2021 Public Service Satisfaction Survey

Center for Urban Research, The Graduate Center,

City University of New York

Lead researcher: John Mollenkopf, Distinguished Professor of Political Science and

Sociology and Director, Center for Urban Research, The Graduate Center, CUNY

Commissioned by: Lander for NYC

Published: January 2022

Table of Contents
Introduction ....................................................................................................................................................................... 3
About the Survey ............................................................................................................................................................. 3
Summary of Survey Findings....................................................................................................................................... 5
Key Themes ....................................................................................................................................................................... 5
Insecurity and Its Remedies................................................................................................................................... 5
Highs and Lows of City Services........................................................................................................................... 8
Priorities for the New City Government.............................................................................................................. 8
Survey Findings..............................................................................................................................................................10
Acknowledgments ........................................................................................................................................................15
Appendix A: Methodology..........................................................................................................................................15
Appendix B: Survey Questionnaire .........................................................................................................................16

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Introduction
As New York City faces a leadership transition during a period of profound public health and
economic stresses, city residents appreciate their neighborhoods but are concerned about life
in the city and worry that neighborhood conditions are declining. Nearly two years into a deadly
pandemic that has inflicted emotional and economic harms on all of our families, many are still
struggling, especially Black and Latino New Yorkers in less-affluent neighborhoods. Long-
standing inequalities across racial groups and neighborhoods persist and the experiences,
worries, and problems reported by survey respondents reflect their race, income, educational
attainment, and the types of neighborhoods in which they live. Almost two-thirds of white New
Yorkers live in higher income neighborhoods which they rate quite positively (4.0 on a five-
point scale of 1 poor - 5 excellent). More than seventy percent of Black New Yorkers live in
lower income neighborhoods that they rate much lower (2.9 on the five-point scale) and the
similar share of Latino New Yorkers who live in lower income neighborhoods give their
neighborhood the same low rating (2.9).

New Yorkers are not in an upbeat mood. The ongoing COVID crisis has taken a toll. Yet New
Yorkers also have clear ideas about what problems they want fixed and how to fix them. This
report spells out their views. The high cost of living and lack of affordable housing are top
concerns, followed by worries about public safety and transit. Street homelessness is a safety
concern, but when asked what would make them feel safer, more stable housing and mental
health services ranked above additional policing. Many also think that enforcement of matters
around street lighting, traffic enforcement, and prevention of drug use would make them safer.
New Yorkers see big problems with lack of access to affordable housing, childcare, and youth
programs, and also rank such issues as traffic congestion, street noise, trash on sidewalks,
pedestrian safety, and the management of public space as being problematic. Overall, they give
a sub-par ranking to city government performance and the quality of the public services they
use (only voting, using 911, public health services, and CUNY rank substantially above a neutral
evaluation). The following pages discuss these themes in greater detail.

About the Survey

This Public Service Satisfaction Survey was inspired by previous efforts to understand New
Yorkers’ experiences of quality of life and city services and is intended to inform the next New
York City administration about the top issues of concern for New Yorkers at this time of
transition. It was modeled on the 2017 NYC Resident Feedback Survey conducted by the
Citizens Budget Commission (CBC) as presented in its Report of Results (May 2017,
https://cbcny.org/research/nyc-resident-feedback-survey-report-results). The CBC study in turn
drew on the NYC Feedback Citywide Customer Survey of 2008, led by Mayor Michael
Bloomberg’s Office in partnership with Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum. Both earlier surveys
sought to gauge public perceptions of the overall quality of life in the city and the quality of
local government. This current 2021 survey includes many of the same questions, but time and
resource constraints necessitated an exclusively online, opt-in methodology rather than
distribution by mail, so the respondent sample is not strictly comparable to the earlier ones.

The survey was conducted between October 19 and November 2, 2021, and invited a large

3
sample of registered voters in New York City via email and text to participate. At least partial
responses were received from 1,695 people, of whom 1,288 provided sufficiently complete
responses for analysis. The sample was weighted by race, sex, and college education levels to
match the public use microdata sample of adult New Yorkers who speak English or another
language at home but speak English well in the 2019 American Community Survey. This is a
smaller number of respondents than participated in the 2017 CBC study, which received 9,873
completed surveys, so the levels of statistical significance at the 95% level are somewhat higher
in this survey at +/- 3.8 percent.

By their nature, online opt-in surveys are likely to over-represent persons with higher levels of
education, greater civic participation, skill with online activities, and English proficiency.
Weighting partly overcomes these sample biases, but this survey should be considered a pilot
project for a larger and more sustained data collection effort that would include wider
participation, especially from immigrant households with less English proficiency. Nevertheless,
the sample is sufficiently large and representative to give a clear and well-grounded picture of
how New Yorkers are feeling about life in New York City and their neighborhoods today, as well
as their priorities for municipal attention in 2022.

