Summary : Crime Has Become A Key Political Issue That’s Stifling New York City’s Post-Pandemic Growth
As outlined in a new profile of the city by Bloomberg, violent incidents in New York have been in focus, emboldened by the hands-off law enforcement policies of Bill de Blasio and his administration over the last half decade.
Police in many major cities feel like they can’t do their jobs with Democratic leadership in place and citizens of said cities are continuing the exodus to the suburbs that started at the beginning of the pandemic.
While Bloomberg is quick to spin that “incidents of violent crime remain at historic lows in New York City”, they also point out that numerous “high-profile incidents in subway stations and tourist hubs” have left a bad taste in people’s mouths when it comes to public safety. Newly elected New York City Eric Adams was widely supported for his background in law enforcement and his willingness to give ground on reforming how policing is handled in the city.
Lisa Miller, a political science professor at Rutgers University, commented: “We didn’t see people using crime [politically] at the local level a whole lot over the past 10 to 15 years because crime levels were historically low. But John Gramlich, who studies crime statistics at the Pew Research Center, concluded that it was all about perception: “If somebody feels unsafe, they’re probably not going to be comforted by the fact that overall crime in New York is lower today than it was 20 years ago.
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