They’ve gone sour on the Big Apple.
A whopping 63% of New Yorkers think Gotham has lost its standing as the greatest city in the world, according to a stunning new poll released Tuesday.
Only 29% of those polled said the city is still No. 1 while 8% had no opinion, according to the Honan Strategy Group’s 5 Borough Barometer survey of 614 likely voters.
“It’s very surprising,” said Bradley Honan, CEO of Honan Strategy Group, as to why New Yorkers are sleeping on the City That Never Sleeps.
He noted that most of the poll’s interviews were conducted after the Knicks won their first basketball championship since 1973, which generated an eruption of joy and feel-good vibes among fans across the city.
“It’s not about boosterism,” Honan said. “It’s a reflection that life in the Big Apple is not what they expected it to be. They are struggling to make ends meet.
“That is a striking signal of civic malaise beneath the surface of a city that still draws millions.”
The low score comes amid civil war within the city Democratic Party.
A prior Honan Strategy survey found many rank-and-file Democrats disgusted with their party leadership and incumbents — leaving voters more open to supporting insurgent candidates, including from the left-wing Democratic Socialists of America.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani, a DSA member, is backing a slate of DSA or lefty challengers against incumbents in Tuesday’s primary elections.
His handpicked candidates include Darializa Avila Chevalier against Rep. Adriano Espaillat, Brad Lander against Rep. Dan Goldman and Assemblywoman Claire Valdez over Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso for a vacant House District 7 seat.
Follow live updates on Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s socialist agenda and the latest in NYC politics
Mamdani was elected to City Hall last year, running on an affordability platform to address the city’s high cost of living, which includes providing free or taxpayer-funded child care and bus service.
Financial stress and quality of life are the most pressing issues among voters, the poll found.
“The numbers paint a city that’s gotten more expensive to live in, and voters know it,” Honan said.
Among the findings:
- 50% say life in the city feels worse than it did a year ago. Just 17% say better and 33% said about the same.
- 55% of voters are somewhat or very dissatisfied with their quality of life in the city, while 45% are somewhat or very satisfied.
- Half of all voters, 50%, say cost of living and affordability is the single biggest issue facing the city, dwarfing crime, education, and everything else combined.
- 55% say they’re facing a great deal or some financial stress while living in Gotham while 39 said they face little or no financial stress.
- One-third said they have had to put off a major purchase they needed in the last year because they couldn’t afford it, while another 42% combined said they had to dip into savings to pay bills; cut back on grocery payments; fell behind on rent or mortgage payments; or skipped a mental or dental appointment.
- 56% say their own borough specifically is on the wrong track, while only 35% said it’s heading in the right direction with the rest giving no opinion.
- Nearly half of voters — 47% — said the city as a whole is heading in the right direction, compared to 38% who said it’s on the wrong track with the remaining 15% on the fence.
Housing costs top the list as the single biggest driver of the affordability crisis at 35%, tied with “all of the above,” a category that included taxes, utility bills, medical, grocery and transportation costs and stagnant wages.
Some 34% of renters said they are struggling to keep up with housing costs as did 45% of homeowners.
“Whether they own or rent, that’s 79% of NYC saying they can’t keep up with the costs!” Honan said. “Voters feel squeezed from every direction simultaneously.”
The text survey of 614 likely voters from June 12-17 has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.96 percentage points.
