Did Crime Rise In Midtown And Hell's Kitchen In 2021? Yes And No

MIDTOWN MANHATTAN, NY — The past two years have been difficult ones in Midtown and Hell's Kitchen.

Reports of rat sightings and abandoned cars spiked as the pandemic emptied out the neighborhood, and homeless New Yorkers were forced out onto the streets until nighttime subway service resumed in May. An Asian woman was brutally beaten in Hell's Kitchen, and another man was attacked days later, setting the neighborhood on edge.

Multiple high-profile shootings rocked Times Square, and nearby residents complained of public drug use and filthy streets — prompting the Manhattan Borough President to beg state officials to resolve Midtown's public health crisis.

But did crime actually rise? As 2021 ends, Patch examined the crime statistics for all four NYPD precincts covering Midtown and Hell's Kitchen to see how this year compared to 2020 — and to previous years.

An 11 percent increase

One basic takeaway: crime did rise by about 11 percent from 2020 to 2021 across the four precincts, from 7,330 overall reports through this time last year to 8,160 so far this year.

That finding comes with an obvious caveat: much of Midtown was nearly empty for months last year, while many residents and workers came rushing back in 2021, likely contributing to the increase.

Breaking the data down by precinct shows a stark contrast between different parts of the neighborhood. The steepest crime increase was seen in the Midtown South Precinct, which runs from 29th to 45th streets between Ninth and Lexington avenues, and which saw a striking 43 percent rise from 2020 to 2021.

The second-highest jump, 12 percent, was in the Midtown North Precinct, running from 43rd to 59th streets between the Hudson River and Lexington Avenue.

On the other hand, crime barely budged in the 10th and 17th precincts — covering parts of Hell's Kitchen, Chelsea and the Flatiron/Gramercy areas, respectively — and dropped by nearly 13 percent in the 17th Precinct, which covers Murray Hill and Turtle Bay.

Notably, all precincts' crime levels are well below where they stood decades ago, when citywide crime was at all-time highs, according to the NYPD data. Most are also below their pre-pandemic 2019 levels, except for Midtown South.

Robberies rise, murders drop

Robberies and felony assaults saw the biggest increases of any individual crime categories in Midtown between 2020 and 2021, according to NYPD data.

Reports of robberies rose by about 47 percent across the five precincts, including a 149 percent jump in Midtown South. Felony assault rose by about 44 percent, led by a 99 percent increase in the Midtown South precinct.

But not all categories saw such jumps. Murders dropped from 13 in 2020 to 10 this year — and remain far below historical years like 1990, when Midtown North alone had 16 murders.

Previous coverage:

• Plan To 'Flood' Times Square With Cops Scrutinized After Shooting
• Before Sending Cops To Midtown, Talk To Neighbors, BP Tells NYPD
• All-Day Times Square Crack Cocaine Market Busted, Feds Say
• City Begins Booting Residents From Hell's Kitchen Hotel Shelters