New York, Dec 27 (IANS): The New York City has seen an "unbelievable" 13.7 per cent drop in the number of murders with only 284 registered till Sunday in 2017, comapred to 329 in 2016, police said.

The figure is a far cry from the early '90s, when the city suffered through more than 2,000 murders a year, the New York Police Department (NYPD) said.

"The number of murders in New York City this year is still on track to land below 300 - and the Big Apple has also seen drops in felony assaults, burglaries, robberies and car thefts," The New York Post quoted the NYPD as saying.

"This year's numbers were a source of pride - and relief - for NYPD brass," a police ­officer told The Post. "It's one thing to talk about these numbers, but these numbers mean a lot, especially for people like me who grew up here."

"I lived here in the '80s and '90s when we were scared to walk through our neighbourhood.

"To have this large a drop, and to have a year like this, it's really ­unbelievable. You really notice the difference, especially when you've lived the other side."

The biggest drop in homicides was seen on Staten Island, where there has been 12 murders through Sunday, which represent a 40 per cent dip from the 20 recorded during the same period in 2016.

Brooklyn North enjoyed a 27.3 per cent dip in murders (56 as against 77).

While The Bronx, the city's worst borough for murder, recorded 29.9 per cent dip (68 as against 97).

Only Manhattan South saw a major murder increase - 20 so far in 2017, as against 11 in 2016. It includes the eight murders on Halloween when a rental-truck mowed-down pedestrians and bikers in a terror attack on a lower West Side bike path near the World Trade Centre.