A new damning survey has revealed that only half of New Yorkers plan to stay in the city over the next five years. The poll by non-profit think tank The Citizens Budget Commission (CBC), released on Tuesday, also revealed that anger has skyrocketed over the quality of life, especially after the pandemic. Only 30 per cent of the respondents said that they are happy in New York, according to the poll results carried by several US outlets.
The think staff conducting the 2023 Resident Survey visited 6,600 households in the New York City in the second half of 2023, as per New York Times (NYT).
It had conducted similar surveys in 2017 and 2008.
This time, the poll revealed that only 37 per cent of New Yorkers thought public safety in their neighbourhood was excellent or good, down from 50 per cent six years ago.
The survey also showed steep slides in happiness with the quality of education, government services and cleanliness in the city.
Only 37 per cent are happy with the level of public safety in their neighbourhood, and only 34 per cent are satisfied with their neighbourhood's cleanliness, said NYT.
Less than one-fourth of the respondents seemed content with the overall quality of government services.
"The drop is stark. In 2017, New York City was "seven years into a really robust recovery," Andrew Rein, president of the Citizens Budget Commission, told NYT.
Some 43 per cent of residents making more than $200,000 a year approved of living in their neighbourhood, as did 45 per cent of those earning more than $100,000, the survey found.
Only 30 per cent of New Yorkers making less than $35,000 felt the same.
Reacting to the survey, New York City Comptroller Brad Lander said, "These survey results provide our leaders with a roadmap to stronger management of City services - starting with investments that will help make New Yorkers feel safe and confront our City's affordability crisis and uneven recovery from the pandemic. We look forward to digging into the data and commend the CBC for engaging New Yorkers directly on the critical challenges we face. It's how we can build a city where New Yorkers want to live, work, and raise their families for generations."
