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Bronx Residents’ Crime, Safety Concerns Lead Quality of Life Survey
A citywide survey has everyone raving about their ‘hoods, but Bronxites are apparently not so happy in theirs - when it comes to crime and safety.
The quality of life survey by the Citizens Committee for New York City found issues Bronx residents also rated as most important - but of the lowest quality - were clean sidewalks, streets and open spaces; clean air; public officials’ responsiveness to neighborhood needs; quiet neighborhoods and good public schools.
They were most satisfied with proximity to public transportation as well as shops, restaurants, parks and playgrounds. They were also happy with the borough’s diversity and having neighbors they get along with.
The survey questioned 340 Bronxites. While statistically a low sample, the Citizens Committee said it sought a broad range of respondents - in parks, on street corners, outside the Bronx Public Library and on the Grand Concourse.
“I think it is significant that everywhere else in the city beside the Bronx considers their neighborhoods relatively safe,” said Jemilah Magnusson, spokeswoman for the Citizens Committee, a nonprofit group that promotes civic engagement. “Even if it is just perception.”
John Robert, district manager of Community Board 2 in Hunts Point-Longwood, said he thinks the results are representative.
“All of the outer boroughs suffer from the stepchild thing, but we’re maybe the third stepchild,” he said. “The Bronx is on the back burner.”
Residents elsewhere gave their boroughs a fair-to-excellent rating on safety. Bronxites gave the borough’s safety a lower rating of poor to good.
In reality, there was a 3-1/2% drop in the seven major crime categories in 2007. Homicides were down about 14% last year and 75% over the past 15 years.
Robert said air quality and environmental concerns are his neighborhood’s biggest issues, as are drug-related crimes.
State Sen. Jeff Klein, who represents the northeast Bronx, took issue with the report, saying it appears to lump all Bronx neighborhoods together.
“We need to do more. Quality of life is on the top of my agenda all the time,” Klein said. “It goes to maintaining the homeowner communities in my district, but I don’t think that was a survey of my local elected officials.”
Klein said graffiti and nonviolent crimes like car theft have gone up, but arrests are also up and violent crimes are down.
He said he is looking forward to seeing city agency surveys broken down by community board.
SOURCE: NYDailyNews.com
Tags: Bronx Living, Bronx neighborhoods, Bronx News, Bronx Public Library, bronx quality of life survey, Citizens Committee for New York City, Community Board 2, East Bronx, Grand Concourse, hunts point, jeff klein, John Robert, Longwood, northeast Bronx, Politics
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