There’s been — thank God! — some modest relief in crime across New York, with a 2.5% overall drop over the same period last year. But that’s not true everywhere in the city, and the Manhattan North Precinct is a deeply worrying hotzone of violence and disorder.
The area, which covers a huge chunk of the city’s busiest tourist hubs (like St. Patrick’s Cathedral and Rockefeller Plaza), has seen crime skyrocket over last year.
Robberies are up more than 90%. Felony assaults, nearly 73%. Burglaries, 58%.
Far worse, murders have risen by 50% against a citywide drop of 13%. Rapes are up nearly 29%.
“Society is a mess, and all we can do is pray,” said a local security guard.
We understand the hopelessness.
The progressives who dominate the state Legislature and City Council don’t care that their policies on bail, policing and public safety have caused social decay.
And they’re equally indifferent about the frontline wage workers impacted by crime: retail clerks and security guards and dozens of others whose lives have been (quite literally) put in danger.
Mayor Adams says the right things, but the limited progress he’s made on crime is clearly in danger of stalling out, and that can’t be blamed entirely on the left.
He (and Gov. Hochul) have failed to get state and city lawmakers to reverse course; the Legislature’s made only token changes to its “reforms,” while the City Council is still undermining the NYPD.
And Adams’ administration is embroiled in scandal, thanks to his preference for hiring friends: The NYPD has an interim commissioner when it needs to be functioning at the highest possible level.
The mayor’s been touting the citywide crime gains as evidence he’s getting the job done.
But the grim facts about a key precinct suggest the NYPD’s closer to playing whack-a-mole: New Yorkers want — need — major sustained progress across the board.