I was dealing with the underbelly of nyc. The crime rates during the koch regime, 1978-89, were the worst ever except for the subsequent dinkins years. Here is what the NYC subway looked like in the 80's, the Koch years. The Guardian editor thinks it was "thrilling":
https://www.theguardian.com/artandd...-subway-1980s-graffiti-golden-age-in-pictures
Even where i lived, in inwood at the northern tip of Manhattan, formerly a safe all white neighborhood. They used to break into my parked car every other day. if the meter maids didn't get me the car thieves would. They also stole my car and my girlfriend's van. Once they broke in just to carefully peel off my inspection sticker. It was getting surreal. I finally thwarted them with my own anti theft invention.
i used to exercise mornings by putting about 100 pounds in my frame backpack and hiking the hills in inwood hill park. Very few people were in the park those days. They were afraid to go in there (except for my friend, Sebast, the interesting Inwood Park part time hermit who slept in the indian caves and was writing a book. I wonder what's become of him...) Every day I'd see stripped stolen cars dumped in the park. The 80's.
NYC murders per year:
https://www.reddit.com/r/dataisbeau...york_city_population_and_number_of_homicides/
The media liked Koch because he was so pro Israel and gave them cute quotes.