6 in 10 NYC residents say life would be better outside the city

New Yorkers making it here can make it anywhere, so the song goes – but they think life would be better somewhere else. A clear majority of New York City registered voters – 59% – agreed with the statement: “My family would have a better future if we left NYC permanently.” And of them, 25% strongly agreed the grass would be greener on the other side. That’s according to a web poll of 840 New York City registered voters of all parties out Wednesday from Fontas Advisors and Core Decision Analytics. The number was even higher among Hispanic voters, 67% of whom think life would be better outside the city. “Clearly they’re not feeling safe, they’re not feeling comfortable, and they’re saying ‘what do I need to be here for?’” the firm’s founder George Fontas speculated. “This is deeply concerning if you’re a policymaker.” While the city’s population is trending upward in the long term, tens of thousands of city residents moved out in the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Other responses to the poll suggest that many of New York City Mayor Eric Adams’ crime policies are widely popular, and that the majority of New Yorkers would welcome the return of stricter COVID-19 policies in the event of another outbreak.