New York, Feb 11 (IANS): As much as 74 per cent of voters in New York City say crime is a very serious problem in the city, reaching the highest level since the topic was included in the Quinnipiac University poll in 1999.

"Until now, the highest number of voters thinking crime was a very serious problem was 50 per cent back in January 2016," said a release on a Quinnipiac University poll of registered voters in New York City on Wednesday, Xinhua news agency reported.

Crime ranks as the most urgent issue facing New York City, according to the survey. As much as 46 per cent of respondents say crime is the most urgent issue facing the mega city making it the top issue while affordable housing and homelessness issues have 14 per cent and 9 per cent in favour, respectively.

Meanwhile, 43 per cent of voters say New York City is less safe compared with other big cities, which is the highest level since the question was first asked by Quinnipiac in 2003.

The percentage of respondents personally worried about being the victim of a crime reached 65 per cent, the highest level since the topic was covered by Quinnipiac in 1999.

New Yorkers are feeling less safe about commuting in the subway, especially in the evening.

Only 27 per cent of respondents say they feel safe while using the subway in the evening, much lower than 51 per cent in October 2015.

Moreover, 39 per cent of voters in the city feel their neighbourhood safety deteriorated compared to five years ago while 50 per cent of respondents see their neighbourhood safety staying about the same.

In general, 64 per cent of respondents are either somewhat dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with the way things are going in New York City today with the percentage of very dissatisfied respondents at 36 per cent, the highest level since July 2003.

The survey was conducted from February 3 to 7 with the participation of 1,343 New York City registered voters.