This week, ahead of the presidential primaries, we asked readers what their most pressing concerns would be when casting their ballot.

 

“He [former U.S. President Donald Trump] is the only man that can bring back America; he can bring it back. America is not the same; he can bring it back. He must be the next president for the United States, this is my opinion. My vote will go to Donald Trump. I want him to become president again.”

Salim Rafeek,

Williamsbridge

“My key issue is that Donald Trump will take the money from the top and bring it to the bottom. He’s taking money and taxing the elite so the money will trickle down to the poor. This way, everybody has a chance to get some money and it goes back up. He’s not taking from the poor and giving it to the rich. He’s not hurting the middle class; the middle class will start to rise. It’s always about the economy, you know money moves this world.”

Richard Kelly,

Norwood

“Illegal immigration and crime – I would say crime. I don’t want the immigrants to be angry with me, if they read something like that. I’ve lived around here for 40 years. The most important thing happening now in this country, especially in New York City? There’s a lot of crime; it’s very high. Do you watch the news? Every day, something happens downtown, anywhere, killing every day. It was not like this 20 years ago; I don’t think so.”

John Lopez,

Bedford Park

“The most important issue is that the city isn’t as safe and isn’t as beautiful as it used to be – the quality of life, yes, absolutely. The federal government doesn’t have as much to do with local crime as the mayor and governor do but I think it does have something to do with it. Crime is worse now than in the 1980s. I’ve been living here for over 50 years and crime is much worse.”

Andrew Gold,

Norwood

 

“I wish Donald Trump would go to jail. The most important issue is to get the crime and guns out of the city. It’s the Republicans who are bringing the guns in. I’m a Democrat and they must make things better than this. Regarding bail reform, they should not let violent criminals free, no! The judges need to do a better job.”

Boog A. Lou,

Fordham Manor

 

Editor’s Note: According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, under the former Trump administration, the 2017 Trump tax law was “skewed to the rich, expensive, and failed to deliver on its promises.” Households with incomes in the top 1 percent will receive an average tax cut of more than $60,000 in 2025, compared to an average tax cut of less than $500 for households in the bottom 60 percent, according to the Tax Policy Center.

According to reporting by The Hill, Democrats opposed the 2017 law when Trump was in power but have supported extending certain cuts, such as the decreased tax rates for people making less than $400,000 a year. 

In terms of citywide crime, though the overall trends may vary over the intervening decades, according to NYPD data, if we compare citywide crime stats from the year 2023 with those of 2000, murder and non-negligent manslaughter is down (391 in 2023 compared to 673 in 2000), rape is also down (1,455 in 2023 compared to 2,068 in 2000), robbery is also down (16,910 in 2023 compared to 32,562 in 2000), felony assault is up (27,876 in 2023 compared to 25,924 in 2000), burglary is down (13,773 in 2023, compared to 38,352  in 2000), grand larceny (theft of something of high monetary value) is up (50,586 in 2023, compared to 49,631 in 2000), and grand larceny auto (vehicle theft) is down (15,795 in 2023 compared to 35,442 in 2000).