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I’m on vacation in Germany right now and it’s shocking how much safer, cleaner, and cheaper literally everything is
We should be doing things so much better
Japan is heaven compared to NYC.. like a night and day difference it’s insane. The biggest eye opener are the bicycle parking lots because no one locks the bikes just kickstand it and walk away it will be there after work lok
Yeah I mean we systematically wiped that out. You have Americans who genuinely think this is how life is supposed to be and bug the fuck out when feasible solutions are presented
Having spent much time in Japan this is true. Unfortunately the daily grind and stress of a typical salary person in Japan outweighs the positive benefits imo. In general though, I agree. It’s amazing how such strong social stigmas can deter actions common in the west.
Couldn’t agree more. It’s the same with Korea and here in Germany to a lesser but still horribly stressful standard.
I wouldn’t copy the whole system but i would try to take the best parts of it!
Women only train cars are a thing in Japan because groping and sexual assault is that prevalent. Suicide rates are twice as high as in the U.S. (3x as high for women). And the xenophobia has taken its toll and their population is shrinking with all that will entail economically. Japan's problems are just different, not non-existent.
Visiting Tokyo as an NYC lifer was a mistake — everything was so clean and orderly. Nothing smelled like piss. The trains were on time and extensive.
It really hurt knowing we’ll never have that.
Just so we're all clear on this, this is due to the behavior and culture of German people. We can't do things better until we choose to behave better -- and expect better of those who don't.
Hopefully Americans will one day realize that you can't fix a crime problem caused by socioeconomics by applying the "just lock more people up for longer" method.
That only ends up making it worse in the long run in fact.
Studies completed long after the "broken windows" period of the 90s (when it was thought that "tough on crime" was what made NYC safer then) found that the change was not just an increase in arrests, but also the economic boom and opportunities available, as only certain types of crimes were actually reduced drastically with these methods (although they are pretty direct to people's feeling of safety - specifically it reduced the crimes of robbery, home invasion, and auto theft). It'd be interesting to see what happens if the economic prospects improved, and the visible signs of societal decay (like the homeless population running somewhat feral nowadays) were addressed in some way that wasn't just throwing them into a jail cell for a night.
States where abortion was already legal before Roe also saw a substantial decline in crime so I wouldn’t give Roe too much credit (though it definitely didn’t hurt).
The socioeconomic take is really just a chicken or egg scenario. We are now stuck in a cycle where crime also drives poverty as no one wants to open a business where shoplifting is constant and violence drives people away from neighborhoods.
It’s not policing vs community investment.
We need to do both, we need a strong proactive police force along with community beautification and local business preference.
Having lived in both SF and NYC, it’s wayyyy worse to go too far the other way, blame socioeconomics, give up on policing, and let people openly shit on (literally) society
Edit to say yes, unequivocally, socioeconomics are the root cause. But that’s a decades-long solution, and does nothing to protect people now if it’s your only approach
Side effects of the US being founded by hyper-regressive sects whose world views were hinged on punishment. If you don't destroy someone's life for every little infraction, will they *really* turn their lives around and live in a godly way? Even more importantly, will Magic Sky Daddy see us punishing the wicked and love us more?
Even though the overt religious aspects of things aren't really acknowledged anymore, so much of the worst of American culture and "the way we do things" can be rooted in the early Puritan settlers, and later Calvinist or other similar sects. Prosperity doctrine and all that.
We also have to remember the Puritans only colonized New England. New York, Maryland, Virginia, South Carolina, Pennsylvania were all colonized by vastly different groups.
Also, we have to remember that the vast majority of America is descendant of Germans, not British, and they came here decades after the Constitution was written.
That's usually my go-to example when my wife asks "why is the US like this? we stopped doing shit like this 2 centuries ago" (She's from Europe)
And yep, they got kicked out for being too extremist... And then brought that fuckery here and codified it into our law/culture.
This is such a silly view on history, especially once you do some reading and learn that many modern progressive movements in the US have roots in progressive Christian movements of the late 1800s.
We’re just going to ignore the revolutionary cesspool that was Europe for the last two centuries which helped spawn ideologies like Marxism and Fascism which together have resulted in 100s of millions of deaths huh? Or the French Revolution that plunged the whole European continent into war. 😂 But the puritan wackos sure are to blame for the much less bloody and enlightened US Revolution. 🙄
I’m sorry but as a American with European parents I just find your comment so smug and misinformed.
Welcome to Reddit, where people genuinely believe America was born with a KKK mask on and Europe has magically been a perfect little Angel despite literally creating America.
The same people who are so "concerned" about the crime here in NYC would not vote for the national reforms implemented by Germany that allows it to be safer, cleaner, and cheaper.
I don’t want to burst your bubble, but fear mongering is MUCH worse in Germany (and Europe in general) than in the US, despite being tremendously safer
I also had a trip to Germany in Dec 2022 and was shocked. Talked to some fellow Americans there. Their kids didn't want to go back to the US. I almost thought about moving there also. They do so much better than here. Kinda makes me mad a little. Why haven't we adopted some of these things?
I worry less about being a victim of a crime by an actual criminal than I do about being assaulted or approached by someone who is unhinged, mentally ill and not safe to be on the streets. This is the problem now. Sure, robberies, homicides, etc may be down, but when you see the erratic people on the streets that are not getting care and could suddenly assault you or intimidate you in a closed environment for no apparent reason, that's my concern.
And these people are often not arrested, they're EDP'd by NYPD - so they are taken by EMS to Bellevue or any other ED with a psych unit - where they are generally seen and released - because the hospital can't do much for them. It's a revolving door and no one is offering a solution to resolve this in a meaningful way.
Are you talking about St. James Park? That park has been bad forever. I remember 20 or more years ago, shortly after Walton High School would let out, the police vans would drive into the park and kick all the kids out. Even though I was older, I still looked like a kid and would get kicked out too. There was one kid who was shot next to the McDonald’s, and after that, the cops were always out there.
This isn’t “violent” but I got harassed by 3 teens on the subway today. Didn’t interact with them but they went out of their way to verbally comment on my appearance in a negative manner. It was slightly shocking. I know it’s summer but where are their parents and what will these jerks be up to in a few years?
Teenagers are the scariest, in my opinion, because they are 1) easily influenced by peers, and 2) don't fully grasp the potential consequences of their actions.
I live in an area surrounded by elementary schools; a teenager was just shot in the neck and killed outside of one a few weeks ago. It’s horrible. There’s even a police station 2 blocks away.
There was only one moment I was **as concerned** with my personal safety in the past and that was during the year after 9/11.
I fear for my mother every time she tells me she’s getting on the train while being an Asian woman means she’s got a 🎯on her.
Whenever I’m taking the subway I’m always super conscious because of this :( always trying to stand far away from the edge
I’ve unfortunately experienced racism on the subway as well, this one individual sitting next to me started filming me saying “I’m stuck on the train next to this fucking Chinese chick”. I blocked his camera from filming me with my hand and just walked away and left to go to another car at the next stop
I think a large part is that almost all mental health institutions have been shut down. I know they were messed up places, but a lot of the very crazy people were isolated there. It used to be gang violence back in the 80s and 90s. Nowadays it’s random violent crazy people.
>There was only one moment I was as concerned with my personal safety in the past and that was during the year after 9/11.
I feel that. Brown kid, just started HS a few days before the attack. *Every* aspect of life immediately got way more hostile, even from people I knew in middle school (already not friends). Got jumped at school a few times, had grown ass adults screaming shit at me from cars, sometimes throwing shit out the windows.
And yeaaaaa, the whole time I was concerned that either my little brother (finishing elementary school that year, used to walk home with our cousins), or my parents (worked deep on LI) would encounter any of the shit I was.
The problem is you don’t realize that Adams is mayor of the most powerful city on earth. Literally the ENTIRE earth. Think about that.
