Majority of NYC Residents Disapprove of Mayor Adams on Crime

(Bloomberg) -- A majority of New Yorkers say they disapprove of Mayor Eric Adams’s handling of crime in the five boroughs, a reversal from three months ago, according to a new Quinnipiac University Poll. 

The poll released Wednesday found 37% approve of Adams’s handling of crime, while 54% disapprove. In February, 49% approved of Adams’s performance on crime and 35% disapproved. 

Adams, 61, campaigned for mayor on his record as a former police officer, promising to bring his personal experience to bear to help tamp down rising numbers of shootings and other crimes. 

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Crime was named as the most urgent issue facing New York City by 49% of voters polled. The city has experienced a spike in serious crimes since Adams took office in January.

The number of serious crime incidents -- which includes the seven major felony categories of murder, rape, robbery, assault, grand larceny, car theft and burglary -- has increased 41.6% so far in 2022 compared to the same period last year, NYPD data shows. 

While the numbers of shooting incidents and shooting victims haven’t increased significantly in 2022 compared to 2021, the poll found New Yorkers are losing confidence in Adams’s ability to stop gun crime in the city. There have been 402 shooting incidents and 470 shooting victims so far this year. 

Only 43% of voters are confident Adams will reduce gun violence, while 53% aren’t confident. That’s another big decline from Quinnipiac’s February poll, in which 58% of voters were confident Adams would reduce gun crime and 39% weren’t.

The poll of 1,249 registered voters in New York City was conducted between April 28th and May 2. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.8 percentage points.

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