Following initial questions about how people evaluate the quality of life in the city and their
neighborhood, the survey asked four batteries of questions. The first asked people how safe
they feel going about life in the city and in their neighborhoods and then to tell us whether they
thought a range of possible policy responses would make them feel safer. We then asked
respondents what conditions worry them about living in New York City, culminating with a
question about what worried them the most. The survey then turned to assessing a wide range
of neighborhood conditions and services and asked for summary judgments on how well city
government is doing at certain functions and their assessment of their experiences using many
different public services. Finally, the survey provided informants with the opportunity to
describe (in their own words) their first, second, and third priorities for the incoming
government of New York City. These responses were coded into thematic categories. The
survey concluded with questions about household vulnerability to unexpected expenses,
housing situation, household income and composition, and demographic characteristics. Most
responses were also identified by their zip code of residence, allowing us to attach
neighborhood measures of racial composition, income, and immigrant share drawn from the
American Community Survey to their individual responses.

The survey was designed and carried out by the Center for Urban Research within The Graduate
Center, The City University of New York (CUNY). The project was led by Dr. John Mollenkopf,
Distinguished Professor of Political Science and Sociology and Director of the Center for Urban
Research, who has over 30 years of experience surveying New York City residents. He was
assisted by Jaclyn Kelly, Director of the Center’s Labor Market Information Service (LMIS).

The Center was commissioned to conduct this study prior to the general election by Lander for
NYC. Lander for NYC’s intention in commissioning this survey was to demonstrate to the NYC
electorate a strong commitment to bringing a participatory approach to the role of “Chief
Accountability Officer,” grounded in the opinions and experiences of New Yorkers, and their
shared goals for their communities, their city, and their local government.

4
Summary of Survey Findings
Overall, New Yorkers give a slightly negative rating to the current quality of life in the city (2.83
on a scale from 1 poor to 5 excellent, with the midpoint being 3, see Table 1.) Some 40.8
percent rate it poor to fair, compared to only 32.6 percent who rate it good to excellent. This
aligns with findings from the 2017 CBC study, in which respondents also reported a slightly
negative outlook on the city. Also in keeping with CBC’s findings, our respondents rate their
neighborhoods significantly more positively than they rate the city overall, giving their
neighborhoods an average rating of 3.38 (a score that falls between neutral and good). But the
majority (56.6 percent) think their neighborhood conditions are getting worse, with many (37.4
percent) being unsure or thinking things were about the same and only a few (6 percent) saying
things were getting better.

Neighborhood Quality of Life Rated Higher than

NYC Across Demographics
5.00
Av g. Rating (1 = Poor and 5 = Excellent)

4.00

3.00

2.00

1.00
Average White Black Latino Asian

New York City Neighborhood

As was true in 2017, only slightly more than half (51.5 percent) of respondents say they intend
to stay in New York City over the next five years. More than a quarter (27.3 percent) were
unsure of their plans, while one-fifth (21.2 percent) said they planned to move away. Some 7.7
percent said they had already made a temporary move away during the COVID crisis. This
commitment to remain in the city was modestly lower than the level found in the 2017 CBC
survey (58.2 percent), but the decline was perhaps not as much as might be expected given the
perception of the pandemic’s impact on urban life.

Key Themes

Insecurity and Its Remedies

More New Yorkers worry about the city’s high cost of living, lack of affordable housing, crime
and public safety, and problems with public transit than any other issue (Table 5). The high cost
of living (75 percent) and the high cost of housing relative to income (68 percent) topped the

5
list of concerns, with crime and public safety (65 percent) and the subway (61 percent)
following close behind. Fewer but still substantial numbers of respondents named other
concerns, with half reporting declining quality of life in the neighborhood and high taxes, while
about a third feared contracting COVID (37 percent) and losing their jobs (30 percent). Asked
what worries them most, a third of respondents indicated the high cost of living or housing and
one-fifth mentioned crime and public safety, with other potential concerns all being singled out
less frequently. These concerns were roughly similar across racial groups, although relatively
more white respondents were concerned with public transit and less concerned with the cost of
housing and fear of crime, while high costs relative to income had higher salience for Blacks
and Latinos. Worries about crime were most prevalent among Black respondents and came up
least among whites.

When asked about feelings of safety in specific locations, parks or playgrounds, riding the
subway during the day, or even walking in their neighborhood at night, all environments
received relatively positive ratings. People also felt their homes were relatively secure. Riding
bikes felt unsafe and riding the subway at night felt even less safe. Blacks and Latinos reported
feeling notably less safe about riding the subway at night than Asian or white respondents.
Whites generally felt a bit safer – or less unsafe – than other groups except for bike riding,
where everyone felt unsafe, Latinos and Asians most of all.

New Yorkers Feel least Safe Riding the Subway at Night and
Riding a Bike
Safety Rating
(1 = v ery unsafe 3 = neit her safe nor unsafe 5 = v ery safe)
1.00 2.00 3.00 4.00 5.00

Being in a park or playground during the day

Home or property while away

Riding the subway during the day

Walking alone on a neighborhood street at night

Riding a bike on the street

Riding the subway at night

Average White Black Latino Asian

When asked what they felt would make them feel safer, New Yorkers do not favor heavier police
presence as their top remedy. Indeed, the most frequent answers across racial groups were, in
order: more affordable housing, more mental health services, less homeless on the street, less
access to handguns, and more jobs for youth (Table 4). "More police" did not make the top five,
though that was a recommendation of more Latino respondents compared to other groups.
Black respondents were also relatively more likely to prioritize decreasing access to handguns

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and providing more jobs for youth. Black respondents were especially concerned about
affordable housing, mental health services, and street homelessness, while whites were more
likely to mention traffic enforcement and bike infrastructure.

