Last time I was in NY everywhere smelled like shit, the food was scarce, expensive, and usually poor quality (save for the fancy restaurant we went to), and everything was covered in concrete. There was also a fire several blocks down that created a smoke plume. The fire brigade put it out in an hour, but nobody otherwise batted an eye. Traffick laws were also non-exist with people frequently running red lights and clogging up intersections, in front of police who did nothing.