Not long ago, New York City was a place overcome by pessimism. We now believe in ourselves and our ability to improve the City. There's one fundamental that is at the heart of changing the spirit of the city from one of pessimism to one of optimism. People feel safer. People feel a fundamental sense of security whether it is in their homes, walking down the streets, or going to work.
People feel safer in their daily lives.
Between 1990 and 1993 New York City averaged more than 2,000 murders each year. Last year there were less than 800 murders. Think about what it means for a minute to have 2,000 murders a year. Think not only about the victims, and the impact of their deaths on their families and friends, but about the way it makes you feel when you pass a crime scene in your neighborhood or even just read about it in the paper. Whether or not you or someone you know has been victimized, a City besieged by crime, as New York City was, fills all its citizens with fear and prohibits everyone from feeling a fundamental sense of optimism about the future of the City, and a basic sense of possibility about their own lives.