Survey finds steep decline in Bronxites’ reported qualilty of life

D_Train_7, MTA, subway
Photo Adrian Childress

As a Bronx resident, how would you rate your quality of life? If you answered in the negative, you’re not alone. 

The 2023 Resident Survey by the nonprofit think tank Citizens Budget Commission generally found that most living in New York City rated their quality of life and city services lower than in 2017. But just 20.8% of Bronxites gave positive ratings to their quality of life — down from nearly 41% in 2017. 

While only two districts in the city — Manhattan CD 2 and Brooklyn CD 6 — had positive ratings of over 50%, the Bronx saw the city’s lowest ratings and the entire borough dropped from middling in 2017 to negative in 2023. 

Within the Bronx, results varied significantly by neighborhood. CD 7 (Fordham, Bedford Park, Kingsbridge Heights) had the lowest satisfaction rating at 14% and CD 12 (Edenwald, Williamsbridge, Woodlawn) had the highest at 33.7%.

The survey also found a stark citywide disparity when it comes to the safety of parks and playgrounds during the day.

Just 56% of Bronxites rated daytime park safety as good or excellent — compared to 79% in Manhattan, 75% in Brooklyn, 72% in Queens and 68% in Staten Island. 

In 2017, 73% of Bronxites gave positive ratings for daytime park safety, marking a steep decline over the past five years. 

But the whole city was in agreement about one thing: zero districts gave positive ratings for nighttime subway safety, marking another decline from 2017 when the findings were more mixed. 

Despite these sometimes-dismal findings, the Bronx Times spoke to some who represented their home borough with pride.

Gilly Delgado, who works with the anti-violence organization Guns Down, Life Up, immediately said that the Bronx is “the best place to live” — while also saying that some areas are “closer to a third-world country.” 

When asked if he thought quality of life was good in the Bronx, he said, “Of course not,” adding that the borough in general is “not healthy.” 

Delgado, who has lived in the Bronx since 1976, said the Bronx has been drained of its resources — which he believes is because other places want to emulate or even “plagiarize” the borough. 

But despite the challenges of daily living, Delgado still believes in the power of the Bronx. 

“It’s the capital of the world,” he said. 

Shanita Hill, a 34-year-old who works with the nonprofit Bronx Connect, agreed.

“I’m in love with the Bronx,” she said. “But like any love, there are challenges.” 

Hill said she has lived in the borough her entire life, now in the Morrisania neighborhood. The borough lacks resources, she said, and many Bronxites have struggles and “don’t know how to get out of it.” 

But she sees it as a privilege and responsibility to remind people that “there is love and light in the Bronx — I promote that.”

Through her work with people of all ages, Hill said she sees promise in the amount of programming for peace and safety and the number of people “diligently working” for a better borough. 

“Every day is not a good day, but there is beauty,” said Hill.


Reach Emily Swanson at eswanson@schnepsmedia.com or (646) 717-0015. For more coverage, follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram @bronxtimes