# Is Manhattan safe? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 4, 2022, 11:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-manhattan-safe/969082 "2022-08-04T11:33:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2022, 9:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-manhattan-safe/969082/21 "2022-08-05T09:59:19Z")
> [@Joeu](#): > > You’ll probably see a rat. EWWWW/ !!! (disclaimer: I live in a private house 10000 miles from N. York. I have a garden shed in the back yard, where I (used to) store extra bags of cat food. (you can see where this is going…). One day I found a hole nibbled in the cat food on the top shelf…And the exterminator said that ain’t no mouse…you’ve got rats. EWWW… Took two days to kill 'em all. Kinda unpleasant. Well, actually, it was very unpleasant. Me , I ain’t goin’ noplace where they warn me in advance that there are going to be rats. But people -wise, Manhattan is probably pretty safe ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2022, 10:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-manhattan-safe/969082/22 "2022-08-05T10:08:16Z")
> [@chappachula](#): > > Me , I ain’t goin’ noplace where they warn me in advance that there are going to be rats. I hope you enjoy your new home in Antarctica. Otherwise, there are going to be rats. ---
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2022, 10:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-manhattan-safe/969082/23 "2022-08-05T10:28:04Z")
yeah, I know they’re there. But I don’t wanna see 'em. ---
**Author:** ![pullin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c57346/32.png) [@pullin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pullin)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2022, 10:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-manhattan-safe/969082/24 "2022-08-05T10:46:18Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > If there are Elmo’s around the chance of a pickpocket being around is much higher. I’m afraid to go near NYC, because I don’t speak the language. What on earth is an “Elmo”? Or is it one of those “If you have to ask…” things? ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2022, 10:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-manhattan-safe/969082/25 "2022-08-05T10:49:07Z")
[Rattiest city in the U.S.](https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/chicago-voted-rattiest-city-in-u-s-for-7th-consecutive-year-report-shows/2653553/): Chicago New York is only #3. Some of those New York rats are pretty impressive, though. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2022, 11:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-manhattan-safe/969082/26 "2022-08-05T11:33:28Z")
> [@pullin](#): > > What on earth is an “Elmo”? > **[Times Square Elmos are ruining people’s childhoods](https://nypost.com/2016/03/28/times-square-elmos-are-ruining-peoples-childhoods/)** > > City officials have been flooded with complaints about the costumed menaces in Times Square — including a tweet from a young tourist about her creepy run in with an aggressive Elmo. “When Elmo grab… ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2022, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-manhattan-safe/969082/27 "2022-08-05T12:10:18Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > Manhattan Kansas is dangerous? 🙄 Just stay out of Aggieville at night and don’t wear any Jayhawk gear, and you’ll be fine. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2022, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-manhattan-safe/969082/28 "2022-08-05T12:17:59Z")
Just want to point out that the answer to “Is it (Manhattan) safe?” is always proportional to the number of coffee cans full of diamonds you’re collecting. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2022, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-manhattan-safe/969082/29 "2022-08-05T12:24:42Z")
Sorry about that, if you go to Manhattan even occasionally, you know about the _Elmos_ and the _Naked Cowboy_, but I kind of forgot they’re far from common knowledge outside the area. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2022, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-manhattan-safe/969082/30 "2022-08-05T12:35:12Z")
> [@DocCathode](#): > > It seems safer than Philly, and I live in Philly. I spent a few years in Philly. There are areas where I wouldn’t feel safe in broad daylight and other areas that were totally fine. A friend lived in west Philadelphia and had two cars stolen and was mugged once. I lived just a few blocks west of her, across 63rd (Landsdowne) and never encountered any crime. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2022, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-manhattan-safe/969082/31 "2022-08-05T12:38:39Z")
> [@Joeu](#): > > I’m in Manhattan every work day, riding the subway to and from work, doing errands and shopping for things, going to meetings in other parts of Manhattan, eating out, going to hear music and to the movies, visiting friends. > > You will be 100% completely safe. Still not a bad idea to [stand well back from the edge of subway platforms](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/15/nyregion/woman-pushed-on-train-death.html). ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2022, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-manhattan-safe/969082/32 "2022-08-05T12:41:23Z")
