Upper East Side Crime Falls 3 Percent In 2023: NYPD

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — Crime numbers on the Upper East Side are on a downturn — but not by a huge amount.

Reported crime fell 3.34 percent in 2023 compared to 2022, according to newly released NYPD year-end crime statistics.

Just under 80 fewer major felonies were reported in 2023 when compared to 2022.

While that decline outpaces the city-wide statistics and the nearby 17th Precinct, it doesn't match those seen in other close Manhattan neighborhoods, like in Midtown — where crime fell by eight and 11 percent in its two precincts — and the Upper West Side, where numbers fell by nearly seven percent in 2023.

The numbers for the 19th Precinct, which patrols the Upper East Side, shows that the reported overall major felony crimes are nearly the same as 2007 levels, with 2,5502273 incidents in 2023 and 2,582 in 2007.

Some of the specific numbers are nearly identical in both of those years, like for robbery, car theft and grand larceny, but a closer look shows some deviation.

Burglary is down 33 percent compared to 16 years ago. And felony assault, on a steady rise since its low in 2009, is up nearly 66 percent compared to 2007.

Despite a handful of months showing double-digit drops in reported crime in the neighborhood, crime remains 12 percent higher than 2019 — a year when crime numbers were already at a 10-year peak.

In December, major crime numbers were actually higher than 2022 by almost 6 percent, with the biggest increases seen in grand larceny (32.2 percent), 12 more reports of robbery (133.3 percent increase) and one more rape than last year, for a total of two.

Still, the year-end numbers shows that overall reported crime statistics declined in 2023.

Crimes that fell included petit larceny — with nearly 1,000 fewer incidents — (23.6 percent), auto theft (20.5 percent), burglary (12.5 percent), robbery (5.6 percent), transit crimes (2.1 percent) and grand larceny (.6 percent).

Increases in 2023 were seen in some troubling areas.

Last year saw one additional murder, two additional rapes, a 10 percent rise in hate crimes and seven more felony assaults than 2022 — a four percent rise.

There were also two more shootings in the neighborhood in 2023 — and two more shooting victims, giving each statistic a 100 percent rise.

Still, the overall drop in crime numbers for the 19th Precinct outperformed the citywide year-end average, where total major crimes fell by just .32 percent in 2023.

And while the slightly-falling crime numbers might be an indicator of a waning post-pandemic crime wave, the numbers are still high when compared to the past decade on the Upper East Side, with reported felonies at 36.44 percent higher than 2010.

But looking even further back suggests that the city is still far from the "bad old days" of the Giuliani administration.

Compared with 1993, crime in the 19th Precinct is over 78 percent lower, according to the NYPD data.

And even 2022's record high crime numbers were still over than 82 percent lower than they were in 1990 on the Upper East Side.