Housing Stability and Affordability Topped the List of What

Would Make New Yorkers Feel Safer
Share Mentioning
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%

More stable and affordable housing

More mental health support and outreach

Less unhoused people living on street

More job opportunities for young people

Less access to handguns

More police presence

More constructive activities for young people

Neighbors being more willing to work together

More street lighting

More traffic enforcement

Less access to drugs

More drug enforcement

More affordable child care

More protected bike infrastructure

More gun violence prevention programs

More places for children to play out of the street

More ability to trust your neighbors

More methadone clinics/harm reduction programs

Something else would make me feel safer

Less police presence

Average White Black Latino Asian

When given the opportunity to provide specific suggestions, many respondents argued for
measures to improve the cleanliness and orderliness of public spaces. Remarks included “we
need an increased quality of life in Inwood. It’s like the lawless Wild West,” “more trash cans on
the sidewalks so people don’t trip over trash everywhere,” “fireworks, loud sports cars drifting
noise, reckless driving,” “cleanliness is needed, there is always a lot of garbage,” “the city
actually enforcing quality of life issues,” “bikes, e-bikes, and scooters that follow traffic rules!”
and “More enforcement of laws regulating the use of wheeled, especially motorized wheeled
vehicles on the sidewalks. It is currently out of control to the point of being unsafe.” Several

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commented that police were not enforcing any of these issues but were often just standing
around without their masks on. New Yorkers are concerned about homelessness and mentally-
ill people on the streets as a safety issue and want to see people given mental health treatment
and housed.

We also explored in detail what bothered people about conditions in their neighborhood. Not
surprisingly, lack of affordable housing was the top concern across all groups, particularly for
Black and Latino respondents. Affordable childcare came in next, again with more Black and
Latino households expressing this need; they were also most likely to stress the need for
enrichment programming for young people. White respondents were more concerned about
pedestrian and bike safety than other groups.

Equally interesting are the issues that did not rise to top problems. Across all respondent
groups, the least acute rankings – meaning that the issues are not perceived as significantly
problematic– went to COVID vaccination and testing (though the survey was conducted before
the long testing lines of the omicron surge), fire protection, outdoor dining, and EMS. Several
other conditions were just a bit more problematic, including garbage pickup, recycling, snow
removal, and street trees.

Highs and Lows of City Services

After exploring what respondents felt to be problematic about conditions and services in their
neighborhoods, we then asked them to grade specific city agencies with which they or their
family members had interacted. Only six services rated above middling, while 13 fell below
(Table 8). Highest ranking were voting in elections, using 9-1-1, public health services, and
CUNY. The lowest five rankings went to consumer protection, employment training, the finance
department, mental health services, and, lowest of all, public housing. This ranking of services
roughly parallels that of the 2017 CBC survey, with the quality of public housing having
markedly low ratings in both instances. (We did not ask specifically about services to the
homeless, but it is apparent from responses to other questions that this would also have ranked
very low on our survey.) It is also noteworthy that questions concerning COVID testing and
vaccination got relatively strong ratings and these services were considered least problematic at
the neighborhood level, a testament to the city’s response the crisis. It is also remarkable that
the rating of the public school system was only slightly less than middling, considering the
stresses and strains of shifting to virtual education and then reopening the system this fall.
Nevertheless, white and Black households with school age children rated K-12 public education
more highly than similar Latino and Asian households, but also more highly than white and
Black households without children.

Priorities for the New City Government

The survey culminated with open-ended questions asking what respondents felt should be the
first, second, and third priorities for New York City government in 2022. At the top of the list
(Table 10) were issues concerning safety, although they had a slightly higher salience for whites
and Latinos than Blacks and Asians, for whom housing issues were foremost. Typical responses
were short and to the point: “crime,” “crime and guns,” “gun violence,” and “public safety,” with
some calling specifically for “more police on our streets, in our subways, and in our schools.” At

8
the same time, there were calls for reform of the police and criminal justice system and
additional measures to address racism and poverty.

Pleas for more affordable housing and lower rents were equally direct, with one person saying
“The city is short hundreds of thousands of housing units. We need to do absolutely everything
we can think of to add housing units to the city.” Some longtime residents who did not quite
qualify for affordable housing or missed out on lotteries felt that some subsidized housing
should be set aside for city workers. The third most frequently mentioned cluster of priorities
had to do with public spaces, both in terms of increased traffic congestion, drivers and bike
riders (especially e-bike riders) not following the rules, and hazards to walking down the
sidewalk, as well as trash in the neighborhood and generally messy sidewalks and commercial
districts. Many respondents wanted better and safer bike infrastructure, but many also wanted
bicycle riders and drivers to observe the rules of the road and felt unsafe as pedestrians.
Concern with bicycle and pedestrian safety was particularly strong among white respondents
and above average for Asians and somewhat less salient for Black and especially Latino
respondents.

Reducing street homelessness was the next most frequent top priority. Many respondents felt
the presence of homeless people or mentally ill people was a safety issue: “homeless people
allowed to usurp sidewalks,” “homeless mentally ill on the streets,” and “unhoused people on
the street – so many more than ever before.” Many mentioned the needs for mental health
outreach and providing supportive housing. Among less frequent first priorities, some
respondents, mainly white, complained about excessive taxation, unfair COVID mandates (the
survey was taking place when the municipal worker mandates were coming into force), and
government incompetence.

