Anyone who has been paying attention has witnessed the crime rate increasing in New York City. It’s not a well-kept secret that violent crimes are on the rise, and living in New York is a gamble. This seems to be the case in many Democrat-run cities, and one community has had enough.
Crime in New York City: A Grim Overview
While many attempt to blame the pandemic, there may be other causes for the increase in crime. Maybe it was the “Defund the Police” movement. Or, it could be that some officers were fired for not taking the vaccine. It might even be the soft on crime policies in the city. Whatever it is, the outlook is pretty grim.
Statistics show that major crimes are up by approximately 36% so far this year. For example, NYPD shows the number of shootings at an increase of 13.4% compared to this period last year. Likewise, the number of murders in July 2022 is up 34.3% compared to July last year. Aside from shooting incidents, property and violent crime is up across the board.
The New York Post reports, “Grand larceny was up a whopping 48.3%, from 20,374 to 30,205 incidents, auto theft rose 42%, from 5,589 to 7,939, and robbery jumped 39.8%, from 7,366 to 10,294, over the same period in 2021, the data show.”
Similarly, rapes increased by 10%, and felony assault is up 19.5%, according to the report.
The Perspective on the Street
Although the New York City subway system is famous internationally, many residents are afraid of riding the subway. While many in the gun control lobby want to blame gun violence due to one high-profile incident, residents say otherwise.
Many fear being pushed onto the tracks, as one woman tells the New York Post, “When you hear incidents that women are being thrown onto the subway tracks you’re scared.”
Another woman told the outlet, “I hate the subway. I’m afraid of the hostile homeless.”
One Florida woman who moved her daughter into an apartment there told The Post, “The first night we were there, a guy walked straight toward us, pulled down his pants and showed his penis. There were people peeing on the stoop next door. We’re walking around and stepping over piles of s–t. There’s open drug use and dealing. And then there’s just the constant screaming and threats all night long. Everything was so blatant.”
The increase in crime has one officer with more than two decades on the job telling The Post, “They’re letting bad guys go home. [There are] zero consequences for their actions.”
Greenwood Village Has Had Enough
As you can imagine, the rapidly increasing violent crime has many in New York concerned for overall public safety. So, the residents of Greenwood Village took matters into their own hands and hired armed security.
The move is an effort to curtail chronic drug dealing, crack smoking, and public defecation. One resident, Brian Maloney, told the New York Post that his neighborhood of 16 years is suffering from an influx of emotionally disturbed drug addicts and a decreasing police presence. He also mentions bail reform and soft-on-crime Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
According to the New York Post, “The West 4th Mac/6th Block Association hired security officers strapped with pistols from Black Tie Protection Services of upstate Monroe, to surveil West Fourth Street between MacDougal Street and Sixth Avenue for the month of August at various hours of the day.”
Maloney stated that in the first two weeks, the guards confronted 200 users, dealers, and vagrants. During the interactions, the guards rousted the riff-raff from the block. However, once the shift ended, the shady characters returned.
Unfortunately, the test program was expensive, and many feel they cannot afford to sustain it year-round. According to reports, the cost for the month was $18,000.
Not to belabor the obvious but when armed guards were there, trouble vacated. Once the good guys with guns were gone, they came back.
Current liberal anti-gun, pro-crime policies in New York are not working. The people of New York are in real danger now, and I think they are really starting to get it. I will leave you with a parting thought from Brian Maloney:
“We have residents saying, ‘We’re a liberal city. The Village is a very liberal area.’ Well, I’ve lost my liberal-ness on this. It baffles me,” he told The Post.
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