Fox News and right-wing media spent last year's New York City mayoral election fearmongering that Zohran Mamdani's leadership would trigger a surge in violent crime. Now, five months into Mamdani's term as mayor, major crimes are at historic lows.

Recent New York City crime data shows significant drops in murders and shootings, according to New York Daily News:

Crime across the Big Apple has hit historic lows, with record reductions in murders, shooting incidents and shooting victims, according to the NYPD.
Major crime across the city declined 10.6% across the five boroughs — and more than 6% in the city’s subways — in May, according to the latest Police Department figures.
Year to date, murders were down nearly 21%, 102 versus 129 at this time last year, the lowest level ever recorded for the first five months of any year, beating the previous record of 113, set in 2014 and 2017, officials said.
Even New York City’s public housing projects are off to their safest year in history, with the fewest murders, shooting incidents, shooting victims and robberies, according to the positive stats.

Right-wing media painted a much darker picture for New York last year. After Mamdani's primary win, Fox News host Laura Ingraham scrolled through images of 1970s “urban blight” and warned that Mamdani's leadership would transport the city back to a time when “crime was out of control.”

Ingraham's right-wing media cohorts made similar assertions. On Sean Hannity’s radio show, disgraced former Fox host Bill O’Reilly recalled telling his daughter, who lives in Manhattan, “Look, if this guy wins, your lifestyle has to change because crime, violent crime, is going to be a factor in your life. You're not going to be able to go out by yourself at night or even twilight.”

After Mamdani's victory in the general election, Fox Business host Cheryl Casone commented on New York crime rates, with Fox host Kayleigh McEnany responding, “It's going to get worse. … When I look at Mamdani's policies, he wants to end the gang database, which [Police Commissioner Jessica] Tisch has credited with bringing down crime.”

Hannity predicted “the biggest crime wave New York will ever have seen” and “the complete destruction of New York City” if Mamdani was elected.

Fox, which recently warned that Mamdani's affordable housing proposal will lead to “mass killing,” will likely continue to fearmonger throughout Mamdani's term.

Reprinted with permission from Media Matters