The latest Regional Plan Association/Global Strategy Group poll finds tri-state residents are less optimistic about the region’s future than six months ago, yet hopeful regarding the economy and building back better.
Key Findings
- Optimism has improved among households making less than $100,000 per year and declined among high-income residents.
44% of respondents making less than $100,000 per year are satisfied with the direction the region is heading in, a four-point increase since October, while just 44% of higher-income earners are satisfied with the region’s direction, a six-point drop since October. - Residents continue to identify crime, high cost of living, and housing affordability as the biggest threats to the region.
Crime (48%), the high cost of living (46%) and the ability to find affordable housing (28%) top the list of the biggest threats to the region, though residents also strongly support certain policies to address these challenges. - Residents prioritize affordable housing, higher wages, and addressing racial discrimination as the keys to addressing inequality.
In order to address inequality, residents prioritize affordable housing (42%), higher wages (33%), and addressing racial discrimination (24%). - Residents strongly support several different measures to create more homes in the region.
67% of respondents support legalizing basement and garage apartments to provide more housing options in the region, including 70% of respondents from Long Island, 10-point and 19-point increases since October 2021, respectively. - Residents are slowly but steadily returning to transit, though concerns about safety on transit are growing.
35% of respondents are riding transit frequently, a nine-point increase since October 2021. At the same time, nearly a third of non-daily riders (32%) cite concerns about crime as the reason for not riding more, another sharp uptick since October 2021. - Residents remain concerned about the impacts of climate change in their community and support policies to address them.
More than three in four residents (76%) supports requiring buildings to lower their greenhouse gas emissions, including 79% of New York City residents.
60% of regional residents agree climate change is either a crisis or very serious problem, while 66% are concerned about flooding. Accordingly, environmental goals largely have strong support in the region including Local Law 97 (76%) and a 2050 carbon neutrality goal (75% in NY, 68% in NJ). Residents generally approve of their political leaders, with Governors Kathy Hochul and Phil Murphy both at 66% approval in the region and Mayor Eric Adams slightly behind at 59% approval.
Residents are increasingly pessimistic about finances, likely due to inflation pressure. A majority (56%) of residents are uneasy about their personal financial situation over the next few months, a sharp uptick from October 2021 when 47% felt uneasy. Relatedly, 87% report inflation having at least some impact on their spending habits.
The online poll, conducted by Global Strategy Group (GSG), surveyed 800 adults in the New York metropolitan area from April 18 – 24, 2022. The New York metropolitan area includes New York City, Long Island, the Mid and Lower Hudson Valley, northern New Jersey, and Southern Connecticut. The margin of error at the 95% confidence level is +/-3.5%. This is the third survey in a series conducted by GSG and Regional Plan Association (RPA). As RPA continues to celebrate its 100th anniversary, the poll follows a long tradition of surveying the region.
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