Likely Dem primary voters in the upcoming mayoral election overwhelmingly say New York City is in crisis — with nearly half saying that if things get any worse, they may leave, a dismal new survey shows.
The pessimism is broad and deep.
Eighty percent of the respondents say they are worried about the current level of crime, while 75% believe their city is in a state of crisis, and 70% are “fearful and anxious” about its future, according to the poll by Democratic strategists with the Honan Strategy Group.
Nearly half, or 45%, of respondents say that if things get any worse, they “may be forced to move out” of Gotham.
“It’s misery, absolutely. It’s f–king disgusting, in plain English,” said Dennis Griggs, 57, a more than 20-year resident of Woodside, Queens, referring to the state of the city.
“I’ve been planning to leave here for three solid years. I can’t leave here because of my job — I don’t see a pathway where I can work work fully remote,” he said, declining to give his line of work.
A 60-year-old Forest Hills, Queens, resident who only gave his first name, Gustavo, said he is originally from Lima, Peru, but has been living in New York for more than 30 years — and it’s “not safe anymore.
“Since they opened the border and they let in all these gangs from Venezuela, they call came over,” he lamented.
Nearly half of the polled Democrats say crime/violence and quality-of-life issues — 23% and 22% respectively — were top concerns, followed by worries about housing costs at 19%.
“Overall, we found the electorate very much on edge,” said pollster Bradley Honan, whose previous clients include former Mayor Mike Bloomberg, Hillary Clinton, the Democratic National Committee and the Teach Coalition affiliated with the Jewish Orthodox Union.
“Three-quarters of Democratic primary voters believe that New York City is heading on
the wrong track versus only 12% who believe the city is heading in the right direction,” he said.
Honan said he’s only seen such sour numbers among New York voters twice over the past 25 years — after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and during the once-in-a-century COVID-19 pandemic.
“New Yorkers are fundamentally unhappy with where the city is today,” the pollster said. “There’s a sense of fear and anxiety that runs deep.”
That nearly half of Democratic primary voters would consider leaving if things get worse is “a shocking number,” Honan added.
The Democratic voters’ feelings about the state of the city is more bad news for incumbent Democratic Mayor Eric Adams, who is broadly unpopular as he seeks re-election while fighting a criminal corruption indictment.
The poll found that 85% of Democrats do not believe that Adams should be reelected and that 81% disapprove of his job performance, including 60% who say they strongly disapprove.
Meanwhile, 66% give the city government a poor rating for how it is being run today, and another 28% only give the municipality a “fair” rating.
Among Democratic respondents, 64% believe Adams is too closely tied to President Trump.
The poll, which interviewed 769 Democratic primary voters by text from January
23-26 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.53% , was conducted before Adams’ legal team met with Trump’s Justice Department on Friday to consider getting the criminal corruption charges against him dropped.
Before taking office, Trump said he would consider pardoning the mayor, saying he thinks Adams had been “treated pretty unfairly.”
Adams in September became the first sitting mayor in the city’s history to be charged with federal crimes when he was indicted for allegedly taking bribes and illegal campaign contributions from foreign sources. The mayor has forcefully denied the charges
The survey, mirroring a previous one, shows that ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo would be the clear-front runner if he enters the race for mayor.
In a hypothetical ballot for the Democratic mayoral primary, Cuomo leads with 35% of the vote, followed by city Comptroller Brad Lander with 10% and Adams tied for third place with 9% of the vote along with Democratic Socialist Queens state Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani.
Former city Comptroller Scott Stringer is supported by 8% of respondents, Queens state Sen. Jessica Ramos by 6% and Brooklyn state Sen. Zellnor Myrie by 3%, while 20% remain undecided.
Under ranked-choice voting, Cuomo would win the primary in the sixth round with 58% of the vote, to 17% for Brad Lander and 13% for Mandani. Adams is eliminated in the ffith round with 12% support, according to polling.
About half of Dems had a favorable view of Cuomo and nearly half unfavorable.
Cuomo resigned as governor in August 2021 under the threat of impeachment following a slew of sexual misconduct accusations that he denies. He is mulling a comeback bid for City Hall.
Despite the baggage and attacks, Cuomo still has a strong brand among city Democrats for tackling issues, Honan said.
-Additional reporting by Hannah Fierick
