With half of 2019 on the books, New York is on track to its lowest homicide tally since the 1950s — even as shootings across the city spiked by 7%.
The city recorded 135 homicides as of June 30, compared to 156 over the first half of 2018, police statistics show. If the trend continues, the city could see 272 homicides by year’s end.
The number of murders in the city bottomed out at 243 in 1950. The previous low since then was in 2017, when the city counted 292 killings.
Citywide, the NYPD responded to 361 shootings so far this year, with 414 victims. That’s up from 337 shootings with 411 victims in the first half of 2018.
“The NYPD will continue to focus on gun violence and the criminals who cause it in our unceasing efforts to ensure New York City remains the safest big city in America,” said NYPD spokesman Phillip Walzak.
This year’s drop in killings appear to be driven by significant decreases in the Bronx and the southern part of Brooklyn, even as murders spiked in Manhattan and Staten Island.
The Bronx has seen a 35% drop in slayings year-to-date, from 54 in 2018 to 35 in 2019.
Brooklyn has seen a 17% drop in homicides year to date, from 54 in 2018 to 45 in 2019.
Queens has seen a 10% drop in homicides so far in 2019 — a drop from 29 year-to-date in 2018 to 26 so far this year.
Borough-wide, Manhattan has seen 21 killings so far this year, compared to 15 in the first half of 2018 — a jump of 40%.
A single bloody week on Staten Island last week pushed the number of homicides up from 4 to 8 this year.
