Broadway shows saw a 17% decrease in attendance for the 2022-23 season compared to 2018-19, the last full season before the COVID pandemic. A new survey found that a significant reason for this dip is “safety concerns” from suburban residents who would otherwise travel to Manhattan for a show.
Broadway League reported last month that 12.3 million tickets were sold last season, much fewer than the previous non-pandemic year. New Yorkers make up 35% of show attendees, with city residents accounting for 22%. Visitors from other areas of the country make up 47.5% of the audience, per the report.
The Broadway League declined to comment on the numbers, as The New York Post reported. “We do not speculate generally about the numbers,” company spokesperson Scalla Jakso responded to the request.
The Situation Group conducted a survey of 1,700 Broadway ticket buyers nationwide, the outlet noted, and found that 50% of suburbanites haven’t returned to Broadway due to “concerns about safety.” Also, 41% of suburb dwellers said, “I travel to Manhattan for pleasure less often than I did in 2019.”
Half of the respondents noted that they weren’t attending because there were fewer Broadway shows they wanted to see.
Times Square Alliance president Tom Harris spoke with The Post about the trend, insisting that travelers shouldn’t worry about crime in the area.
“As witnessed by millions worldwide and the hundreds of thousands of revelers who enjoyed a safe and joyous New Year’s Eve this week, Times Square is one of the safest neighborhoods in all of NYC thanks to the hardworking men and women of the NYPD,” Harris told the outlet.
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Robberies, assaults, burglaries, and grand larceny are all up double-digit percentages from two years ago in New York City, although they are down from last year per NYPD data, as The Daily Wire reported. Retail theft has increased dramatically, with shoplifting reports jumping 44% from 2021 to 2022.
The latest report from the NYPD found that murders and shootings were down by double-digit percentages in 2023 compared to the previous year. Chief of Crime Control Strategies Michael Lipetri said the NYPD is working hard to change perceptions of Manhattan as a high crime area.