| It's a matter of perspective. I live in one of the safest neighborhoods in NYC, and yet, there's an essentially random killing within 1 mile radius of my house every couple of months. If you're in a neighborhood that's not as nice, like some parts of the bronx, it's even scarier. And I'm not just talking about homicide statistics: The police has a scary track record, most recent example is in the Empire State shooting (where with one exception, all dead were shot by the police). When I was in Tel-Aviv, I used to go for an hour long jog at 3am every day, feeling completely safe. In NYC, it's not safe enough to do that. I know of a prominent hacker establishment in Brooklyn, 3 members of which were mugged within a 3 month period (one of them snatching, one of them more violent, and one I don't remember). These things happen in Tel-Aviv, but at maybe a 1:10 or 1:100 lower rate. Also, look at the real numbers. The headlines look scary - 1400 rockets fired on Israel. 1000 air raids on Gaza. But the number of casualties (both Israeli and Palestinian) is lower than Hurricane Sandy's death toll. By all means, I estimate Israel is more likely to become a much more dangerous battlezone than NYC is to become unsafe due to natural disasters (or terrorist attacks - don't forget the '90s WTC attack and 9/11). But if you do the math, rather than the emotion, Tel-Aviv is as safe as New York. |
I also work right by the Empire State building and walk to work along 34th where the shooting happened and I don't worry. None of my co-workers do either. You can't let random infrequent events worry you.
I admit that some areas aren't great, for instance the Bronx or the part of Brooklyn bounded by Flatbush, Bushwick, and East New York. If living in an "edgy" or "up and coming" neighborhood isn't your thing, the majority of Manhattan below 110th is as safe as you can be, whatever time of day or night.
[1] http://projects.nytimes.com/crime/homicides/map