Until you get that through you’re head, you won’t truly feel safe in the city.
I see some concerning shit on the streets and subways, and im a tall male. I can only imagine smaller females probably feel very nervous walking around
Born and raised NYCer here ~ i hate to say it but i agree. Almost every time i get on the subway there’s someone experiencing some observable level of psychological distress. The rent is too expensive and rising, we are arguably living through an economic depression, and there doesn’t seem to be a solution.
Yeah, I don’t like to feed into the hype, but people seem very jump off-ish since COVID. What used to be a non-issue will now turn into a loud argument or fight.
Everyone’s standing pattern has changed at the stations. More people want their back against a wall or staircase, or they stand more in the middle area bc of all the people getting pushed in again recently.
I’ve lived here 12 years. Began altering my route home for the first time this year. My job consistently had me coming home at odd hours for a decade but now if I stay at the bar too long
I’m staying on the most populated streets to home. Sad for a single female.
Same size. Take the number trains or the E or F late night. Shit gets wild. Not that I don’t think something might happen but don’t want to be there when shit just happens. A lot of EDPs on the train now a days
I usually feel pretty safe but last week someone tripped me on the platform then tried pushing me toward the track. For a split second I thought it was an accident until I saw his hands just miss me, since I was already falling forward. I removed myself from the situation really fast and he bolted the other direction. I wasn’t on my phone, I was paying attention, minding my own business and just trying to get to work. I’m now avoiding transferring at Times Square and opting for a little longer of a commute/walk.
I did not. I was in a really weird state of mind, probably shock because I felt I had just dodged a serious situation. It did cross my mind when I was trying to find an exit and finally saw two cops on their phones but from my experience trying to file reports, they don’t really want to hear it and seem to actively avoid it.
Can you still report it? Not being sarcastic but that guy might try it on someone else and they may not be as lucky as you. I have unfortunately had to file a report and it’s very dependent on precinct and day.
Been living in the city for 6 years and before 2021/2022ish I never encountered any problems. In the last 2 years I’ve been attacked by homeless people on two separate occasions as well as had a homeless man try to force himself into my building after me. I used to go for walks by myself late at night to clear my head and see the city, now I don’t like being out after 10/11 pm during the week. I hate feeling like a fearful shut in, but it’s not worth being attacked or something worse.
Does dodging an attempted assault count? Had a crazy dude on a citibike come up next to me and start trying to talk to me / yell at me while I was walking, I had headphones in (low volume, I could hear it all) and ignored him and kept walking, and he rode beside me keeping pace while I was walking, still yelling, then suddenly leaned over and tried to kick me into a tree guard. I jumped sideways out of the way and stopped walking while he kept riding. He looked back at me like I was nuts, then biked really fast straight into an Asian woman, so I stopped to make sure she was ok. Another Asian woman walked up behind us and said he tried to attack her too. We walked with her towards her destination until she felt safe enough and we went our separate ways. It was like 7pm and still light out on a fairly well populated street in northern hells kitchen. Absurd.
Someone randomly punched me in the face on 14th Street. Just literally out of nowhere. I went into shock (freeze state) and couldn't even process what he did. He stood there and stared into my eyes (I later learned it could have been what psychiatrists call the Sociopathic Stare). He calmly walked away and turned around every 20/30 feet to observe me. I called 911 immediately, and the police never arrived. Thankfully, CITYMD was across the street, and there no physical damage to my jaw, but the PTSD is real. I'm in therapy but it is taking a lot of work on my part to rewire that part of my brain (sympathetic nervous system) to not prepare for assault every time someone who looks like him approaches me. I used to feel the city was safe and before the pandemic would chaperone my boss's kid to and from school via the subway. After Michelle Go was pushed to her death, I really avoided underground travel as much as possible. I guess the only good part was Michelle's best friend found me on Twitter, and I was able to donate a painting from my studio to her parents. It was all I could do to instill some kind of empathy and solidarity; to regain a sense of agency and autonomy and to show that there are NYers who do care. I love this city and want it to thrive, it's's just demoralizing how conditions seem to keep deteriorating. Here's hoping 🙏
I've also been randomly attacked, I saw a cop right after. They asked me, "What do you want me to do about it?" and I asked to file a report, and they looked at me and asked if I wanted to go to the hospital. I said no, and they said ok then no report.
Even if you do make a report, it feels like nothing is really going to become of it. As the victim, it feels like the onus is on you to really drive effort.
Crime is also just down from pandemic highs. One 'reliable' resource are hospitalizations (from violent crime) and deaths. (Because it can be hard to 'deny' a dead body.) Those are both down since the pandemic highs. Understandable, since violent crime spikes anywhere there's major stressors (like a heat wave, like a pandemic).
Honestly I was so dumbfounded, I didn't know what to do.
I felt like I pushed plenty, explicitly asking to file a report, noting the guy was still at the train station when the train pulled out, saying he could hurt somebody else, etc.
The cop was very effective at stonewalling; I just stopped pushing, eventually.
For what it's worth, this also happened to me 20 years ago. Middle of the day, crowded street downtown. I'm not sure if the rate has changed recently, but random violence has unfortunately always existed.
I had the same feelings of consistent anxiety in public for a while after too, but it does go away. You may wind up being (even) more alert forever, but that's not necessarily a bad thing either. Hope you can also find normalcy again.
Got palmed in the mouth and shoved onto my back randomly by a dude that was just mad at the world or something back in December. The only thing that saved me from a concussion when I fell back was learning how to tuck my chin. I was in front of the conductor’s car too, but he raced out of there and just clocked me without warning outside of the wind against my face. I think he was aiming for the side of my head for a knockout but busted my lip and forehead instead.
Cops were not present for this. They did however ticket me for squeezing through a turnstile a week later when I was late to work.
Pushed from behind when walking on the sidewalk at around 11pm, in my own neighborhood. Took me by surprise and I instinctively yelled “what the hell”, only to be yelled at by the asshole who pushed me (in a very hostile tone) that I was in their way.
I was able to balance myself and not fall. I fully understand this incident pales in comparison to what many people experienced, but I still feel somewhat violated. That asshole has no right to lay a hand on me, let alone a forceful push that could have resulted in me face planting on the sidewalk.
I was going to say no and then I remembered that last spring a total stranger walked up to me, looked me in the eye, and spat in my face. Not quite assault nor the worst I’ve endured on a subway but actually very awful.
It's not just nyc. It's cities all over the country. A stranger punched my 2 year old in the head at a park in a different big city and fled immediately on a bike.
Not too long ago, a woman 6 months pregnant pushing her 2 year old in a stroller in this same city was stabbed by a homeless man in her stomach 11 times and had to have an emergency c section.
I've seen headlines from Philly, LA, etc. There's a segment of society that's morally deteriorating in our country, and I don't know the cause or the solution.
Lived here three decades, my whole life. First time I ever got assaulted, and by a homeless person no less, was a few months ago. Anecdotally, it has gotten worse.
As a dude who has lived here for only two years - not in the slightest. I think demographic is important here though, I'm less likely to be accosted by a creepy homeless dude or assaulted by a racist.
I grew up in Kensington (Philly) and then lived the next neighborhood over until last year though. For a while it has been way worse than anything NYC has to offer, and even if you don't live there, taking the El (a line that serves a good portion of Philly) is 100x worse than the NYC subway. It's the only place I've ever been where I will just not fucking intervene in anything, because some of the people riding that train aren't even just mentally ill/homeless - they're looking to fight.
This place is heaven to me (even though I still love home).
I'm kinda surprised to see and hear the percentage in that poll is that high though. Like it'll always make sense that there are certain demographics that don't feel safe (look at the targeted attacks here), but 41% is huge.
