CityLab Daily: How Dangerous Is New York City, Really?

Following an increase in violent incidents since the start of the pandemic, anxieties about public safety in New York City are on the rise. Fears of violence have now surpassed Covid concerns among visiting tourists, commuters riding public transit, and even workers returning to the office. But despite the perception that the city is fraught with danger, data shows that crime is still at decades-long lows.

So why does it “feel” like crime is at an all-time high? Part of the reason can be traced to the city’s new mayor, Eric Adams. Adams’s vocal campaign to eradicate crime has led news coverage of the issue to surge since his inauguration. While violent crimes haven’t dropped back to pre-pandemic levels, experts say a tendency to focus on sensational events gives people a distorted sense of what’s actually happening in their communities, Fola Akinnibi and Bloomberg’s Raeedah Wahid report. Today on CityLab: Fear of Rampant Crime Is Derailing New York City’s Recovery

—Angel Adegbesan