As part of our Queens Week coverage, NY1's exclusive City Poll continues this week — this time homing in on what Queens thinks. Along with pollsters at Baruch College, we asked residents to muse on what they're happy about, what annoys them, and whether Mayor Bill de Blasio is looking out for them. Josh Robin filed this report.
Queens is home to more than a hundred languages, and even more opinions about life in the city's biggest borough.
"I love Queens! I was born and raised in Queens," one resident says.
"I like Queens because of the mix of the city and the suburbs together," another says.
That relative happiness translates to decent marks for Mayor Bill de Blasio.
We use a special formula, called the SAT.
"Approval of the mayor; satisfaction with city services; and the tracking—is the city going in the right direction or the wrong track," explains Baruch College pollster Mickey Blum.
Mayor de Blasio gets a 57 percent from queens residents.
Seventy-one percent of queens residents are at least somewhat satisfied with city services.
De Blasio's approval rating is 50 percent.
Forty-nine percent see the City overall going in the right direction.
Forty-one percent of Queens residents say New York's on the wrong track. Ten percent aren't sure.
"Because it's off and on. It's up and down," says one resident.
Is the longtime Brooklynite good for Queens?
Fifty percent say yes. Thirty-two percent say no. Eighteen percent aren't sure. One percent refuse to answer.
"New York's very difficult. Very difficult for any mayor. But this man? I think he's going in the right direction," says Queens resident.
"It's not an easy job, and I think he's doing the best that he can," says another.
"Mayor de Blasio, in my personal opinion, is a dunce," says one resident.
As we've found in citywide polls, his strongest support in Queens comes from the black community at 62 percent. Then, 60 percent of Asian New Yorkers support him, followed by 46 percent of Hispanics and 38 percent of whites.
There's an interesting twist. Queens residents identifying as black are split on whether the city is going in the right direction—46 percent say ‘right’ and 40 percent say ‘wrong.’
"That's surprising because they are the most approving of the mayor, and yet not as convinced that the city is going in the right direction as are Asians or Latinos," Blum says.
This week, we will be sharing more results of our exclusive Queens poll. We'll be talking to residents from Rego Park to Richmond Hill to the Rockaways. We'll let you know what they say are the most important issues affecting the borough.