The richest district of New York has turned into a criminal chaos: residents are afraid to go out

Open fires are burning in the street, dangerous vagabonds are wandering. Fear shrouds everything around after dark. Such is life these days in Soho, one of the most luxurious neighborhoods in Manhattan, where housing costs run into the millions. Late on the evening of January 26, video of an open fire burning on Canal Street emerged. People who live and work in the neighborhood The Postthat crime and chaos are so out of control that they no longer feel safe.

“I used to be more comfortable letting my kids, especially my two older ones, get to school on their own, but now I don’t,” said Maud Maron, a mother of four who has lived in Soho for over a decade. It doesn't matter if the most expensive area of ​​New York is or the cheapest. Every resident of the metropolis has the right to count on safety and the ability to walk down the street without open fire.”

Maron, a 32-year-old New Yorker, said she used to let her children walk down Canal Street and get to school by Metro, but now she prefers to take them by car.

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“The reality is that our city is not as safe as it used to be,” Maron, 50, said.

“It is shameless because we do not help people who are clearly suffering. I do not wish harm to people who are obviously mentally ill and poorly dressed in winter. But at the same time, I don’t want this person to be next to my child.”

What New Yorkers Say

The Post spoke to half a dozen Big Apple residents who live and work in Soho. They all said that the area had seen noticeable changes compared to a few years ago.

The 1st District, which covers Soho, saw crime up 52,6% in the last 28 days compared to last year and up 48,4% year-to-date, according to the NYPD. The numbers reflect citywide crime trends, which show an overall increase of about 40% this year compared to 2021.

John Constantine, who runs a luxury boutique on Prince Street, moved out of the area a year ago and says he has never looked back since.

“This area is terrible,” Konstantin, 34, said.

“I saw a homeless man with a machete fighting another man with rebar. You can kill someone with this. It was two months ago.

Recently in his shop a mentally ill shirtless man came in and started dancing. Konstantin had to "evacuate" his customers.

“He started spitting on the cops, swung at a policewoman. As he was being led downstairs, the detainee urinated on one of the policemen to keep them from approaching him,” recalls Konstantin.

“Due to crime and cold weather, our sales have plummeted. We used to earn up to $10 a day, now it's $000. This is the worst thing I've ever seen. This is exacerbated by the way the area is being destroyed.”

Ana Fabiolo, working in fresh bar on Prince Street, said she used to work the night shift but switched to the day shift when it got "too scary."

“About three months ago my boss went for pizza. Some guy was chasing him with a blowtorch. He screamed and threatened with a lamp,” said the 23-year-old girl. When I'm here alone, I get scared. You never know who's coming in... It's funny that this area is so shitty, even though the rent is so high and there are so many expensive stores around."

Residents ask for help from Eric Adams

Ashley Manor, a 39-year-old librarian who moved to Soho from Tennessee five years ago, says she worries more these days than at any time since moving to the Big Apple.

“There has been a shift, no one can deny it,” Manor stated. “I definitely want to see productive action and change from the new mayor. We can't act like nothing happened."

Maron, a Manhattan mom, echoed those comments and reached out to the mayor Eric Adams with the message after voting for him: "I hope he keeps all the promises he made."

City Hall did not respond to a request for comment.