Well, I can say that there was a HUGE difference between the Kcch/Dinkins run New York City and the Gulianni run NYC. And NOT just Times Square. All over the city. IMHO, the best example being Grand Central Terminal, the train and subway station. Before Rudy cleaned it up, is was a putrid cesspool where you really didn't want to spend any more time than you absolutely had to. About 3 years into Rudy's administration I was back, and the place was immaculate. Even the public bathrooms were clean! He also got rid of the "window washers" on the streets, and implemented new traffic rules that would fine the hell out of anyone blocking an intersection. And then there were the beat cops. During earlier administrations, it could be tough to find a cop. Under Rudy, sometimes it seemed as if there was a cop on every corner.
Mark
Rudy’s clean up of the Port Authority Bus Terminal was even more amazing than what happened at GCT.
The Port Authority was like Dante’s hell with thugs robbing people, homosexuals and prostitutes spreading AIDS with each other and their clients in the restrooms, drug dealers selling their wares in the open, crack addicts smoking in the corners and in the lower levels. It was a disgusting, vile pit that I never would have believed could have been made safe, ever.