Second and third priorities echoed first priorities, with traffic and pedestrian safety moving up
from third to second in salience for the second priority and twice as many people listing trash
and sanitation as a second priority than as a first priority. Jobs, wages, and the cost of living
were also mentioned more frequently as a second priority than as a first priority. People who
had mentioned jobs or housing as a first priority often gave the other answer as a second
priority.

Overall, the open-ended responses reveal several dimensions of clustered concerns for crime
and public safety (including diminishing street homelessness), jobs and housing (affordability
of the city), and enforcement measures to improve the orderly nature of the streets, sidewalks,
and neighborhoods (neighborhood quality of life). One can detect in the comments a
deterioration of life in public spaces, a desire to return to a more orderly city, a deep concern
for its affordability, and anxiety about the near future. At the same time, most – but not all –
New Yorkers want to address these issues by encouraging rule-abiding behavior, helping those
in need with social services, building affordable housing, and not by heavy-handed enforcement
measures.

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Survey Findings
Table 1.
Quality of Life Ratings
(Average in scale from 1 = poor to 5 = excellent)

Average White Black Latino Asian

New York City 2.84 3.16 2.55 2.65 2.92
Neighborhood 3.39 3.81 3.01 3.07 3.47

Table 2.
Neighborhood Trajectory Ratings
(Average in scale from 1 = worse, 2 = same, to 3 = better)

Average White Black Latino Asian

Trajectory 1.50 1.54 1.50 1.41 1.53

Table 3.
Public Safety Ratings
(Average in scale from 1 = very unsafe 3 = neither safe nor unsafe 5 = very safe)

Average White Black Latino Asian

Park or playground 3.77 4.26 3.38 3.34 3.76
during the day
Home or property while 3.60 3.87 3.41 3.37 3.52
away
Riding the subway during 3.30 3.61 2.95 3.15 3.29
the day
Walking alone on a 3.13 3.47 2.93 2.82 2.95
neighborhood street at
night
Riding a bike on the 2.61 2.61 2.76 2.56 2.43
street
Riding the subway at 2.46 2.81 2.18 2.14 2.41
night

Table 4.
What Would Make You Feel Safer in Your Neighborhood?
(Share mentioning)

Average White Black Latino Asian

More stable and 64% 57% 76% 63% 63%
affordable housing
More mental health 64% 62% 71% 64% 57%
support and outreach
Less unhoused people 62% 62% 67% 60% 59%
living on street
More job opportunities 58% 47% 76% 56% 55%
for young people
Less access to handguns 55% 54% 61% 52% 56%
More police presence 50% 43% 52% 62% 47%
More constructive 49% 39% 68% 51% 36%
activities for young
people

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 Neighbors being more 45% 36% 51% 55% 45%
willing to work together
More street lighting 42% 29% 52% 53% 47%
More traffic enforcement 45% 53% 38% 45% 34%
Less access to drugs 43% 36% 48% 48% 39%
More drug enforcement 39% 30% 43% 47% 45%
More affordable child 37% 30% 48% 38% 34%
care
More protected bike 33% 40% 26% 30% 37%
infrastructure
More gun violence 30% 30% 34% 28% 29%
prevention programs
More places for children 30% 27% 35% 28% 37%
to play out of the street
More ability to trust your 25% 19% 27% 34% 23%
neighbors
More methadone 22% 20% 21% 26% 22%
clinics/harm reduction
programs
Something else would 22% 20% 23% 22% 18%
make me feel safer
Less police presence 8% 8% 5% 9% 9%

Table 5.

What Worries You About Living in NYC?

(Share mentioning)

Average White Black Latino Asian

The overall high cost of 75% 73% 78% 76% 71%
living
High cost of housing 68% 58% 79% 74% 62%
relative to my income
Crime and public safety 65% 55% 74% 72% 70%
Problems with the subway 60% 62% 57% 61% 62%
and public transit system
Declining neighborhood 49% 39% 59% 55% 44%
quality of life
High taxes 45% 40% 52% 40% 47%
Fear of COVID infection 37% 36% 39% 31% 48%
worries me about living in
NYC
Poor conditions in my 31% 16% 42% 39% 38%
neighborhood
Loss of job or lack of 30% 18% 48% 29% 30%
employment
opportunities
Experience with the 23% 18% 24% 26% 26%
public school system
Anti-business climate 16% 22% 8% 14% 12%
Something else worries 19% 24% 16% 14% 21%
me about living in NYC

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Table 6.
Neighborhood Conditions Ratings
(Average in scale from 1 = not a problem to 5 = big problem)

