The majority of registered voters may have a favorable opinion of Mayor Bill de Blasio, but less than half do not approve of the job he is doing after his first two months in office, according to a new poll.
A Wall Street Journal/NBC 4 New York/Marist survey, released Friday, showed 39 percent of registered voters approve of his job as mayor. Six in 10 voters, however, rate him favorably.
His job performance rating is lower in comparison to former Mayor Michael Bloomberg at the same time into his first term, which was 50 percent, according to Marist Poll.
“Many voters like the qualities that de Blasio has as mayor, and they are comfortable with him,” said Dr. Lee M. Miringoff, director of The Marist College Institute for Public Opinion. “But, race matters, and he still has some convincing to do when it comes to carrying out his responsibilities at City Hall.”
The poll also found his approval rating was highest among African-Americans, at 50 percent, followed by Latino voters at 45 percent, and white voters at 30 percent.
There was also a split among the boroughs. Forty-four percent of Bronx voters approve of the job de Blasio is doing in office, followed by Brooklyn voters at 43 percent. Thirty-six percent of Queens and Staten Island voters said he was doing an excellent or good job leading the city, and three in 10 Manhattan voters said the same.
More than six in ten registered voters said he is fulfilling his campaign promises, the poll showed. Fifty-nine percent believe he can unify the city.
But just under 50 percent think de Blasio is meeting their expectations as mayor and is making New York City better.
The majority of voters, 56 percent, were satisfied with how his administration handled this winter’s snowstorms. But when it came to the school closings during those storms, 50 percent did not think he handled the situation correctly.
Six in ten registered voters do agree with his focus on public schools, and 65 percent of parents with children in the city’s public school system agree with his position on charter schools.
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