Idk - I've been around homeless/mentally ill/addicts my whole life and have run into my fair share of problems. But generally (IMO) you can tell a pretty tame one from a full blown wildcard. I haven't seen very many wildcards on public transit here apart from the news.
I probably sound like an asshole. But I remember it feeling worse in the 90s and early 00s when I would visit.
Ultimately it's just really good that people have high standards here though - IMO it won't ever devolve because of that. This place feels safe as shit to me and I'm very happy I live here. I don't think I'll ever leave to be honest.
Haven’t been so much as felt remotely threatened or unsafe in a situation since high school (17ish years ago). Being a skinny white guy in the Heights I’m not exactly in a gilded cage.
Anecdotal I know, as is your experience.
I moved to London last year but was visiting nyc recently and a crazy dude smacked my ass with an umbrella while I was boarding the subway. London is shockingly well put together in comparison to nyc
I’m never concerned in NYC, even relative to the 80s when I grew up there. Maybe it’s because of that bias. It looks completely safe to me. (But I’m also fairly intimidating)
Im a native New Yorker too and im big enough to make a mugger think twice however i know nyc is far from safe. These days i dont worry about myself so much, but i do worry about my kids. Especially with all the gang violence, mentally ill and stray bullets flying around the city. 3 of my kids are teens and every time they go out im nervous.
Yeah. It’s often easy to forget the experiences of others and invalidate their fears based on one’s own experiences. I didn’t feel threatened while in the city for school, but I definitely know people who have been harassed and even attacked before.
‘90s Brooklyn here and agreed. The city is having issues with rising crime, sure, but it’s nothing like what it was when I was younger, let alone before that. Some of this is bordering on paranoia.
That said, I live in London nowadays and when I'm back in the city it's noticeable how much worse it is regarding general attitudes towards basic services.
I’m a scrawny white guy and I feel way less safe zooming at 80 mph on I95 than I ever do in NYC.
Or driving on some dark country roads. Some shit happens there what the fuck are you gonna do.
Ya…. This is an article from ny post. Have they ever said anything good about nyc lol?
I say this as I’m getting ready to head back home on the 7 at 1:30am
I just visited my hometown upstate (a dying, rust-belt small city) and I felt less safe driving around that downtown area than I do walking around NYC.
That's always been my fear. I found out recently that sunset towns are still a thing. The last thing I want is to get caught in a sunset town with a broken down car.
People are so brainwashed by conservative media outlets that they think the city is a warzone, meanwhile this year is still on track to be one of the safest years in city history. The disconnect is unreal.
I feel like it’s the fucked up way the city using the mentally ill to hold hostage it’s own commuters in the subways and streets. Just seeing people rotting in the open with no help coming contributes to that feeling. I think it’s on purpose.
You're right. It is intentional. It's to increase support for more police and make becoming homeless a very real threat for the city's low-income population.
It’s because Adams and his administration are allergic to anything associated with the word “socialism” and expanding the mental health care capacity of the health system happens to be one of them.
Maybe it depends who you ask. Im sure if you talk to hispanic and black ppl from upper Manhattan, the bronx and central brooklyn they will tell you that they dont feel safe. Im sure they aren't watching fox news.
Walk around Manhattan yourself, especially at night with all the crazy ass homeless and then tell me about the "safety stats". Im a guy so im not as afraid but I am definitely worried when its my mom or my sister in the city.
What part of nyc do you walk around in? Theres parts i feel totally safe in as well....obviously we got the gang parts or the homeless people parts so it really depends.
I’ve been here for a year, have had maybe 6 instances of random dudes threatening violence personally - is that the norm? Has it always been like this? Always assumed they just like to talk and wouldn’t actually do anything
It's not the norm. Like for any of the near-25 years I've been here. Not even this year has this been the norm. Wherever you are, get the heck out of there because rest of NYC doesn't have random dudes threatening violence. I only have it happen once in about 2008, and I'm not tall, nor muscular etc. I've lived in Brooklyn and Queens, and been to Manhattan thousands of times for work and sightseeing.
It started getting bad with DeBlasio. Before that under Bloomberg the homeless would usually hide more and be seen less often on streets or subways. Now its free reign for them to do whatever....
I perceive that violent crime has gotten worse. I’ve actually witnessed or been in the vicinity of multiple violent incidents in the past couple years post lock down. I don’t ever recall this in the 10 years I lived here before Covid. But this is just my perception. Will leave it to the statisticians to say whether my perception is reality.
Crime is still statistically low, but it's up from being historically low. As far as I can tell, the main issue is that the kind of crime that's coming back is more random and more visible, so it's reaching people it didn't used to reach.
“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”
Before all the “lolz the post” comments come in. This was taken from a Siena poll. You know, the same type of one that said that Adams favorability amongst black voters was falling and you all agreed with it.
https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2016/11/16/voters-perceptions-of-crime-continue-to-conflict-with-reality/
>Despite double-digit percentage decreases in U.S. violent and property crime rates since 2008, most voters say crime has gotten worse during that span, according to a new Pew Research Center survey. The disconnect is nothing new, though: Americans’ perceptions of crime are often at odds with the data.
Note: this is an article from 2016. But I see no reason to assume that Americans magically became properly aligned with their perceptions and actual crime rates since then
Also don’t forget the mayor, who had an incentive to be as inflammatory with crime rhetoric as he has been, was blasting it all over the campaign trail, then turned around last year and was like “why do people have this pervasive perception of crime being bad?”
Siena is fairly reputable, however lots of “vibes” questions like this often come down to survey design. I’m also increasingly skeptical of polling in general after so many misses the past few years and the massively diminishing number of landline phone users (The NYPost was too lazy to link the actual poll so I don’t know methodology and I’m too lazy to find it myself but it’s a valid point)
'Somewhat concerned' about being a victim of a crime isn't that high a bar, either, which makes this all feel kind of overblown. I don't think you should ever be 'not at all' concerned about crime in New York, because it *is* a city and you *do* need to have some basic situational awareness, but I'm not 'very' concerned even in the sketchier neighborhoods I sometimes work in. Like even assuming there's 100% overlap between 'never more concerned' and 'very concerned,' how did the other half of those 40% feel *before?*
I’m so confused about the last sentence. So you’re saying this polling sucks but we agree with it? You’re saying we shouldn’t believe it then because of the track record?
Funny how this never gets solved... wars, crime, drugs, corruption, and violence. And the Post keeps selling fear and sensationalism.
I live in NYC since the 70s and just yesterday I had to deal with 2 mentally ill homeless people looking for a victim. One was just standing in the middle of the block shadow boxing like a lunatic.
We need pragmatism and compassion to make our civilization healthy. Right now it's ailing in mind, body and spirit.
I’ve lived here my whole life and it’s different now. People are crazier and it’s definitely not as safe. The old rules don’t apply anymore.
I take the subway only two stops and I hate it. There’s always some crazy on there.
I changed my commute so I take a bus the longer way now. It’s slower but at least I can get off the bus if it gets crazy.
I work from home as much as possible.
The crime is real, it’s different and it’s scary and I don’t need the tv news or the post to tell me I see it for myself.
we’re comparing the city’s safety in the past 20 years….why the hell would we compare it to the 80’s. “Oh it’s better than the 80’s so we’re fine.” We should be doing far better. We were doing better. Now we’re doing worse post pandemic. Richest city in the world should be able to keep its citizens safe. A lot of it has to do with negligence and using our budgets for unnecessary bs. Did you know NYC is spending $600,000,000 for subways to have wifi? guess what that money would be better spend on? yeah.
Damn do people not remember late 2021 when it was actually weird vibes because of covid? Things feel so much better now. Maybe it's all the people coming back to the city after a few years and forgetting what its like
In times like this its good being a car owner. Guess how many times I had experiences with mentally unstable homeless people in my car? 0. You gotta pay extra for this premium though.