> [@RunSilent](#): > > My relatives are horrified. They are sure I am going to be assaulted or murdered. You should tell your relatives that the media they are consuming is lying to them. Manhattan is one of the safest or maybe the safest big city in America. Someone joked about rats, but I work in the city and it’s not like you really see rats every day – if you take the subway and look at the tracks every time you take it, you might see a rat or a mouse or something. As someone else posted, it’s safer than rural America. And, midtown is even safer than the average NYC area. I suppose you might fall victim to white collar crime, but you don’t even be in the area for that to happen to you. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2022, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-manhattan-safe/969082/33 "2022-08-05T12:49:15Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > Naked Cowboy Not to be confused with this guy, [![](https://i0.wp.com/befrontmag.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/midnight-cowboy-8.png) ](https://i0.wp.com/befrontmag.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/midnight-cowboy-8.png) Or the guy that’s just ~~walkin’ here!~~ trying to get across the street. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2022, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-manhattan-safe/969082/34 "2022-08-05T19:32:44Z")
> [@JRDelirious](#): > > I just spent three days in Manhattan last month and the biggest assault was the heat and humidity (and what that does to the environment in an underground subway stop – the platforms are _not_ air conditioned. oo ooh can you smell that smell…) When I went to NYC for the first time, it was in August, and I remember being surprised by the heat in the subway…that got hotter as you went down a level. Shouldn’t have surprised me, but I was used to a/c in most public areas. I felt like I was descending into hell. > [@DPRK](#): > > [Rattiest city in the U.S.](https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/chicago-voted-rattiest-city-in-u-s-for-7th-consecutive-year-report-shows/2653553/): Chicago Woo hoo! We’re (L.A.) number two! Actually some of the areas with the most rats are some of the more desirable areas, like in the canyons. And beach rats can be absolutely enormous. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2022, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-manhattan-safe/969082/35 "2022-08-05T19:36:02Z")
> [@crowmanyclouds](#): > > Or the guy that’s just ~~walkin’ here!~~ trying to get across the street. Is Manhattan safe? Yes, it’s safe, it’s very safe, it’s so safe you wouldn’t believe it. ---
**Author:** ![Roger\_That](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roger_that/32/8505_2.png) [@Roger\_That](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roger_That)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2022, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-manhattan-safe/969082/36 "2022-08-05T19:38:56Z")
You’re not avoiding crime by avoiding empty subway cars–you’re avoiding the worst stink that’s ever stunk. It’s empty (or nearly so) because a homeless person who hasn’t bathed (except in his own excrement) in years has set up camp in there, ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2022, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-manhattan-safe/969082/37 "2022-08-05T20:15:58Z")
Yeah, seriously. If there’s one car suspiciously empty, walk away. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2022, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-manhattan-safe/969082/38 "2022-08-05T23:34:29Z")
> [@carrps](#): > > I felt like I was descending into hell. Ah, but those there know… [![](https://media.newyorker.com/photos/597c214e3f7572208e963e46/master/w_3150,h_4300,c_limit/CVN_TNY_08_07_17RGB.jpg) ](https://media.newyorker.com/photos/597c214e3f7572208e963e46/master/w_3150,h_4300,c_limit/CVN_TNY_08_07_17RGB.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2022, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-manhattan-safe/969082/39 "2022-08-06T00:51:05Z")
> [@Jaycat.again](#): > > > [@What\_Exit](#): > > > > If you’re taking the subway, avoid empty cars is about the only issue. > > Who is going to assault you in an empty car? The Ghost of William Houstoun if you mispronounce the street named after him. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2022, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-manhattan-safe/969082/40 "2022-08-06T01:19:23Z")
Remember this book? > **[For Whom the Train Rolls: The Subway Survival Manual: Dan Schoemer, Ellen...](https://www.amazon.com/Whom-Train-Rolls-Subway-Survival/dp/0943392187)** > > For Whom the Train Rolls: The Subway Survival Manual \[Dan Schoemer, Ellen Schoemer, T. A. Dwyer, Peggy Prager Santiago\] on Amazon.com. \*FREE\* shipping on qualifying offers. For Whom the Train Rolls: The Subway Survival Manual It does not seem to bring up any images of pages, however ☹ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-manhattan-safe/969082.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-manhattan-safe/969082.md?page=3)