been this worried about their personal safety,” Levy said.
Social worker Charles Adams, who commutes to the Big Apple from Connecticut each day, confessed he’s one of the statistics.
“It’s terrible. I’m most worried now more than before,” the 39 year old told The Post at the Jamaica Center interchange in Queens.
“I don’t feel safe in the city. No, not at all.”
Renita Marina, a 57-year-old home health aide, said she too was frightened – and now constantly has her guard up on the streets and subways.
“I am older so I’m really scared,” Marina said. “But you have to travel, you have to go to work, you have to eat, you have to go outside, you have to live your daily life every day and do what you got to do.”
She added: “In the midst of all that the crime is there, I don’t know you got to pray.”
The Big Apple saw an overall 4% dip in citywide crime last month, according to the latest NYPD data – despite a 23% jump in car thefts and felony assaults being on par compared to this time last year.
Major crimes, including shootings and rapes, were down across the board, the data shows.
But some New Yorkers say they aren’t feeling the reduction in their everyday lives.
“This s–t is more crazy now since the pandemic. I’ve been live here 20 years and it seems things of gotten worse since the pandemic,” Manhattan resident Maurice Marbles, 62, said.
A defensive Mayor Eric Adams insisted Wednesday that New Yorkers are more concerned about their safety because they’re consuming information about “horrific events” via the media.
“Let’s think about it for a moment, how do they start their day? They start their day picking up the news, the morning papers, they sit down and they see some of the most horrific events that may happen throughout the previous day,” Adams told Fox 5 when asked about the poll results.
“Plays on your psyche.”
The Siena survey was conducted between June 4 to the 12 among 802 state residents with an overall margin of error of plus or minus 3.7 percentage points.
