Robert Stolarik for The New York Times William J. Bratton begins his second stint as police commissioner with the city considerably safer than it was even a year ago.
New York is set to finish 2013 with a 20 percent drop in murders. Most other crimes are falling, too.
There were 332 murders through Dec. 29. In 2012, there were 419.
The number has fallen below the threshold of one per day for the first time since reliable recordkeeping began in 1963.
The city’s murder rate was 75 percent higher back then.
The drop in New York appears to be part of a broader trend in the nation’s biggest cities. Chicago, Los Angeles and Philadelphia all had big declines in murder.
In New York, rapes and robberies (both down 5 percent so far) and burglaries (down 10 percent) are falling, too.
But serious assaults and non-violent thefts have ticked up, by 3 percent and 5 percent, respectively.
The rise in thefts, a pattern that goes back several years, is attributed largely to stolen smartphones and other personal electronics.
The overall drop in crime comes as stop-and-frisk encounters are down 60 percent through September of this year.
This could bolster the plans of Mr. Bratton and his boss, Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio, to rein in stop-and-frisk further.
Proponents of the stop-and-frisk policy point out, though, that the number of guns seized during stop-and-frisk encounters has fallen, too. Overall gun seizures are down 11 percent this year.
Here’s what else you need to know for Monday.
WEATHER
A winter sun fails to warm. Temperatures fall through the day as a cold front moves in like an unwanted holiday guest and stays all week.
By lunchtime it will be about 36 degrees. Tonight, down to 20.
COMMUTE
Subways: Check latest status.
Rails: Check L.I.R.R., Metro-North or New Jersey Transit status.
Roads: Check traffic map or radio report on the 1s or the 8s.
Alternate-side parking is in effect today and tomorrow but not Wednesday.
DE BLASIO WATCH
From Javier C. Hernández of The Times:
- At last, white smoke: Mr. de Blasio picks Carmen Fariña, a former city education official, as his schools chancellor. He announces the appointment at his children’s old middle school in Park Slope at 11:30 a.m.
- Zachary W. Carter, who prosecuted the police officers in the Abner Louima case, will be the city’s chief lawyer.
- In an interview in Teen Vogue, Mr. de Blasio’s 19-year-old daughter, Chiara, says she likes heavy metal music and doesn’t use social media much.
- Governor Cuomo is trying to block Melissa Mark-Viverito, Mr. de Blasio’s favored candidate, from becoming City Council speaker. [New York Post]
- Bill Clinton will swear Mr. de Blasio in as mayor on Wednesday.
COMING UP TODAY
- Farewell, trusty pen: Mayor Bloomberg signs his last bills, 22 in all. They include one restricting foam containers and e-cigarettes and another requiring the mayor to submit an annual poverty report.
- Time for your Christmas tree to decorate the curb: municipal tree collection begins.
- If you want to see a national lighthouse museum on Staten Island, better donate today: it’s the deadline for organizers to raise $350,000.
- Videology, a video store in Williamsburg, screens the year’s best DVDs all day, starting at noon. [Free]
- A historic tour of Central Park shows how it was designed and built. Noon outside the park’s Dairy Gift Shop. [$15]
- Crank up the wood chipper and watch “Fargo†at Huckleberry Bar in Williamsburg. 9 p.m [Free]
- For more events, see The New York Times Arts & Entertainment guide.
IN THE NEWS
- Mayor Bloomberg shelled out $650 million during his tenure, including $263 million to civic, health and cultural groups in the city. [New York Times]
- A choosy mugger in Central Park handed back his victim’s three-year-old flip phone. [New York Post]
- Jets beat Dolphins, 20-7, so Rex Ryan gets to keep his job. Giants beat Redskins, 20-6. Rangers beat Lightning, 4-3. Islanders beat Wild, 5-4.
Joseph Burgess contributed reporting.
New York Today is a morning roundup that stays live from 6 a.m. till late morning.
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