Why is New York City a dangerous place?

Answer 1

It isn't. New York City is currently the safest major city in the United States, and has been for several years now.

The only thing that can legitimately be called "dangerous" in New York City is the cost of living. New York is one of the most expensive cities in the U.S.

Answer 2

I have never noticed an increase in the number of "scary people" on the streets of New York City at night, and I am a lifelong New Yorker.

It is commonly believed that most crimes occur at night, but that is more myth than fact. There are many different types of crime, and they each have different patterns in terms of the time of day in which they are committed. But crime, in general, happens at all hours of the day and night. Furthermore, New York City is currently the safest major U.S. city, and has been for several years now. So the idea that New York City is dangerous at night is simply incorrect.

What constitutes "scary" is also entirely subjective, and not necessarily rational or logical. Certain homeless people may seem "scary" because they're filthy, stinky and appear to be crazy or on drugs, when in fact, 1) associating "filthy" or "stinky" with "dangerous" is illogical and irrational, and 2) mentally ill people are not necessarily dangerous, and neither are drug addicts.

Prostitutes are more likely to be out at night, as are their pimps. So are drug dealers. But generally speaking, they will not bother you if you don't bother them. If they rob you, they know there's a good chance you'll call the police. But a drug dealer's customers would never call the cops on him, even if he cheated them out of thousands of dollars. And a pimp's hookers and johns won't call the police on him, either. Why would a drug dealer or a pimp risk getting police attention by robbing you, when he can make money off of people who will never call the police on him?

Lots of people think transsexuals are scary, when in fact this perception is based entirely on bigotry, and transsexuals are no more likely to be violent than anyone else. They are, however, more likely to be out at night than anyone else.

If you find the Sex Pistols, the Ramones, Marilyn Manson, or the band members of KISS to be scary, then you probably find most other goth and punk rockers scary, when in fact they are no more likely to be violent or dangerous than anyone else. They are, however, more likely to be out at night than most other people.

People like this, who are deemed "freaks" or "miscreants" by mainstream, status quo society, are more likely to be out at night than during the day. However, people like this exist in every major city, so it still doesn't account for the perception that there are "so many scary people in the streets of New York City at night."