Full disclosure, I just finished Taxi Driver and the characters reference the fact that the city's a terrible place to live with lots of crime. I know it's been discussed many times before and it's well known that it was at its worst at the end of the 70s and in the early 80s. I want to know two things: Was it really that bad, and, if so, why?
hi! not discouraging NYC historians from contributing here, but fyi there have been a few threads on this topic that you might find interesting
Why did New York City deteriorate in the late 1960s and 70s only to recover in the late 70's and 80's - featuring NYC flair /u/Yearsnowlost
Was New York of the 1970s the shithole movies make it out to be? - more from /u/Yearsnowlost
How did non-Americans regard New York City in the 1980s and early 1990s? - more from /u/Yearsnowlost
Why were the Late 70's/Early 80's a low point for many American cities?
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