New York City's most powerful private-sector group commissioned a poll of the city's workforce on its future - and the gloomy results raise questions about the fate of NYC's pandemic recovery.
Some 84% of those surveyed said conditions in New York City have worsened over the last two years, and 40% or more of city residents say they're thinking about leaving, according to a Morning Consult poll conducted on behalf of the Partnership for New York City and released late Thursday.
Almost all of those polled said the city wasn't doing enough to address homelessness and mental illness, and more than 60% said they were pessimistic or unsure of the city's future. That said, some 72% indicated they wanted to be part of the city's recovery.
"Safety, homelessness, and mental illness rank as top issues for New York City’s private
sector employees. They are resisting return to the office until something is done to address them, particularly on public transit," Morning Consult wrote in a presentation posted to the Partnership's website.
Get Tri-state area news and weather forecasts to your inbox. Sign up for NBC New York newsletters.
The results are unlikely to sit well with officials pushing aggressively for workers to return to their offices. Mayor Eric Adams, and Gov. Kathy Hochul as well, see the workforce returning as the key to reviving the city's economy.
The heart of the problem, the poll found, was transit. Nearly three-quarters of respondents said public transit is less safe now than it was two years ago.
NYPD statistics bear out the assertion. Year to date, major crimes in transit are up 75%.
The Partnership's 300+ members employ more than 1 million people in New York City, giving the group a significant voice in shaping the city's recovery.
Its regular surveys during the pandemic on when workers would return to their offices have become an important bellwether in the return from two years of COVID shutdowns.
The Morning Consult online poll of 9,386 adults who work in New York City and live in the metropolitan area was conducted Feb. 17-March 11 and has a margin of error of 1 percentage point.