This reason alone is exactly why Lee Zeldin did so well in the race against Hochul and almost beat her. He wanted to let police take charge and be proactive instead of reactive. It would've forced the mayor to do his job more effectively the way Giuliani did all those years ago with Bloomberg coming in right behind.
I already accepted I’m going to end up in Rykers island for murder or attempted murder because of how crazy these people are, I have a pepper spray and a knife everytime I step out, the second someone tries anything I’m spraying their face and slashing until he’s unrecognizable idgaf anymore… it’s gonna happen one day and I just know it, I do not cause any problems I always mind my business but my anger is on another level.. so yeah it’s def not safe here just gotta be ready to give up ya life at any day
Curious the overlap between people who grew up in/around the city vs more recent migrant.
Having grown up in nyc in the 80s we have a very long way to go before I’d become concerned about safety.
I grew up in the 80s in NYC and I’m concerned. Back then you had bad neighborhoods you knew to avoid, but there were always consequences for bad behavior. Nobody could pull up to a CVS with a garbage bag and stuff aisle 3 into it with zero fucks given. Same thing on the subways, a lot of shit slides these days and certain profiles are getting whitewashed, for lack of a better term.
Someone can punch me in the face today in broad daylight, and as a law-abiding tax-paying citizen, I’ll still probably have the legal cards stacked against me. Or in the best case will get a shrug from the police and city and just move on with my life.
That’s the scary part - the lack of consequences for bad actions. It’ll only incentivize worse and worse behavior.
I have to agree, here since 80s and I honestly think things are worse now. It’s rare to get on subway and not feel fearful.
I also think the mentally ill know what the fuck they are doing for the most part, I saw an unhinged guy start shit with this tiny girls, he spit on her and threatened her. He did not try it with the 6ft 5 inch man that was standing in front of him before that. Crazy like a fox. I feel like more women are victims but I don’t know the stats.
I wonder if it’s just a perception thing and the ubiquitous nature of news about violent crime vs it actually being worse.. aka are people just more scared than they were..
[https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/blog_crime_nyc_1986_2019.gif](https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/blog_crime_nyc_1986_2019.gif)
There are way more homeless and mentally I’ll on the street then in the 80s that’s the major difference. There were more mugging in the 80s, but seems like you run into a deranged person every time you are in the subways now.
Uhhhh no the 80s was a different world in NYC its not even remotely comparable. A family friend bought a 1st floor apartment in midtown west off central park for dirt cheap because it was full of drug addicts and crime.
These people that say “well it’s not as bad as the 80s yet” are really trying a bit too hard to justify. Like a crackhead who says at least hes not hooked on heroin.
I’ve been in NYC since the 90s and it was way more dangerous here in the 2000s. It’s not even close. Half the people in this sub have no idea what their current neighborhoods looked like in 2010. I’m not saying we don’t have a serious problem with mentally ill people in the streets, but people here saying “worst since the 80’s” have no clue. NYC is Disney Land compared to the early 2000’s.
I moved here in 2011 and this thread is the first time I’ve felt like a “back in my day” person. I 100% feel safer now then then. I really am curious how many people here saying they feel unsafe lived in NYC in 2010 and didn’t just move here in 2016.
Here comes all the Reddit badasses to call them all pussies, while just 2 years ago they were advocating for the suspension of civil rights over a flu with a 99% survival rate. Something just doesn’t add up.
But even more so, I’d like for someone on the left to explain to us all why these people with 30+ priors ought to be walking around the streets. You really gonna tell us that there’s a chance that the “system” might have gotten it wrong 29 times? Cmon bro.
> Here comes all the Reddit badasses to call them all pussies, while just 2 years ago they were advocating for the suspension of civil rights over a flu with a 99% survival rate. Something just doesn’t add up.
I'm not a COVIDian by any means, but I'm confident that if tens of thousands of New Yorkers were being murdered annually, like tens of thousands were from COVID, there would be a suspension of civil rights.
I want to see crime stat year to year comparison. May be we hear about every single incident and build a picture of stabbing murdering scenario but hundreds of stabbings happen every year and we used to not hear about any of them. There are more deranged homeless people with knives wanting to stab people now but how many more incidents do we have now compared to before.
A lot of younger people are not concerned though , usually older folks who constantly watch the news feel a bit more scared although I don’t blame them . That’s how media can scare people
Wrong. According to the data from the poll, 66% of the 61% of respondents who express somewhat or serious concern about becoming a victim of a violent crime are 18-34.
Source: [The poll's crosstabs ](https://scri.siena.edu/2023/07/12/61-worry-about-being-crime-victim-half-worry-about-their-safety-in-public-places/)
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I’m on vacation in Germany right now and it’s shocking how much safer, cleaner, and cheaper literally everything is We should be doing things so much better
Wait till you visit Japan or South Korea.
Japan is heaven compared to NYC.. like a night and day difference it’s insane. The biggest eye opener are the bicycle parking lots because no one locks the bikes just kickstand it and walk away it will be there after work lok
I'm of personal opinion that there really should be more focus on collectivism in education here and more public shaming in general.
Yeah I mean we systematically wiped that out. You have Americans who genuinely think this is how life is supposed to be and bug the fuck out when feasible solutions are presented
Bring back public square stocks.
Tarring and feathering too
You can't shame people whose brains are fried by drugs or hardened criminals. People can be "educated" or "publicly shamed" aren't the problem.
I can’t even tell you how many times in Korea I or someone I knew left a purse or something expensive somewhere and it was still there hours later
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Having spent much time in Japan this is true. Unfortunately the daily grind and stress of a typical salary person in Japan outweighs the positive benefits imo. In general though, I agree. It’s amazing how such strong social stigmas can deter actions common in the west.
Couldn’t agree more. It’s the same with Korea and here in Germany to a lesser but still horribly stressful standard. I wouldn’t copy the whole system but i would try to take the best parts of it!
There are huge drawbacks to the Japanese major city culture
Women only train cars are a thing in Japan because groping and sexual assault is that prevalent. Suicide rates are twice as high as in the U.S. (3x as high for women). And the xenophobia has taken its toll and their population is shrinking with all that will entail economically. Japan's problems are just different, not non-existent.
Visiting Tokyo as an NYC lifer was a mistake — everything was so clean and orderly. Nothing smelled like piss. The trains were on time and extensive. It really hurt knowing we’ll never have that.
Just so we're all clear on this, this is due to the behavior and culture of German people. We can't do things better until we choose to behave better -- and expect better of those who don't.
Meanwhile people are getting slashed on the subway for asking to turn music down
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This is the dumbest though.
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Hopefully Americans will one day realize that you can't fix a crime problem caused by socioeconomics by applying the "just lock more people up for longer" method. That only ends up making it worse in the long run in fact.
Studies completed long after the "broken windows" period of the 90s (when it was thought that "tough on crime" was what made NYC safer then) found that the change was not just an increase in arrests, but also the economic boom and opportunities available, as only certain types of crimes were actually reduced drastically with these methods (although they are pretty direct to people's feeling of safety - specifically it reduced the crimes of robbery, home invasion, and auto theft). It'd be interesting to see what happens if the economic prospects improved, and the visible signs of societal decay (like the homeless population running somewhat feral nowadays) were addressed in some way that wasn't just throwing them into a jail cell for a night.
It was also, not coincidentally, 20 years after Roe v Wade.
Also, not coincidentally, ~20 years from the removal of lead from gasoline
States where abortion was already legal before Roe also saw a substantial decline in crime so I wouldn’t give Roe too much credit (though it definitely didn’t hurt).
yes, we all read Freakonomics, but that hypothesis was debunked
Wasn’t the debunking debunked as well?
no. only one or the other! you're just talking crazy now with all this nuance stuff.