Average White Black Latino Asian

Access to affordable 3.92 3.82 4.02 3.99 3.81
housing
Access to affordable 3.63 3.46 3.94 3.67 3.21
childcare
Enrichment programming 3.52 2.93 3.99 3.75 2.90
for youth
Traffic congestion 3.47 3.44 3.49 3.55 3.26
Crime control 3.45 3.19 3.64 3.57 3.49
Street noise 3.39 3.30 3.41 3.55 3.23
Rat control 3.39 3.12 3.66 3.57 3.32
Trash on sidewalks and in 3.34 3.23 3.44 3.43 3.29
public spaces
Cleanliness 3.33 3.12 3.50 3.59 3.18
Pedestrian safety 3.32 3.41 3.25 3.37 3.13
Storm water drainage and 3.28 3.19 3.45 3.21 3.25
sewer maintenance
Street and roads 3.26 3.13 3.44 3.28 3.19
condition
Bicycle riding safely 3.25 3.52 3.05 3.23 2.81
Access to nutritious food 3.19 2.72 3.72 3.30 2.83
rating
Subway service 3.16 3.08 3.39 3.01 3.11
Public internet access 3.08 2.70 3.40 3.18 2.96
Public elementary school 3.06 2.71 3.40 3.03 3.19
quality
Bus service 3.00 2.94 3.09 3.02 2.98
Parking enforcement 2.97 2.93 3.14 3.02 2.51
Parks condition 2.96 2.62 3.29 3.15 2.89
Playground conditions 2.90 2.55 3.29 3.01 2.82
Cultural activities 2.90 2.38 3.39 3.22 2.81
availability
Compliance with COVID 2.90 2.69 2.96 3.12 3.19
mask and vaccination
requirements
Street trees condition 2.87 2.81 3.05 2.79 2.77
Health care services 2.86 2.45 3.32 2.91 3.02
availability
Recycling 2.76 2.66 2.79 2.80 3.03
Snow removal 2.75 2.40 3.14 2.87 2.76
Garbage pick-up 2.71 2.49 2.99 2.68 2.83
EMS services 2.66 2.31 3.09 2.53 2.93
Public libraries 2.58 2.27 2.81 2.83 2.54
Outdoor dining options 2.52 2.28 2.97 2.45 2.51
Fire protection services 2.43 2.12 2.68 2.52 2.49
Access to COVID testing 2.32 2.09 2.57 2.23 2.64
Access to COVID 2.12 1.87 2.47 1.99 2.35
vaccinations

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Table 7.

NYC Government Performance Ratings

(Average in scale from 1 = poor, 3 = neutral, 5 = excellent))

Average White Black Latino Asian

City efforts to protect 3.23 3.35 3.15 3.30 3.05
against terrorist attack
City efforts to protect 2.88 2.88 2.82 3.07 2.70
from a pandemic
City efforts to promote 2.68 2.76 2.67 2.50 2.79
economic growth
City preparation for 2.47 2.44 2.57 2.46 2.43
natural disasters
City efforts to protect 2.31 2.29 2.40 2.33 2.10
from climate change
City efforts to spend tax 2.24 2.34 2.23 2.13 2.24
dollars wisely

Table 8.

City Service Experience Ratings

(Average in scale from 1 = poor, 3 = neutral, 5 = excellent))

Average White Black Latino Asian

Overall quality of 2.67 2.82 2.67 2.50 2.56
experience using
public services

Voting in an election 3.89 3.98 3.90 3.82 3.75

Using 9-1-1 by self or 3.41 3.63 3.41 3.29 3.04
family member
Public health clinic 3.36 3.47 3.15 3.56 3.21
services (including
COVID)
City University of New 3.26 3.49 3.28 3.20 2.68
York (CUNY)
Paying a fine or ticket to 3.12 3.17 3.03 3.27 2.99
the city
Using a bus 3.08 3.16 3.04 3.10 2.90
Using the subway 2.99 3.13 2.93 2.99 2.77
Obtaining a license or 2.91 2.63 3.13 2.96 2.92
permit
Education in New York 2.90 3.27 2.89 2.56 2.99
City Public Schools
Public hospital services 2.88 3.05 2.87 2.85 2.59
Safety at NYC Public 2.87 3.35 2.75 2.62 2.82
Schools (pre-K to 12th
grade)
Obtaining public 2.78 2.88 2.82 2.65 2.84
assistance/benefits
(SNAP, etc.)
After-school programs in 2.52 2.96 2.43 2.40 2.33
New York City Public
Schools
Public senior center 2.50 2.57 2.53 2.56 2.11
Consumer protection 2.47 2.88 2.31 2.47 2.23

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 Employment training 2.43 2.60 2.55 2.33 1.95
program
Contacting the city about 2.38 2.54 2.41 2.33 2.20
a tax question
Public mental health 2.21 2.26 2.15 2.25 2.14
services
Public housing 2.18 2.21 2.19 2.20 1.98

Table 9.

Experience with 3-1-1

(Average in scale from 1 = worse, 2 = same, to 3 = better)

Average White Black Latino Asian

Contacted city 44% 42% 49% 40% 41%
government in
person or through
3-1-1 this year

Rating of contact 2.73 2.94 2.58 2.65 2.58

(1 = poor, 3 = neutral, 5 =
excellent)

Table 10.

