Just 30 percent of New Yorkers rate their quality of life as "excellent" or "good," down from 50 percent in 2017 and 2008, according to a newly released poll.
The Citizens Budget Commission poll, released on Tuesday, found one-third of New Yorkers rate their quality of life as "poor."
The pollsters report that only 37 percent of respondents rated public safety in their neighborhood as "excellent" or "good," which is also down from 50 percent in 2017.
When it comes to public transportation, New Yorkers told the organization that they feel only marginally safer riding the subway during the day now than they felt on the subway at night back in 2017.
According to the CBC, only 50% of those surveyed said they plan to stay in New York City for the next few years, down from 58% in 2017.
“This feedback straight from New Yorkers is a valuable tool to help focus priorities and drive improvements,” CBC President Andrew Rein said. “Of course, it’s important to consider context—coming out of the pandemic, employment just recently returning to pre-COVID levels, and increasing affordability challenges—but what New Yorkers' responses crystalize the stark reality that they clearly rate the quality of life and quality of City services as not good. Tremendous progress is needed in many areas, especially for certain populations and in certain neighborhoods. Fortunately, the City leadership’s priorities generally align with New Yorkers’, including safety, housing, and clean streets, parks, and public spaces.”
CBC Vice President for Research Ana Champeny said in a statement, "We hope City leadership finds this in-depth, standardized data valuable and considers incorporating it into its management systems and policy development."
“This feedback should complement and be viewed alongside City service performance data to get a sharper view into service quality and to shape continuing conversations with stakeholders on City priorities,” Champeny continued.
Jonathan Bowles, Executive Director at the Center for an Urban Future, said, "The Survey is a sobering but hugely valuable assessment of what matters the most for New Yorkers right now."
"Policymakers should take notice and grasp that there’s still a lot of work to do to make the city more livable and affordable," Bowles added.
The 2023 Resident Feedback Survey, administered for CBC by Polco, used a random sample of more than 125,000 New York City households, with responses from more than 6,600 New Yorkers. Responses were gathered from September through December 2023, with a margin of error of +/- 1 percent.
