Is New York better off than it was seven years ago? New Yorkers say no.

And in almost every category, New Yorkers felt worse about the city in 2023 than in 2017 and 2008.

How would you rate the quality of life in New York City in general?

2023: 29.8 percent of New Yorkers rated the quality of life in New York City as “excellent” or “good”

2017: 51.2 percent of New Yorkers rated the quality of life in New York City as “excellent” or “good”

2008: 50.9 percent of New Yorkers rated the quality of life in New York City as “excellent” or “good”

“The decline is big,” said Andrew Rein, chairman of the Citizens Budget Commission, while emphasizing that context matters. In 2017, New York City was “seven years into a really robust recovery,” he said. In 2023, New York City was still trying to overcome a pandemic that brought economic and social unrest.

While New Yorkers largely agreed that the quality of life in New York City was unimpressive, they varied widely on how that manifested itself in their specific neighborhoods—a clear reflection of the neighborhood’s wealth.

Residents of Brooklyn’s Community Board 6, which includes Carroll Gardens, Gowanus, Park Slope, Cobble Hill and Red Hook, were the most satisfied in the city, with more than 38 percent describing their local quality of life as “excellent.” The nearby communities of Downtown Brooklyn, Brooklyn Heights, Fort Greene and Dumbo came in next, with 37.8 percent calling their neighborhoods “excellent,” followed by Greenwich Village in Manhattan.

“Gosh,” said Andrew Gounardes, a state senator whose district includes several of those Brooklyn neighborhoods. “I suspect that’s due to a combination of factors, probably access to parks – whether it’s Prospect Park or the waterfront parks, green space, lots of strong schools, lots of vibrant nightlife and commercial corridors, restaurants and small businesses .”

In no other neighborhood did more than 30 percent of residents rate their neighborhood as high.