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De Blasio's Approval Rating on the Rise, Poll Shows

By Jeff Mays | February 24, 2016 2:10pm
 Mayor Bill de Blasio's approval rating is on the rise, according to a new NY1/Baruch College poll.
Mayor Bill de Blasio's approval rating is on the rise, according to a new NY1/Baruch College poll.
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Getty/Kena Betancur

NEW YORK CITY — Mayor Bill de Blasio's approval rating is on the rise, according to a new NY1/Baruch College poll, released Wednesday.

The poll found that 58 percent of city residents approve of the job the mayor is doing while 22 percent disapprove. Another 20 percent are unsure.

The mayor's poll numbers dropped last year amidst a bruising fight with Uber, a public feud with Gov. Andrew Cuomo and questions about his handling of the homelessness crisis.

The mayor's new poll numbers represent a 14 point increase since September when his approval rating was at 44 percent.

Since then, de Blasio has announced several new initiatives to address homelessness and has increased his direct interaction with the public through friendly town halls and by appearing more often on radio call-in shows.

De Blasio's increasingly bitter war of words with Cuomo has also tapered off, even though the two still appear to disagree on several policy issues including funding for Medicaid and the City University of New York.

The poll found 71 percent of respondents were satisfied with city services and 27 percent were not as satisfied. But 46 percent also said the city was on the wrong track while 39 percent said the city was headed in the right direction. Another 15 percent were undecided.

There also continues to be a racial gap in support for de Blasio.

Blacks continue to be the mayor's strongest supporters with 71 percent giving a favorable approval rating versus 12 percent who didn't. Among Latinos, de Blasio received a 61 to 19 percent approval rating.

He also continued to have the least support from whites with a 50 percent versus 34 percent approval rating.