United States | Angst in the city

Safety worries are putting New Yorkers off returning to their desks

Nothing to fear but fear itself?

New York Police Department (NYPD) officers enter a subway at a station in New York, US, on Wednesday, May 25, 2022. New York City's subway system is carrying fewer riders than expected this year as crime has spiked, including a fatal shooting on Sunday and a violent subway attack last month that shook the city. Photographer: Stephanie Keith/Bloomberg via Getty Images
|New York

Before the pandemic, Alexa, who works in finance, did not think twice about taking the subway. She hopped on day or night, never worrying about safety. That has changed. “I avoid taking it if at all possible,” she now says. Safety concerns are one reason people are hesitating to go back to their Manhattan desks.

This article appeared in the United States section of the print edition under the headline “Nothing to fear but fear itself?”

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