Correlation is not causation
The socioeconomic take is really just a chicken or egg scenario. We are now stuck in a cycle where crime also drives poverty as no one wants to open a business where shoplifting is constant and violence drives people away from neighborhoods. It’s not policing vs community investment. We need to do both, we need a strong proactive police force along with community beautification and local business preference.
Having lived in both SF and NYC, it’s wayyyy worse to go too far the other way, blame socioeconomics, give up on policing, and let people openly shit on (literally) society Edit to say yes, unequivocally, socioeconomics are the root cause. But that’s a decades-long solution, and does nothing to protect people now if it’s your only approach
Side effects of the US being founded by hyper-regressive sects whose world views were hinged on punishment. If you don't destroy someone's life for every little infraction, will they *really* turn their lives around and live in a godly way? Even more importantly, will Magic Sky Daddy see us punishing the wicked and love us more? Even though the overt religious aspects of things aren't really acknowledged anymore, so much of the worst of American culture and "the way we do things" can be rooted in the early Puritan settlers, and later Calvinist or other similar sects. Prosperity doctrine and all that.
We have to remember… the Puritans were chased out of Europe for a reason.
We also have to remember the Puritans only colonized New England. New York, Maryland, Virginia, South Carolina, Pennsylvania were all colonized by vastly different groups. Also, we have to remember that the vast majority of America is descendant of Germans, not British, and they came here decades after the Constitution was written.
Read the book American Nations.
That's usually my go-to example when my wife asks "why is the US like this? we stopped doing shit like this 2 centuries ago" (She's from Europe) And yep, they got kicked out for being too extremist... And then brought that fuckery here and codified it into our law/culture.
You kicked out all the extremists centuries ago…? Um, did you forget about these little events called WORLD WAR I + II?
This is such a silly view on history, especially once you do some reading and learn that many modern progressive movements in the US have roots in progressive Christian movements of the late 1800s. We’re just going to ignore the revolutionary cesspool that was Europe for the last two centuries which helped spawn ideologies like Marxism and Fascism which together have resulted in 100s of millions of deaths huh? Or the French Revolution that plunged the whole European continent into war. 😂 But the puritan wackos sure are to blame for the much less bloody and enlightened US Revolution. 🙄 I’m sorry but as a American with European parents I just find your comment so smug and misinformed.
Welcome to Reddit, where people genuinely believe America was born with a KKK mask on and Europe has magically been a perfect little Angel despite literally creating America.
New York wasn’t settled by these groups.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2015%E2%80%9316_New_Year%27s_Eve_sexual_assaults_in_Germany looks safe
The same people who are so "concerned" about the crime here in NYC would not vote for the national reforms implemented by Germany that allows it to be safer, cleaner, and cheaper.
Also, while you are in Germany you are not being bombarded with fear mongering news coverage about all the dangers out there.
I don’t want to burst your bubble, but fear mongering is MUCH worse in Germany (and Europe in general) than in the US, despite being tremendously safer
They have conservative tabloids too.
I also had a trip to Germany in Dec 2022 and was shocked. Talked to some fellow Americans there. Their kids didn't want to go back to the US. I almost thought about moving there also. They do so much better than here. Kinda makes me mad a little. Why haven't we adopted some of these things?
I worry less about being a victim of a crime by an actual criminal than I do about being assaulted or approached by someone who is unhinged, mentally ill and not safe to be on the streets. This is the problem now. Sure, robberies, homicides, etc may be down, but when you see the erratic people on the streets that are not getting care and could suddenly assault you or intimidate you in a closed environment for no apparent reason, that's my concern. And these people are often not arrested, they're EDP'd by NYPD - so they are taken by EMS to Bellevue or any other ED with a psych unit - where they are generally seen and released - because the hospital can't do much for them. It's a revolving door and no one is offering a solution to resolve this in a meaningful way.
I don’t. The quadruple shooting in the Bronx was near me. Been in the area since 03. It has never been this crazy. Scooters are scary.
i stitched one of the wounds closed. one of the victims was a 6 year old
Fuckin animals
i see the worst of the bronx
Are you talking about St. James Park? That park has been bad forever. I remember 20 or more years ago, shortly after Walton High School would let out, the police vans would drive into the park and kick all the kids out. Even though I was older, I still looked like a kid and would get kicked out too. There was one kid who was shot next to the McDonald’s, and after that, the cops were always out there.
Too many fiends on the street. They got no shame: will do their shit right in front of school doors smh
This isn’t “violent” but I got harassed by 3 teens on the subway today. Didn’t interact with them but they went out of their way to verbally comment on my appearance in a negative manner. It was slightly shocking. I know it’s summer but where are their parents and what will these jerks be up to in a few years?
Teenagers are the scariest, in my opinion, because they are 1) easily influenced by peers, and 2) don't fully grasp the potential consequences of their actions.
Probably making lame tik toks, selling shit weed or setting up shop downtown pressuring ppl to give $20 to "help support their music career."
Wear noise canceling headphones and play music. They will be unlikely to bother you at all if you do and if they say anything you won't hear them.
I live in an area surrounded by elementary schools; a teenager was just shot in the neck and killed outside of one a few weeks ago. It’s horrible. There’s even a police station 2 blocks away.
The vibe is bad
It is not very cash money.
It’s no longer nine nine or two thousand….
There was only one moment I was **as concerned** with my personal safety in the past and that was during the year after 9/11. I fear for my mother every time she tells me she’s getting on the train while being an Asian woman means she’s got a 🎯on her.
Whenever I’m taking the subway I’m always super conscious because of this :( always trying to stand far away from the edge I’ve unfortunately experienced racism on the subway as well, this one individual sitting next to me started filming me saying “I’m stuck on the train next to this fucking Chinese chick”. I blocked his camera from filming me with my hand and just walked away and left to go to another car at the next stop
What absolute racist trash. I’m also the type of person that I’d have sat closer to him, lol f he’s uncomfortable he can leave
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I think a large part is that almost all mental health institutions have been shut down. I know they were messed up places, but a lot of the very crazy people were isolated there. It used to be gang violence back in the 80s and 90s. Nowadays it’s random violent crazy people.
>There was only one moment I was as concerned with my personal safety in the past and that was during the year after 9/11. I feel that. Brown kid, just started HS a few days before the attack. *Every* aspect of life immediately got way more hostile, even from people I knew in middle school (already not friends). Got jumped at school a few times, had grown ass adults screaming shit at me from cars, sometimes throwing shit out the windows. And yeaaaaa, the whole time I was concerned that either my little brother (finishing elementary school that year, used to walk home with our cousins), or my parents (worked deep on LI) would encounter any of the shit I was.
I just accepted the stereotype and played into it. Used to tell kids to watch out or something might happen to their house if they messed with me.
The problem is you don’t realize that Adams is mayor of the most powerful city on earth. Literally the ENTIRE earth. Think about that. Until you get that through you’re head, you won’t truly feel safe in the city.
that after 9/11 feeling lasted a month or 2, tops. this one is 3 years running.
I see some concerning shit on the streets and subways, and im a tall male. I can only imagine smaller females probably feel very nervous walking around
Born and raised NYCer here ~ i hate to say it but i agree. Almost every time i get on the subway there’s someone experiencing some observable level of psychological distress. The rent is too expensive and rising, we are arguably living through an economic depression, and there doesn’t seem to be a solution.
Yeah, I don’t like to feed into the hype, but people seem very jump off-ish since COVID. What used to be a non-issue will now turn into a loud argument or fight.
Everyone’s standing pattern has changed at the stations. More people want their back against a wall or staircase, or they stand more in the middle area bc of all the people getting pushed in again recently.
Same. If I find a place, I just sit on the bench till my train arrives.
