New York Times New York City Poll, September 2003

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This special topic poll, conducted August 31-September 4, 2003, was undertaken to assess respondents' opinions of New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, their views of New York City and the World Trade Center site, and the impact of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Respondents were asked to give their opinions of Mayor Bloomberg's overall job performance, his handling of the recovery efforts following the terrorist attacks of September 11, and the problems related to the blackout of August 2003. Respondents were polled on their opinions of Governor George Pataki and former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, whether they supported non-partisan elections for New York City officials, and why they believed the Republican party chose New York City for its 2004 presidential nomination convention. Respondents were queried on their biggest concern about living in New York City, whether they wanted to be living within or outside of the city in four years, why less crime occurred during the blackout in August 2003 than in the blackout in the summer of 1977, and whether their image of New York City was positive or negative. Views were sought on how confident respondents were that the city's economy would fully recover from the terrorist attacks of September 11, whether the city had changed as a result of the attacks and in what way, whether these changes would be permanent, how concerned respondents were about another terrorist attack in New York City, the likelihood of an attack in the United States within the next few months, whether the threat of terrorism was higher in New York City than in other big cities, whether security measures in New York City airports, subways, bridges, and tunnels were sufficient, and whether the city was prepared to deal with a biological or chemical attack. Specific questions about the terrorist attacks of September 11 polled respondents on whether their lives had changed as a result of the attacks and in what way, if they were still dealing with these changes, how often they thought and talked about the September 11 attacks, whether they or their friends and family knew someone who was injured or killed in the attacks, if their child reacted to the attacks by expressing concern for his or her own safety or the safety of a family member, if respondents considered themselves patriotic, and if September 11 should be a permanent holiday. Respondents were also asked if in the weeks following the attacks they were more or less likely to participate in activities such as attending religious services and riding the subway, and if they continued to do so. Information was gathered on whether respondents had visited Ground Zero, how closely they followed the debate on what to build at the site, if they were in favor of the new buildings and the permanent memorial planned, if they felt that development efforts were moving too quickly or too slowly, and whether they would work in or visit a high floor of a new building on the site. Additional questions addressed George W. Bush's handling of his job as president, if the federal government was doing enough since September 11 to protect New York City from terrorist attacks and help the city to recover financially, how confident respondents were that the government would capture or kill Osama Bin Laden, whether government warnings about possible terrorist attacks had been useful or harmful and how respondents reacted to them, whether Arab Americans were more sympathetic to terrorists compared to other American citizens, and if immigrants from the Middle East were being unfairly singled out. Background variables include age, marital status, ethnicity, education, religion, religious attendance, employment status, household income, voting status, political orientation, political ideology, borough of residence, if the respondent was living in or was physicallyin New York City on September 11, 2001, if their family's financial situation was better or worse today than two years ago, if the respondent was a parent or guardian of a child under 18 living in the same residence, and if the respondent knew someone who was an immigrant from an Arab country.