New York Times New York City Poll #1, October 2001 (ICPSR 3373)

Summary View help for Summary

This special topic poll was designed to assess respondents' interest in and opinions about the 2001 election campaign for New York City mayor as well as their opinions about and reactions to the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Residents of New York City gave their opinions of President George W. Bush and Mayor Rudolph Giuliani and their handling of the terrorist attacks, along with their opinions of mayoral candidates Michael Bloomberg (Republican), Fernando Ferrer (Democrat), and Mark Green (Democrat), New York governor George Pataki, and New York senators Hillary Rodham Clinton and Charles Schumer. Respondents were queried about their readiness to vote in the upcoming mayoral election, whom were they going to vote for, whether they would vote for Giuliani if he were a candidate, and whether Giuliani should leave office as scheduled, extend his current term by three months, or be permitted to run again. Their views were sought on life in New York City over the past four years, the most important problem facing the city, the New York City economy and how it had been affected by the terrorist attacks, the national image of the city and its residents' responses to the terrorist attacks, and whether respondents were concerned about another terrorist attack on the city. The survey assessed respondents' willingness to give up personal freedoms to make the country safe. Specifically, they were asked whether they would mind the following: arriving three hours early for a domestic flight, having more security checkpoints at public events/public buildings, allowing government agencies to monitor the telephone calls and e-mail of ordinary American citizens on a regular basis, and requiring everyone in the United States to carry a national electronic identification card. Respondents were asked about their reactions to the terrorist attacks, including whether they had felt nervous/edgy, experienced difficulty sleeping, sought counseling, cancelled a business trip/vacation, lost a substantial portion of their income and/or their job, or worried about the financial future of their employer. Those surveyed were also asked whether they knew someone who was missing or was injured or killed in the attack. In addition, they were asked whether they had donated blood, made contributions/donations to organizations assisting the victims, stocked up on supplies of food and/or water, visited their local firehouse, purchased gas masks, asked their physicians for antibiotics, and whether their children had experienced nightmares and/or expressed concern for their safety. Respondents were asked how often they engaged in the following activities prior to the attacks and whether that would change: attending sporting events, concerts, religious services, and other large events, traveling overseas, watching news on television, spending time with family and close friends, eating at restaurants, investing in the stock market, traveling by subway, traveling by air, visiting museums and/or galleries, and going into skyscrapers. A series of questions focused on racial profiling and the treatment of Arab Americans since the attacks. Topics covered whether racial profiling was justified, whether respondents had been stopped based on their racial/ethnic background, whether Arab Americans would be unfairly singled out during the investigation of the terrorist attacks, whether Arab Americans were more or less sympathetic to terrorists than other American citizens, and whether respondents had experienced negative feelings toward the Arab American community. Additional topics covered respondents' level of confidence in the United States government to catch those responsible for the attacks, whether people liked to see violence on television and in the movies, whether the United States had made it too easy for people from other countries to enter the United States, whether respondents were confident their neighbors would help them in an emergency, whether they were considering moving out of the city, whether they were worried about the stock market, whether they were concerned about businesses leaving the city, what they believed to be the appropriate penalty for persons convicted of murder, and whether people in other countries based their view of the United States on the portrayal of Americans in television, movies, and the news. Background information on respondents includes age, gender, political party, political orientation, voter registration and participation history, employment status, race, Hispanic descent, marital status, borough of residency, religion, importance of religion, age of children in household, and household income.

Citation View help for Citation

Export Citation:

• RIS (generic format for RefWorks, EndNote, etc.)
• EndNote

Subject Terms View help for Subject Terms

Geographic Coverage View help for Geographic Coverage

Restrictions View help for Restrictions

This data collection may not be used for any purpose other than statistical reporting and analysis. Use of these data to learn the identity of any person or establishment is prohibited.

Distributor(s) View help for Distributor(s)