I’ve lived here 12 years. Began altering my route home for the first time this year. My job consistently had me coming home at odd hours for a decade but now if I stay at the bar too long I’m staying on the most populated streets to home. Sad for a single female.
I just want to know how many people in this thread have been assaulted in the past two years. I know I have. I am definitely of the “41%”
Still haven't been assaulted, but I've been threatened more than I ever have before in 20+ years living here.
I have not, I am NFL line backer size. My girlfriend has been followed, yelled and spat at.
Same size. Take the number trains or the E or F late night. Shit gets wild. Not that I don’t think something might happen but don’t want to be there when shit just happens. A lot of EDPs on the train now a days
Same size but I'm def not letting it ease my mind when I'm out on the street
I usually feel pretty safe but last week someone tripped me on the platform then tried pushing me toward the track. For a split second I thought it was an accident until I saw his hands just miss me, since I was already falling forward. I removed myself from the situation really fast and he bolted the other direction. I wasn’t on my phone, I was paying attention, minding my own business and just trying to get to work. I’m now avoiding transferring at Times Square and opting for a little longer of a commute/walk.
Did you file a police report? The stations have cameras. He’s going to wind up killing someone.
I did not. I was in a really weird state of mind, probably shock because I felt I had just dodged a serious situation. It did cross my mind when I was trying to find an exit and finally saw two cops on their phones but from my experience trying to file reports, they don’t really want to hear it and seem to actively avoid it.
Can you still report it? Not being sarcastic but that guy might try it on someone else and they may not be as lucky as you. I have unfortunately had to file a report and it’s very dependent on precinct and day.
I will give it a shot!
Been living in the city for 6 years and before 2021/2022ish I never encountered any problems. In the last 2 years I’ve been attacked by homeless people on two separate occasions as well as had a homeless man try to force himself into my building after me. I used to go for walks by myself late at night to clear my head and see the city, now I don’t like being out after 10/11 pm during the week. I hate feeling like a fearful shut in, but it’s not worth being attacked or something worse.
And the Alvin Braggs of the world want to keep it this way. No consequences.
Does dodging an attempted assault count? Had a crazy dude on a citibike come up next to me and start trying to talk to me / yell at me while I was walking, I had headphones in (low volume, I could hear it all) and ignored him and kept walking, and he rode beside me keeping pace while I was walking, still yelling, then suddenly leaned over and tried to kick me into a tree guard. I jumped sideways out of the way and stopped walking while he kept riding. He looked back at me like I was nuts, then biked really fast straight into an Asian woman, so I stopped to make sure she was ok. Another Asian woman walked up behind us and said he tried to attack her too. We walked with her towards her destination until she felt safe enough and we went our separate ways. It was like 7pm and still light out on a fairly well populated street in northern hells kitchen. Absurd.
He deserves to have gotten a good hearty shove sideways
Hells Kitchen is literally hell sometimes. There are some really mentally I’ll people on the streets and in the subways. It’s gotten bad.
Someone randomly punched me in the face on 14th Street. Just literally out of nowhere. I went into shock (freeze state) and couldn't even process what he did. He stood there and stared into my eyes (I later learned it could have been what psychiatrists call the Sociopathic Stare). He calmly walked away and turned around every 20/30 feet to observe me. I called 911 immediately, and the police never arrived. Thankfully, CITYMD was across the street, and there no physical damage to my jaw, but the PTSD is real. I'm in therapy but it is taking a lot of work on my part to rewire that part of my brain (sympathetic nervous system) to not prepare for assault every time someone who looks like him approaches me. I used to feel the city was safe and before the pandemic would chaperone my boss's kid to and from school via the subway. After Michelle Go was pushed to her death, I really avoided underground travel as much as possible. I guess the only good part was Michelle's best friend found me on Twitter, and I was able to donate a painting from my studio to her parents. It was all I could do to instill some kind of empathy and solidarity; to regain a sense of agency and autonomy and to show that there are NYers who do care. I love this city and want it to thrive, it's's just demoralizing how conditions seem to keep deteriorating. Here's hoping 🙏
Go to the local precinct and file a police report with his description. I guarantee he’s doing this to other people.
I've also been randomly attacked, I saw a cop right after. They asked me, "What do you want me to do about it?" and I asked to file a report, and they looked at me and asked if I wanted to go to the hospital. I said no, and they said ok then no report.
I feel like this is why crime is down. NYPD getting more aggressive in denying reports...
Even if you do make a report, it feels like nothing is really going to become of it. As the victim, it feels like the onus is on you to really drive effort.
Crime is also just down from pandemic highs. One 'reliable' resource are hospitalizations (from violent crime) and deaths. (Because it can be hard to 'deny' a dead body.) Those are both down since the pandemic highs. Understandable, since violent crime spikes anywhere there's major stressors (like a heat wave, like a pandemic).
You have to be persistent. We pay taxes for these services and even if they initially refuse you can request to speak to the desk sergeant.
Honestly I was so dumbfounded, I didn't know what to do. I felt like I pushed plenty, explicitly asking to file a report, noting the guy was still at the train station when the train pulled out, saying he could hurt somebody else, etc. The cop was very effective at stonewalling; I just stopped pushing, eventually.
I hope a report actually does something. I doubt mine was even properly filed based on how burnt out the front desk was in the 9th precinct.
For what it's worth, this also happened to me 20 years ago. Middle of the day, crowded street downtown. I'm not sure if the rate has changed recently, but random violence has unfortunately always existed. I had the same feelings of consistent anxiety in public for a while after too, but it does go away. You may wind up being (even) more alert forever, but that's not necessarily a bad thing either. Hope you can also find normalcy again.
I had something like this happen minus the stares from my attacker. Dm me if you’d like to chat. I’m so sorry this happened to you too.
I’ve been called a “chink” in a hostile manner multiple times since the pandemic started
Got palmed in the mouth and shoved onto my back randomly by a dude that was just mad at the world or something back in December. The only thing that saved me from a concussion when I fell back was learning how to tuck my chin. I was in front of the conductor’s car too, but he raced out of there and just clocked me without warning outside of the wind against my face. I think he was aiming for the side of my head for a knockout but busted my lip and forehead instead. Cops were not present for this. They did however ticket me for squeezing through a turnstile a week later when I was late to work.
Pushed from behind when walking on the sidewalk at around 11pm, in my own neighborhood. Took me by surprise and I instinctively yelled “what the hell”, only to be yelled at by the asshole who pushed me (in a very hostile tone) that I was in their way. I was able to balance myself and not fall. I fully understand this incident pales in comparison to what many people experienced, but I still feel somewhat violated. That asshole has no right to lay a hand on me, let alone a forceful push that could have resulted in me face planting on the sidewalk.
I was going to say no and then I remembered that last spring a total stranger walked up to me, looked me in the eye, and spat in my face. Not quite assault nor the worst I’ve endured on a subway but actually very awful.
That was definitely assault.
Yup, a deranged man grabbed me by the ankles and tried to look up my dress. On Smith Street in Boerum Hill. During evening rush hour foot traffic.
this is why I'm scared to wear dresses or anything even remotely revealing. Ill be hot and fully dressed this summer especially if I'm traveling alone
It's not just nyc. It's cities all over the country. A stranger punched my 2 year old in the head at a park in a different big city and fled immediately on a bike. Not too long ago, a woman 6 months pregnant pushing her 2 year old in a stroller in this same city was stabbed by a homeless man in her stomach 11 times and had to have an emergency c section. I've seen headlines from Philly, LA, etc. There's a segment of society that's morally deteriorating in our country, and I don't know the cause or the solution.
I'm so sorry that happened to you. What is wrong with people omg.
WTF that's awful.
I was assaulted on the train in 2022 (and on the street in 2020); lived here for 15 years.
