Murder Makes Deadly Comeback, 15% Jump Citywide

The city’s murder rate has shot up nearly 15% this year, and residents in the worst-hit precincts are worried New York is headed back to darker days.

The NYPD recorded 437 murders as of Sunday, compared with 382 in the same period last year.

In East Harlem’s 25th Precinct, murders rose 400%, with 10 slayings this year compared with two at this time last year.

“We’ve seen the neighborhood go down,” said Rosa Canty, 65, who has lived in East Harlem for 35 years. “It’s not what it used to be. [Crime] has increased noticeably.”

In the 77th Precinct in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, murders are up 25%, from 12 last year to 15 – and crime in general is on the rise.

“It’s not bad like it was years ago,” said Franki Bourn, 48. “But with people losing jobs, it is only going to get worse.”

Last year, the number of murders in the city hit a record low: 471 for the entire year.

This year is on pace to exceed that, but still nowhere near the chilling numbers from two decades ago, when murders topped 2,000 a year.

Overall crime – covering murder, rape, robbery, felony assault, burglary, grand larceny and auto theft – has dipped about 1% citywide.

Still, incidents involving gunplay have spiked. Statistics show 1,225 shootings, compared with 1,178 at this point last year – a 4% bump.

NYPD chief spokesman Paul Browne said the department is concerned about the increase and has sent extra cops into the 25th and 77th precincts.

Arrests for murder and the number of criminal summonses issued are up significantly in both precincts, he said.

A source familiar with the situation in the 25th Precinct blamed gang violence. Gang arrests there have skyrocketed more than 200%.

The data released by the NYPD did not include the murder of Christopher Jusko, 21, who was found stabbed to death in an East Village apartment yesterday.

Police arrested Jairo Pastoressa, 25, after he walked into the 9th Precinct with the murder weapon and admitted to the killing. The two men apparently got into a fight over a woman and money, sources said.