NYC has a reputation for being unsafe but that hasn’t been true for a long time. In fact it is the safest of the 25 biggest cities in the US.
http://www.nypost.com/seven/06032009/news/regionalnews/ny_safest_of_all_big_cities_172299.htm
The NYPD’s CompStat data showed 516 homicides in the city last year, up from 496 in 2007. Of course that is a far cry from 1990 with 2263! Are most of these gang related?