1) The NYPD didn't need to be reigned in at all. They should have continued doing exactly what they were doing. That's when this city was under control.
So giving jaywalking tickets really made the city safer. Remember even during low crime years in the past laws like this were never enforced, yet crime didn't rise because of it. Just stick to enforcing stuff like I mentioned. That actually brings crime down.
2) "Who keeps selling the bikes". It's not just dirt bikes and ATV's... The bigger problem is the Mo-peds both electric and gas powered are the bigger issue. Those are 100% LEGAL to own, and ride on the street, so stores can legally sell those without any problems. The issue is all of these perps aren't buying their moped, they are stealing them. Then they ride around the city and cause mayhem without a license plate attached to the moped so no way of tracking who's doing what. Not only that, these guys are evading tolls on bridges and tunnels and speed trip cameras and red light cameras. --- SO the police not feeling comfortable going after THE PERPS comitting these CRIMES, Is THE ISSUE. ---> Lets not make excuses for the perps actions, how about we hold the scum bags accountable instead? Bring back TOUGH ON CRIME, arrest the perps and make them do real time, get them out of society so the rest of the actual law abiding citizens can enjoy peace and quiet and not fear walking down the block and getting robbed.
Most don't steal the mopeds, but the stores selling them are under no requirement to put plates on them before letting the customer ride off with them. Maybe they should have to. And the gas-powered mopeds need to be made illegal to own or operate in city limits. They're much faster/more dangerous than the electric mopeds, plus they stink and make tons of noise. Battery/motor tech has reached the point where gas-powered 2-wheelers are obsolete.
I actually wish the police would start going after mopeds riding in bike lanes. It's illegal for one thing. Plus it's dangerous to cyclists to have vehicles doing 30 or 40 mph in close proximity. These mopeds are fast enough to take a regular traffic lane. That's where they belong.
3) "driving here is worse than public transportation due to road rage"... That made me chuckle. I guess you enjoy the random homeless guys smelling up your train car smoking weed and K2 right next to you, hell you cant walk down a city block without getting high on weed now. Its disgusting. The city has gone to crap BIG TIME. Not as bad as the 80's. But certainly nowhere near as great at it was in the early 2000's.
Driving many places takes forever. In Manhattan especially you can often walk faster than you can drive. Between that, plus the ridiculous amount it costs to own a car, it's not a viable mode for lots of people. As for the subway, the rare times I've encountered unpleasant people I simply walked to the next car.
Yes, it's far from as bad as the 1980s or early 1990s. Keep that in perspective. As we reverse some of the policies of the former idiot Mayor things should start to move in the right direction. To this day I still don't know how he got a second term. He was worse than Dinkins, yet Dinkins was a one-term Mayor.
en.wikipedia.org
