According to a poll released on Friday by Quinnipiac University, most New Yorkers agree that former New York City mayor Mike Bloomberg's 12 years in office were "mainly a success," despite the Inauguration Day barbs he received that most agree were inappropriate.

Of those polled, when asked whether Bloomberg's time in office as the mayor of New York City was a success or a failure, most New Yorkers agreed that Bloomberg did well by the people, 64 - 24 percent.

Among party lines, Republicans showed the highest support for Bloomberg's work with 78 percent saying that he was a success. However, there was also strong support shown by both Democratic and Independent parties, 62 percent and 68 percent respectively.

Broken down by race, White voters gave the highest approval ratings for the former mayor's success at 76 percent. A significant number of Hispanic voters also agreed on Bloomberg's success, 62 - 24 percent. Only 49 percent of African-American residents, however, agreed with this viewpoint.

When asked in a different manner, New York City voters said 63 - 16 percent that Bloomberg "made the city better." In agreement with this statement were White voters at 74 - 14 percent, Hispanic voters at 59 - 12 percent and African-American voters at 50 - 25 percent.

When asked on a personal level whether Bloomberg made life for New York City residents and their families better or worse, 37 percent of respondents agreed he made life better, 21 percent said he made life worse and 37 percent said he had no effect on them personally.

"Mayor Mike leaves City Hall with good marks," said Maurice Carroll, director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. "Two thirds of New Yorkers think his 12-year term was a success, that he made New York a better city."

At the inaugural for new New York City mayor Bill de Blasio, some speakers including singer Harry Belafonte and Public Advocate Letitia James launched harsh criticisms at Bloomberg and the majority of respondents agreed this response was unbecoming. Of those polled, 61 percent said the criticisms toward the former mayor were inappropriate, 18 percent thought the comments were indeed appropriate and 21 percent were undecided.

"[The voters] think -- across party, racial and gender lines -- that the Inauguration Day criticism of the outgoing mayor was bad manners," Carroll said.

This survey was carried out by Quinnipiac University from Jan. 9 through Jan. 15. It was conducted via telephone and included 1,288 voters living in New York City.

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