New York City, by the Numbers

The exodus out of New York City has been proceeding. The latest data comes primarily from the post office-- through a tabulation of change of address requests.

The number of New Yorkers who have decamped for better climes over the past eight months is-- 300,000. But, as the story tells us, that is the number of households. Since most households contain more than one individual, the true number is surely much higher.

The New York Post has the story:

More than 300,000 New Yorkers have bailed from the Big Apple in the last eight months, new stats show.

City residents filed 295,103 change of address requests from March 1 through Oct. 31, according to data The Post obtained from the US Postal Service under a Freedom of Information Act request.

Since the data details only when 11 or more forwarding requests were made to a particular county outside NYC, the number of moves is actually higher. And a single address change could represent an entire household, which means far more than 300,000 New Yorkers fled the five boroughs.

A Manhattan Institute study suggested that quality of life issues, involving crime and sanitation and schooling influenced decisions. If you do not believe that your children are safe walking the streets or going to school, you are less likely to want to stay around:

The institute’s survey of six-figure earners in July and August found that 44% of respondents had considered moving outside the city in the prior four months. They cited cost of living as the biggest reason. More than a third, 38%, said they thought the city was heading in the wrong direction and only 38% rated the quality of life as good or excellent.

More than half, 53%, said they were very concerned about sending their kids back to school.

How bad has it gotten?

Major crimes have been on the rise this year with the number of murders in the Big Apple hitting 344 by October, surpassing the count for all of 2019. The number of shootings through Nov. 8 is up 94% over 2019.

“The biggest reason for people leaving the city is uncertainty about when the pandemic will be over and how quickly the New York economy will recover,” said Kathryn Wylde, head of the Partnership for New York City. 

“More than half a million city residents who were employed in the retail, restaurant, services sectors have lost their jobs and cannot afford city rents. The late decision on re-opening public and private schools forced many families to relocate so they could make enrollment deadlines in districts where they were living during the pandemic.”

Of course, much of the blame lies with the people who are running New York City, and even New York State. That would be Comrade de Blasio and Governor Cuomo, the Mutt and Jeff of American politics.

We recall that de Blasio sent a band of homeless drug addicts and sex offenders to live on the Upper West Side.

Unsurprisingly, that neighborhood, in particular, has seen the greatest exodus:

Three ZIP codes on the Upper West Side — where residents have protested two new homeless shelters and complained about rising crime — had a total 9,076 mail forwarding requests, the biggest chunk in the city.

Murray Hill, a popular neighborhood for young people, saw 2,889 requests — suggesting many residents may have gone to back to childhood homes.

As for apartment vacancies, they are continuing to rise, even as landlords now lower rents and offer other inducements.

In another sign that the exodus has not abated, apartment vacancies stood at 16,145 last month up from 15,923 in September and the highest number in 14 years, according to a new report.

If that is not bad enough, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez now wants to take over New York City government, filling the city council with socialists. The last one to leave, remember to turn out the lights.