Priorities for the New Administration

(Respondents were asked to list three, answers were grouped into buckets)

Total White Black Latino Asian

Public safety/crime/guns/drugs 21.6% 21.8% 19.3% 25.8% 18.4%
Housing/Rents/NYCHA 16.8% 12.6% 23.6% 15.3% 20.2%
Traffic/drivers/bikers/streets/sidewalks 10.8% 13.3% 9.4% 6.5% 11.4%
Reducing street homeless 8.2% 7.7% 7.3% 11.7% 7.0%
Trash/sanitation/garbage/rats 4.7% 3.2% 6.6% 6.0% 2.6%
Climate change/air quality/flooding 4.6% 7.7% 0.6% 2.0% 10.5%
Transportation/MTA 4.1% 5.1% 3.0% 2.8% 5.3%
Jobs/wages/small business/cost of living 3.6% 4.3% 4.2% 3.6% 0.0%
Enforcing other rules 3.2% 3.0% 3.3% 3.6% 3.5%
Police and criminal justice reform 3.0% 2.8% 3.0% 3.2% 3.5%
Neighborhood quality of life, noise, parks 3.0% 2.4% 2.7% 4.8% 0.9%
Schools, education 2.8% 3.2% 2.4% 2.8% 2.6%
COVID enforcement/treatment 1.6% 1.5% 2.7% 0.4% 1.8%
Excessive taxation 2.3% 3.0% 2.1% 1.2% 0.9%
Government incompetence/overreach 2.3% 1.7% 1.2% 4.4% 1.8%
Youth programs/childcare 1.8% 0.6% 3.3% 1.2% 3.5%
Unfair COVID mandate 1.5% 1.1% 2.1% 0.4% 0.9%
Racism/poverty/inequality 1.2% 1.7% 1.2% 0.0% 1.8%
Mental health services esp. to unhoused 0.9% 0.9% 0.3% 1.6% 1.8%

14
 Zoning/planning/development/infrastructure 0.9% 1.7% 0.3% 0.8% 0.0%
Health/social services/health insurance 0.7% 0.6% 0.9% 0.8% 0.0%
Elder care 0.3% 0.0% 0.0% 0.4% 1.8%
Immigration 0.2% 0.0% 0.3% 0.4% 0.0%

Acknowledgments
Ms. Jaclyn Kelly was field director for the data collection, using Qualtrics as the online survey
platform. Dr. John Mollenkopf cleaned, coded, and weighted the data and drafted this report.
Chris Walsh, Annie Levers, and Naomi Dann, staff for Lander for NYC, provided valuable
feedback. Lily Zhou organized volunteers to conduct outreach by text message.

This survey received financial support from Lander for NYC.

Appendix A: Methodology
Email invitations to participate were sent to a random sample of 50,000 registered voters in
New York City for whom we had email addresses. They returned 934 fully or partially completed
survey responses. Response rates in the range of 1 to 1.5 percent are common for on-line, opt-
in surveys. (Ours was 1.52 percent.) In addition, text messages were sent to 159,157 mobile
phone numbers from a similar list of registered voters and 761 partial or full responses were
received, for an initial total of 1,695 responses. Of these, 1,288 responses were completed
through the questions about age, gender, race, and other factors necessary for weighting to the
known characteristics of the reference sample. By their nature, these types of surveys over-
represent people who are internet-aware, better educated, and interested in public affairs (the
latter of whom also tend to be better educated relative to the reference population as well as
being more likely to be female). We chose adult residents of New York City who either spoke
English at home or said they spoke English well as the reference population. Since the survey
was conducted only in English (with experimental versions in Spanish and Chinese), we
calibrated to an English-speaking reference group drawn from the 2019 microdata sample from
the American Community Survey. This represents 4.9 million of the 6.5 million voting age
residents of New York City. Owing to time and resource constraints, our sample and reference
population unfortunately exclude non-English speaking immigrant families from the reference
group. Future efforts built on this pilot survey must find effective ways of sampling these
constituencies as well.

Despite the known sampling biases, 12.3 percent of the respondents said they were Latino
(compared to 20.9 for the ACS sample), 20.6 percent identified as non-Hispanic Blacks
(compared to 26.9 percent of the ACS sample), and 62.1 percent identified as female (compared
to 53 percent in the ACS). Finally, 74.3 percent of those who shared their educational
attainment said they had a college degree, compared to 44.6 percent of the ACS sample. A
weighting scheme was developed that matched the survey sample with the ACS sample in terms
of race, sex, and educational attainment.

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Appendix B: Survey Questionnaire
Title of Research Study: Public Service Satisfaction Survey
Principal Investigator: John Mollenkopf, Distinguished Professor of Political Science and Sociology, The Graduate Center,
CUNY

Today we are inviting you to participate in this 10-minute survey so that we can learn about your opinions and ideas for
how city government can best support your New York community. We are asking you to participate because you are a
registered voter in New York City. This survey is designed and carried out by the Center for Urban Research, part of the
City University of New York (CUNY) Graduate Center. The Center was commissioned to conduct this study by Democratic
Nominee for Comptroller Brad Lander.

Before we start, we want you to know that we will keep all of your survey responses completely confidential. They will
be identified only with a code number and will be kept in a password-protected file in a secure data system that only
our researchers can access.

Your participation is entirely voluntary. You can skip any question that you prefer not to answer or end the survey at
any time. While there isn’t any compensation for participating in this study, your answers will help us understand how
New Yorkers would like their communities to be supported by the incoming New York City administration. We anticipate
no risk or discomfort to you by participating in this study except for the highly unlikely chance of a data breach. In that
case, we would notify you.

If you have any questions about this study, please contact CUR@gc.cuny.edu or call us at (212) 817-2030. If you have
questions about your rights as a research participant, you can contact the CUNY Research Compliance Administrator at
(646) 664-8918 or hrpp@cuny.edu.

Thank you again for participating in this study. We really appreciate you sharing your thoughts with us. Let’s get
started!
I understand the above and want to participate in this survey.
I decline to participate.

