NYC’s spike in grand larcenies is a sign crime will rise as we reopen

New York City’s recent spike in grand larcenies proves yet again that Mayor Bill de Blasio has been dead wrong to blame soaring crime on the pandemic. Indeed, it suggests the violence will grow as the city reopens.

Police citywide fielded 2,683 complaints for grand larceny — thefts exceeding $1,000 — in the four weeks ending June 6, NYPD figures show. That’s a 36.9 percent spike from the 1,960 such calls in the same stretch last year, when much of New York was locked down — driving the city’s grand larceny numbers to a low not seen in decades. For all of 2020, the NYPD counted 35,505 grand larcenies, the lowest total of the 21st century by more than 2,300, according to department stats.