'RHONY' Alum Leah McSweeney Wants to Leave New York After Teen Daughter's Life Was Threatened

Leah McSweeney has had enough of the Big Apple's rough-and-tumble lifestyle, RadarOnline.com can reveal.

The former Real Housewives of New York cast member expressed her fears and frustrations over the city's recent crimewave on Instagram, announcing she would be "leaving New York as soon as possible."

“People are smoking crack for breakfast in Times Square,” McSweeney told her followers in the video while walking through the streets of New York City.

The concrete jungle has seen a rise in violent incidents on its subway system as a rash of women, including McSweeney's former reality costar Bethenny Frankel, have reported being sucker-punched on the city streets. McSweeney revealed that someone on the subway had recently threatened her daughter, 16-year-old Kier.

The RHONY alum elaborated on the incident on Fox and Friends Wednesday.

"A man came in and sat across from them and said, 'Shut the blank up, or I'm going to kill you and turn you into a pile of meat on the floor,'" McSweeney said. "She was scared to tell me because she knows I'm going to be nervous… she doesn't want to make me nervous, but she was scared."

While she doubled down on her desire to flee the area, she also told the hosts she was conflicted by her love for the city.

“This breaks my heart because New York City is the best city in the world, but it is not safe right now and it is especially not safe for women,” she said.

On Saturday, Mayor Eric Adams continued to tout New York as the safest big city in the United States, despite the recent incidents.

“I was walking up there [in Times Square] the other day. You see the presence that’s there. It is safe,” Adams told reporters at an event in Lower Manhattan.

“We’re going to continue to be the safest big city in America, and we’re going to set the right tone,” he added. “And those who are violent, who have no place in the city, doesn’t matter if they’re long-standing New Yorkers, or they’re new arrivals. Violence is not accepted in the city.”

Two days earlier, however, news spread that a 17-year-old migrant boy was stabbed in Times Square.

A week ago, Frankel also told the story of being hit by a homeless man in a TikTok video. She said she was in New York City looking for an apartment. She stopped at a deli, claiming she was assaulted as she left.

"I was walking out the door and this guy punched me," Frankel said, "just hit me in the face," noting that he didn't use a "closed fist."

She was "completely stunned" and "didn't want to provoke this guy even more" as her driver confronted him. The incident made Frankel think twice about looking for an apartment in the city, as she told her broker "This city's insane."

"Little did I know that this would become this trend of people getting hit," she said.

Several young women have reported similar attacks. A Parsons School of Design student told the New York Post she was shocked when a man over 6 feet tall punched her in the face at the corner of 14th Street and Fifth Avenue in late March.

On March 27, a Brooklyn man, Skiboky Stora, 40, was arrested for allegedly punching influencer Halley Kate Mcgookin in the face near West 16th Street and Seventh Avenue.

"I hope it's more of a weird trend than an actual reflection of crime," Frankel said.

Crime statistics from January 2024 released by the New York City Police Department (NYPD) shed more light on the situation.

Murder, rape, assault, and burglary rates were all lower this year compared with last year but robbery and grand larceny were trending upward along with a notable increase in transit-related crimes.