Nick Reisman is reporting for State of Politics approximately 30 percent of New Yorkers responding to a Siena College poll believe race relations in the state are good or excellent and views have changed little in the past year, according to data collected and released by Siena College on January 18, the official commemoration of the Rev. Martin Luther King's birthday. The poll found a combined 31 percent of state residents think race relations are excellent or good, while a combined 64 percent say race relations are fair or poor. The split is identical to what Siena found in June 2020 after protests against racial inequality and police brutality in cities nationwide. According to the Siena poll, the Black Lives Matter movement has dropped in favorability since the spring protests, falling from 66 percent favorable to 56 percent. Thirty-three percent of New Yorkers polled have an unfavorable view of the movement.  Meanwhile, 48 percent of New Yorkers believe the Black Lives Matter movement has had a positive impact on the country, while 32 percent disagree. Thirteen percent believe the movement has had no real effect. Politically, 77 percent of Democrats view the movement favorably; two-thirds believe it has had a positive impact on America. But 62 percent of Republican voters view the movement unfavorably as do 44 percent of independent voters. The poll of 804 registered voters was conducted from Jan. 10 to 13. Read more at nystateofpolitics [dot] com.