By David Randall

NEW YORK (Reuters] – Attempts by financial institutions and others to get workers back into Manhattan offices after two years have passed since the beginning of the coronavirus outbreak face constant headwinds. According to consultants, commuters continue to worry about COVID-19, as well as safety.

New York is behind other major cities in terms of the proportion of workers who work in an office regularly, due to high use rates for public transport and COVID concerns.

According to Office Access Cards, New York City’s overall office occupancy rate was 38.8% for the week ending May 11. This is lower than the national 43.4% rate.

The Partnership for New York City found that the subway system safety was the biggest barrier to office return, with 94% saying not enough has been done.

Lewis said that companies must address concerns about public transportation in order to have any chance of getting employees back into the workplace.

Recent attacks include a shooting attack at Sunset Park subway station, Brooklyn, in April, and Michelle Go’s death in January. Michelle Go was a 40 year old woman killed after she was shoved to the front of a train approaching Times Square station. On Sunday, Daniel Enriquez, who had worked for Goldman Sachs’ Global Investment Research since 2013, was killed while on a Manhattan-bound Q train in an apparently random attack.

Kathryn Wylde of Partnership for New York City, the chief executive officer, stated that around 80% of Manhattan’s office workers used the subway to travel to work in Manhattan before the coronavirus epidemic.

She stated that “the increase in crime on subways over the past two years clearly discouraged people regarding its safety. Whether it’s an explanation or fact, people are less likely to return to work unless they can deal with the subway crime situation.”

Data from the revealed that April saw an increase of 24.7% in criminal complaints against the subway system compared with last year to 389. Although overall subway ridership increased, criminal complaints were down 15% by 2021, compared to the pre-pandemic level in 2019.

Melissa Swift, Mercer’s U.S. Transformation leader, stated that rising concerns over public safety could lead more companies to cover taxis and private shuttles for their employees. “It didn’t used to be an employer’s job to get you to the office, but one consequence of the COVID period is that once work and life blended together you can’t just pry them apart again,” she said.

Mayor Eric Adams is a former captain of the police force. He took office in January and increased the Transit Bureau’s police to 3,500. This surpasses the previous 3,250 officers who were sent last summer to help with a surge. Adams indicated that he will temporarily double this number in the wake of Sunset Park’s shooting.

Scott Crowe, real estate investor at CenterSquare Investment Management, Philadelphia said that concerns about public transport will only increase the pressure on New York City’s office market. He expects Manhattan office building market values to drop by 10% to 15%.

He stated that employees are pressurized by employers to give the greatest flexibility in terms of where they work. “If there are now issues around safety that’s another headwind for employers to be trying to get people back to work.”