When you live in fear, you will always attract the worse society has to offer. NYC in the 70's was good and bad, probably a little better today however. When the police turned their eyes on the sources of crime, late 70s-80s (also The Guardian Angels) things improved. Then the NYC government + private business started the rebuilding of Times Square (Large commercial entities) and other areas. This brought in more jobs and most crime (various kinds) moved out and into other areas/neighborhoods.
But alas a new type of crime moved in (white collar - bankers etc..) So who is watching them now? NOBODY.
Now the police cannot stop somebody from flying a plane into a building, that is the responsibility of our Federal Government agencies. Today, the police are more of a danger to society than they ever have been. This I compare to the NY Police in the 70s,60s, 50s...(corruption - Watch/Read about Frank Serpico for example). The bad cops were afraid of getting caught. Now today they can get away with murder.
The NY Police and in fact most of the police foces in all of the USA have been militarized in the name of terror. They have been given powers to detain and arrest for almost anything. Look at them the wrong way.Nothing is worth the price of losing your ability to assemble, speak and to travel. You cannot do this anymore without being considered a potential terrorist or similar. We are not innocent and are all potential threats the all seeing eye of the Police State.