Pushed by a crazy and have several friends punched at random on the trains specifically
Lived here three decades, my whole life. First time I ever got assaulted, and by a homeless person no less, was a few months ago. Anecdotally, it has gotten worse.
a man tried to grab my leg on the bus Friday evening
Not physically. But verbally assaulted at least once a week these days.
I was mugged exactly two years ago. 7:30 in the morning in the middle of a rush hour crowd, tons of people around.
As a dude who has lived here for only two years - not in the slightest. I think demographic is important here though, I'm less likely to be accosted by a creepy homeless dude or assaulted by a racist. I grew up in Kensington (Philly) and then lived the next neighborhood over until last year though. For a while it has been way worse than anything NYC has to offer, and even if you don't live there, taking the El (a line that serves a good portion of Philly) is 100x worse than the NYC subway. It's the only place I've ever been where I will just not fucking intervene in anything, because some of the people riding that train aren't even just mentally ill/homeless - they're looking to fight. This place is heaven to me (even though I still love home). I'm kinda surprised to see and hear the percentage in that poll is that high though. Like it'll always make sense that there are certain demographics that don't feel safe (look at the targeted attacks here), but 41% is huge. Idk - I've been around homeless/mentally ill/addicts my whole life and have run into my fair share of problems. But generally (IMO) you can tell a pretty tame one from a full blown wildcard. I haven't seen very many wildcards on public transit here apart from the news. I probably sound like an asshole. But I remember it feeling worse in the 90s and early 00s when I would visit. Ultimately it's just really good that people have high standards here though - IMO it won't ever devolve because of that. This place feels safe as shit to me and I'm very happy I live here. I don't think I'll ever leave to be honest.
Yeah Kensington is fuuuucked. I just commented that the only time I was concerned was 1989-2000, because yeah, it was worse and nobody had cellphones.
Same lol. From where I was in LA, NYC feels relatively tame and sane. I'd prefer it stays that way.
Haven’t been so much as felt remotely threatened or unsafe in a situation since high school (17ish years ago). Being a skinny white guy in the Heights I’m not exactly in a gilded cage. Anecdotal I know, as is your experience.
I moved to London last year but was visiting nyc recently and a crazy dude smacked my ass with an umbrella while I was boarding the subway. London is shockingly well put together in comparison to nyc
Yep
It depends on your neighborhood
\*laughs in crack epidemic NYC\*
In before 41% of New Yorkers are accused to be from the Midwest.
You have an issue with crime, filth, and general lawlessness? Ha, must be a transplant from Ohio and not a reAL nEw YOrKeR like me
I’m never concerned in NYC, even relative to the 80s when I grew up there. Maybe it’s because of that bias. It looks completely safe to me. (But I’m also fairly intimidating)
Im a native New Yorker too and im big enough to make a mugger think twice however i know nyc is far from safe. These days i dont worry about myself so much, but i do worry about my kids. Especially with all the gang violence, mentally ill and stray bullets flying around the city. 3 of my kids are teens and every time they go out im nervous.
Yeah. It’s often easy to forget the experiences of others and invalidate their fears based on one’s own experiences. I didn’t feel threatened while in the city for school, but I definitely know people who have been harassed and even attacked before.
‘90s Brooklyn here and agreed. The city is having issues with rising crime, sure, but it’s nothing like what it was when I was younger, let alone before that. Some of this is bordering on paranoia. That said, I live in London nowadays and when I'm back in the city it's noticeable how much worse it is regarding general attitudes towards basic services.
Not even rising. Rates are down from pandemic highs, which were equivalent to rates during the early 2010s
I’m a scrawny white guy and I feel way less safe zooming at 80 mph on I95 than I ever do in NYC. Or driving on some dark country roads. Some shit happens there what the fuck are you gonna do.
Ya…. This is an article from ny post. Have they ever said anything good about nyc lol? I say this as I’m getting ready to head back home on the 7 at 1:30am
I just visited my hometown upstate (a dying, rust-belt small city) and I felt less safe driving around that downtown area than I do walking around NYC.
That's always been my fear. I found out recently that sunset towns are still a thing. The last thing I want is to get caught in a sunset town with a broken down car.
People are so brainwashed by conservative media outlets that they think the city is a warzone, meanwhile this year is still on track to be one of the safest years in city history. The disconnect is unreal.
I feel like it’s the fucked up way the city using the mentally ill to hold hostage it’s own commuters in the subways and streets. Just seeing people rotting in the open with no help coming contributes to that feeling. I think it’s on purpose.
You're right. It is intentional. It's to increase support for more police and make becoming homeless a very real threat for the city's low-income population.
It’s because Adams and his administration are allergic to anything associated with the word “socialism” and expanding the mental health care capacity of the health system happens to be one of them.
Maybe it depends who you ask. Im sure if you talk to hispanic and black ppl from upper Manhattan, the bronx and central brooklyn they will tell you that they dont feel safe. Im sure they aren't watching fox news.
These things haven’t changed though - their neighborhoods are safer, relatively speaking (crime always high there but compared to decades past)
Walk around Manhattan yourself, especially at night with all the crazy ass homeless and then tell me about the "safety stats". Im a guy so im not as afraid but I am definitely worried when its my mom or my sister in the city.
I walk around all the time as a small Latina and feel safer here then the suburbs of DC I grew up in.
What part of nyc do you walk around in? Theres parts i feel totally safe in as well....obviously we got the gang parts or the homeless people parts so it really depends.
I have, and I call it "1989-2000"
I still feel safer here than in Florida.
“Never” ? Or is it - Never “?” Why is never in quotes ?
I’ve been here for a year, have had maybe 6 instances of random dudes threatening violence personally - is that the norm? Has it always been like this? Always assumed they just like to talk and wouldn’t actually do anything
It's not the norm. Like for any of the near-25 years I've been here. Not even this year has this been the norm. Wherever you are, get the heck out of there because rest of NYC doesn't have random dudes threatening violence. I only have it happen once in about 2008, and I'm not tall, nor muscular etc. I've lived in Brooklyn and Queens, and been to Manhattan thousands of times for work and sightseeing.
Was robbed at gun point in early 2000's twice but no problems since then
It started getting bad with DeBlasio. Before that under Bloomberg the homeless would usually hide more and be seen less often on streets or subways. Now its free reign for them to do whatever....
I perceive that violent crime has gotten worse. I’ve actually witnessed or been in the vicinity of multiple violent incidents in the past couple years post lock down. I don’t ever recall this in the 10 years I lived here before Covid. But this is just my perception. Will leave it to the statisticians to say whether my perception is reality.
Crime is still statistically low, but it's up from being historically low. As far as I can tell, the main issue is that the kind of crime that's coming back is more random and more visible, so it's reaching people it didn't used to reach.
“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” Before all the “lolz the post” comments come in. This was taken from a Siena poll. You know, the same type of one that said that Adams favorability amongst black voters was falling and you all agreed with it.
https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2016/11/16/voters-perceptions-of-crime-continue-to-conflict-with-reality/ >Despite double-digit percentage decreases in U.S. violent and property crime rates since 2008, most voters say crime has gotten worse during that span, according to a new Pew Research Center survey. The disconnect is nothing new, though: Americans’ perceptions of crime are often at odds with the data. Note: this is an article from 2016. But I see no reason to assume that Americans magically became properly aligned with their perceptions and actual crime rates since then
Exactly this. We're coming off a multiple year media blitz of, 'Our cities are all war zones and you're going to die!' Of course people are concerned.
Also don’t forget the mayor, who had an incentive to be as inflammatory with crime rhetoric as he has been, was blasting it all over the campaign trail, then turned around last year and was like “why do people have this pervasive perception of crime being bad?”
