9th and 33rd is a big herion/crack area; Chelsea. Dumb crap goes on there. If your out clubbing there, its a good chance of trouble after 11:00 pm. That guys eyes got some drugs/booze behind them. On that platform for path, your a caged person. Take a cab; its worth the $20 to Hoboken.
It's unchanged from 20+ yrs ago when I traveled between NYU and Hoboken. Can you believe the Gray's Papaya on the corner of 6th Ave and 8th St closed? What's the world coming to?