Skip To: End of Survey If Title of Research Study: Public Service Satisfaction Survey Principal Investigator: John
Mollenko... = I decline to participate.

Next Page

Q3 In what zip code do you live?

________________________________________________________________

Q4 How would you rate the quality of life in New York City overall on a scale from 1 (Poor) - 5 (Excellent)?
1- Poor
2- Not so good
3- Neutral
4- Good
5- Excellent
Don't know.

Q5 How would you rate your neighborhood as a place to live on a scale from 1 (Poor) - 5 (Excellent)?
1- Poor
2- Not so good
3- Neutral
4- Good
5- Excellent
Don't know.

Q6 Do you think conditions in your neighborhood are getting better recently, about the same, or getting worse?
Better
Same
Worse
Don't know.

Q7 Please rate how safe or unsafe you feel in each of the following locations or situations on a scale from 1 (Very
unsafe) - 5 (Very safe):
Level of safety: Don't know

1 2 3 4 5

16
 Walking alone on a street in your neighborhood at night

Being in a park or playground during the day

Riding the subway during the day

Riding the subway at night

Riding a bike on the street

How safe your home or property is when you are away

Q8 What would make you feel safer in your neighborhood? (Select all that apply.)
More street lighting
More police presence
More job opportunities for young people
More community gun violence prevention programs
More traffic enforcement
More protected bike infrastructure
More stable and affordable housing
More mental health support and outreach
More places for children to play out of the street
More ability to trust your neighbors
Neighbors being more willing to work together
More affordable child care
More methadone clinics and harm reduction programs
More enforcement of illegal drug use
Less police presence
Less access to handguns
Less access to drugs
More constructive activities for young people
Less unhoused people living on the street
Other (please specify): ________________________________________________
Q9 What current conditions worry you about living in New York City? (Select all that apply.)
Fear of COVID infection
High cost of housing relative to my income
Poor conditions in my neighborhood
High taxes
Problems with the subway and public transit system
Loss of job or lack of employment opportunities
Declining neighborhood quality of life
An anti-business climate
The cold weather
The overall high cost of living
Crime and public safety
Experience with the public school system
Something else (please specify): ________________________________________________

Q10 Which one of these conditions worries you the most?

Fear of COVID infection
High cost of housing relative to my income
Poor conditions in my neighborhood
High taxes
Problems with the subway and public transit system
Loss of job or lack of employment opportunities
Declining neighborhood quality of life
An anti-business climate

17
The cold weather
The overall high cost of living
Crime and public safety
Experience with the public school system
Something else (please specify): ________________________________________________

Q11 Please rate how much of a problem each of the following conditions is in your neighborhood on a scale from 1 (Not
a problem) - 5 (A big problem):
How much of a problem: Don't know

1 2 3 4 5

Cleanliness

Street noise

Household garbage pick-up

Trash on sidewalks & in public spaces

Recycling services

Snow removal

Rat control

Riding bicycles safely

Pedestrian safety

Condition of streets & roads

Parking enforcement

Traffic congestion

Condition of street trees

Storm water drainage and sewer maintenance

Availability of health care services

Availability of cultural activities (concerts, plays,

museums, etc)

Condition of neighborhood parks

Condition of neighborhood playgrounds

18
 Quality of neighborhood public elementary school

Fire protection services

Emergency medical services

Crime control

Bus services

Subway services

Public libraries

Public internet access

Outdoor dining options

Access to COVID vaccinations

Access to COVID testing

Compliance with COVID mask and vaccination

requirements

Access to affordable housing

Access to nutritious food

Enrichment programming for youth

Access to affordable childcare

Q12 Please rate your overall assessment of each of the following public services in New York City on a scale from 1
(Poor) - 5 (Excellent):
Quality of service: Don't know

1 2 3 4 5

NYC.gov, the city’s official website

3-1-1, telephone number for city government

information

Public education (kindergarten – 12th grade)

Pre-kindergarten programs

19
 Public after-school programs

Air quality

Traffic

Overall ease of travel within the city

Public housing

Services for homeless people

Services protecting children at risk of abuse and neglect

Response to COVID

Housing availability

Q13 Please rate how well you think New York City government does the following things on a scale from 1 (Poor) - 5
(Excellent):
How well NYC government: Don't know

1 2 3 4 5

Promotes the economic growth of New York City

Spends tax dollars wisely

Prepares the city for natural disasters

Protects the city from a terrorist attack

Protects the city from a pandemic

Prepares to protect the city from climate change

Q14 Considering your personal experiences with New York City public services over the last 12 months, how would you
rate their overall quality on a scale from 1 (Poor) - 5 (Excellent)?
1- Poor
2- Not so good
3- Neutral
4- Good
5- Excellent
Don't know.

20
Q15 Now we would like you to rate the quality of any of the following services that you or a member of your household
have used over the last year on a scale from 1 (Poor) - 5 (Excellent).

If you or a family member have not used a service in the past year, please mark it “Don’t know".
Quality of service: Don't know

1 2 3 4 5

9-1-1 call

Voting in an election

Education in New York City Public Schools (pre-K to 12th

grade)

Safety at NYC Public Schools (pre-K to 12th grade)

After-school programs in New York City Public Schools

City University of New York (CUNY)

Consumer protection (e.g., fraud or unfair business

practices)

Employment training program

Public housing

Public hospital services

Public health clinic services (including COVID)

Public mental health services

Public senior center

Paying a fine or ticket to the city

Contacting the city about a tax question

Obtaining a license or permit

Using the subway

Using a bus

Obtaining public assistance/benefits (SNAP, etc..)