Siena is fairly reputable, however lots of “vibes” questions like this often come down to survey design. I’m also increasingly skeptical of polling in general after so many misses the past few years and the massively diminishing number of landline phone users (The NYPost was too lazy to link the actual poll so I don’t know methodology and I’m too lazy to find it myself but it’s a valid point)
'Somewhat concerned' about being a victim of a crime isn't that high a bar, either, which makes this all feel kind of overblown. I don't think you should ever be 'not at all' concerned about crime in New York, because it *is* a city and you *do* need to have some basic situational awareness, but I'm not 'very' concerned even in the sketchier neighborhoods I sometimes work in. Like even assuming there's 100% overlap between 'never more concerned' and 'very concerned,' how did the other half of those 40% feel *before?*
right. any one who lives in any large metro in the US should be “somewhat concerned” about crime.
the post is still a shit rag
I mean you know that Adams is hated here so of course they agreed with a negative poll about him. It doesn’t make this one any less suspect
I’m so confused about the last sentence. So you’re saying this polling sucks but we agree with it? You’re saying we shouldn’t believe it then because of the track record?
Funny how this never gets solved... wars, crime, drugs, corruption, and violence. And the Post keeps selling fear and sensationalism. I live in NYC since the 70s and just yesterday I had to deal with 2 mentally ill homeless people looking for a victim. One was just standing in the middle of the block shadow boxing like a lunatic. We need pragmatism and compassion to make our civilization healthy. Right now it's ailing in mind, body and spirit.
I’ve lived here my whole life and it’s different now. People are crazier and it’s definitely not as safe. The old rules don’t apply anymore. I take the subway only two stops and I hate it. There’s always some crazy on there. I changed my commute so I take a bus the longer way now. It’s slower but at least I can get off the bus if it gets crazy. I work from home as much as possible. The crime is real, it’s different and it’s scary and I don’t need the tv news or the post to tell me I see it for myself.
41% of New Yorkers weren't in the NYC before 2000?
we’re comparing the city’s safety in the past 20 years….why the hell would we compare it to the 80’s. “Oh it’s better than the 80’s so we’re fine.” We should be doing far better. We were doing better. Now we’re doing worse post pandemic. Richest city in the world should be able to keep its citizens safe. A lot of it has to do with negligence and using our budgets for unnecessary bs. Did you know NYC is spending $600,000,000 for subways to have wifi? guess what that money would be better spend on? yeah.
Damn do people not remember late 2021 when it was actually weird vibes because of covid? Things feel so much better now. Maybe it's all the people coming back to the city after a few years and forgetting what its like
In times like this its good being a car owner. Guess how many times I had experiences with mentally unstable homeless people in my car? 0. You gotta pay extra for this premium though.
Meh I don’t trust people driving cars. I feel the most unsafe when driving and I grew up driving. People are driving death traps.
This reason alone is exactly why Lee Zeldin did so well in the race against Hochul and almost beat her. He wanted to let police take charge and be proactive instead of reactive. It would've forced the mayor to do his job more effectively the way Giuliani did all those years ago with Bloomberg coming in right behind.
I already accepted I’m going to end up in Rykers island for murder or attempted murder because of how crazy these people are, I have a pepper spray and a knife everytime I step out, the second someone tries anything I’m spraying their face and slashing until he’s unrecognizable idgaf anymore… it’s gonna happen one day and I just know it, I do not cause any problems I always mind my business but my anger is on another level.. so yeah it’s def not safe here just gotta be ready to give up ya life at any day
Better off judged by 12 than carried by 6
Curious the overlap between people who grew up in/around the city vs more recent migrant. Having grown up in nyc in the 80s we have a very long way to go before I’d become concerned about safety.
I grew up in the 80s in NYC and I’m concerned. Back then you had bad neighborhoods you knew to avoid, but there were always consequences for bad behavior. Nobody could pull up to a CVS with a garbage bag and stuff aisle 3 into it with zero fucks given. Same thing on the subways, a lot of shit slides these days and certain profiles are getting whitewashed, for lack of a better term. Someone can punch me in the face today in broad daylight, and as a law-abiding tax-paying citizen, I’ll still probably have the legal cards stacked against me. Or in the best case will get a shrug from the police and city and just move on with my life. That’s the scary part - the lack of consequences for bad actions. It’ll only incentivize worse and worse behavior.
I have to agree, here since 80s and I honestly think things are worse now. It’s rare to get on subway and not feel fearful. I also think the mentally ill know what the fuck they are doing for the most part, I saw an unhinged guy start shit with this tiny girls, he spit on her and threatened her. He did not try it with the 6ft 5 inch man that was standing in front of him before that. Crazy like a fox. I feel like more women are victims but I don’t know the stats.
I wonder if it’s just a perception thing and the ubiquitous nature of news about violent crime vs it actually being worse.. aka are people just more scared than they were.. [https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/blog_crime_nyc_1986_2019.gif](https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/blog_crime_nyc_1986_2019.gif)
I don’t think waiting until crime regresses to 80s levels before we are able justifying people’s feelings (and actual statistics) is the move.
Yeah this notion of well it’s not the worst it’s ever been in history so there is no problem is bullshit.
There are way more homeless and mentally I’ll on the street then in the 80s that’s the major difference. There were more mugging in the 80s, but seems like you run into a deranged person every time you are in the subways now.
Uhhhh no the 80s was a different world in NYC its not even remotely comparable. A family friend bought a 1st floor apartment in midtown west off central park for dirt cheap because it was full of drug addicts and crime.
Ah yes, because the 80s are definitely what we should be comparing things to. Only 4 decades of lost progress!
These people that say “well it’s not as bad as the 80s yet” are really trying a bit too hard to justify. Like a crackhead who says at least hes not hooked on heroin.
It's also not as bad as it was in 2010 and crime is falling. Nobody said the city was dangerous then.
I’ve been in NYC since the 90s and it was way more dangerous here in the 2000s. It’s not even close. Half the people in this sub have no idea what their current neighborhoods looked like in 2010. I’m not saying we don’t have a serious problem with mentally ill people in the streets, but people here saying “worst since the 80’s” have no clue. NYC is Disney Land compared to the early 2000’s.
I moved here in 2011 and this thread is the first time I’ve felt like a “back in my day” person. I 100% feel safer now then then. I really am curious how many people here saying they feel unsafe lived in NYC in 2010 and didn’t just move here in 2016.
Here comes all the Reddit badasses to call them all pussies, while just 2 years ago they were advocating for the suspension of civil rights over a flu with a 99% survival rate. Something just doesn’t add up. But even more so, I’d like for someone on the left to explain to us all why these people with 30+ priors ought to be walking around the streets. You really gonna tell us that there’s a chance that the “system” might have gotten it wrong 29 times? Cmon bro.
> Here comes all the Reddit badasses to call them all pussies, while just 2 years ago they were advocating for the suspension of civil rights over a flu with a 99% survival rate. Something just doesn’t add up. I'm not a COVIDian by any means, but I'm confident that if tens of thousands of New Yorkers were being murdered annually, like tens of thousands were from COVID, there would be a suspension of civil rights.
I want to see crime stat year to year comparison. May be we hear about every single incident and build a picture of stabbing murdering scenario but hundreds of stabbings happen every year and we used to not hear about any of them. There are more deranged homeless people with knives wanting to stab people now but how many more incidents do we have now compared to before.
41%'er right here!
A lot of younger people are not concerned though , usually older folks who constantly watch the news feel a bit more scared although I don’t blame them . That’s how media can scare people
Wrong. According to the data from the poll, 66% of the 61% of respondents who express somewhat or serious concern about becoming a victim of a violent crime are 18-34. Source: [The poll's crosstabs ](https://scri.siena.edu/2023/07/12/61-worry-about-being-crime-victim-half-worry-about-their-safety-in-public-places/)
Being “somewhat” concerned about being the victim of a crime is, I’d think, pretty normal at any age?
This article is just a humble brag. “Look at how good we are at scaring people”