21
Q16 Have you made a complaint to 3-1-1 or to a city agency in the last 12 months?
Yes
No

Display This Question:

If Have you made a complaint to 3-1-1 or to a city agency in the last 12 months? = Yes

Q17 Was your complaint resolved?

Yes
No

Q18 Have you had phone or in-person contact with any City of New York government office or agency in the last 12
months?
Yes
No

Display This Question:

If Have you had phone or in-person contact with any City of New York government office or agency in... = Yes

Q19 What types of services did you make contact about? (Check all that apply.)
Housing
Parks
Sanitation
Public safety
Education
Transportation
Health and social services
Business licenses/permits
Cultural and community services
Other (please specify): ________________________________________________

Display This Question:

If Have you had phone or in-person contact with any City of New York government office or agency in... = Yes

Q20 How would you rate the response from the most recent contact on a scale from 1 (Poor) - 5 (Excellent)?
1- Poor
2- Not so good
3- Neutral
4- Good
5- Excellent
Don't know.

Q21 Please list up to three issues that you would like New York City government to give priority in the coming year.
Issue #1: ________________________________________________
Issue #2: ________________________________________________
Issue #3: ________________________________________________

Q22 In what year did you move to New York City to stay?
________________________________________________________________

Q23 Have you spent more than 3 months outside of New York City due to COVID?
Yes
No

Q24 In the next 5 years, do you plan to stay in New York City or do you plan to move somewhere else?
Stay in New York City
Leave NYC but remain in the state of New York
Move out of state
Don't know

Q25 How do you connect to the Internet at home? Please check all that apply.
No internet access at home
Dial-up telephone line

22
High-speed internet (cable or fibre)
Smartphone link to local WiFi
Other (please specify): ________________________________________________

Q26 Are you currently employed?

Yes
No

Display This Question:

If Are you currently employed? = Yes

Q27 Are you employed full time or part time?

Full time
Part time

Display This Question:

If Are you currently employed? = Yes

Q28 Are you an independent contractor?

Yes
No

Q29 How prepared would your household be if you faced an emergency such as a flood, hurricane, heat wave, terrorist
attack, pandemic or blizzard?
Very prepared
Somewhat prepared
Unprepared
Don't know

Q30 How prepared would your household be if you faced an unexpected $10,000 expense?
Very prepared
Somewhat prepared
Unprepared
Don't know

Q31 Please choose the option that best describes the type of home you live in:
A one or two family attached or detached house
An apartment in a building three to five units
An apartment in a building with six or more units
Other (please specify): ________________________________________________

Q32 Does your family rent or own your residence?

Rent
Own
Other (please specify): ________________________________________________

Display This Question:

If Does your family rent or own your residence? != Own

Q33 Are you living in New York City public housing or receiving a rent subsidy, like Section 8, from the government?
Yes, living in New York City public housing
Yes, receiving a rent subsidy, like Section 8
No, not living in public housing or with rent subsidy
Don't know

Q34 About how much was the total 2020 income before taxes for everyone in your household?
Less than $10,000
$10,000 - $29,999
$30,000 - $49,999
$50,000 - $99,999
$100,000 - $199,999
$200,000 or more
Don't know

Q35 Do any of the following live in your household? Please choose all that apply.
Children age 12 and under
Teenagers ages 13 to 19

23
Adult children from 20-40
Adults aged 65 or older (including yourself)

Q36 In what year were you born?

________________________________________________________________

Q37 What is the highest level of education you have completed?

Grade school but no high school diploma
High school or equivalency graduate
Some college, but no college degree
Associate Degree
Bachelor’s Degree
Graduate Degree (MA, JD, PhD)

Q46 How would you describe your gender?

Female
Male
Non-binary / third gender
Other (please specify): ________________________________________________

Q38 Are you Hispanic or Latino/Latina?

Yes
No

Q39 Which best describes your race? (Please check all that apply.)
American Indian
Asian or Pacific Islander
Black or African American
White
Other (please specify): ________________________________________________

Q40 Were you born in the United States?

Yes
No

Display This Question:

If Were you born in the United States? = No

Q41 In what country were you born?

________________________________________________________________

Q42 Were your father and mother both born in the United States?
Yes
No
Don't know

Display This Question:

If Were your father and mother both born in the United States? = No

Q43 In what country/ countries were your father and mother born?
________________________________________________________________

Q44 What is your preferred first language?

English
Spanish
Mandarin
Cantonese
Hindi
Urdu
Russian
Yiddish
Hebrew
Arabic
Greek
Polish
Italian
French

24
Creole
Tagalog
Japanese
Korean
Other (please specify): ________________________________________________

Q45 How would you rate the way New York City provides services in your language on a scale from 1 (Poor) - 5
(Excellent)?
1- Poor
2- Not so good
3- Neutral
4- Good
5- Excellent
Don't know.

Q48
Thank you for sharing your thoughts and opinions with us!
To submit this survey please click the right arrow below.

-End Survey-

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