How to Be Safe While Visiting New York City

If you’re worried about your safety while visiting New York City, put your worries away. Few people from other parts of the country actually realize that among 182 U.S. cities with populations of more than 100,000, the FBI ranks New York as the 136th most dangerous--at about the same level as Boise, Idaho. That said, any visit to a big city requires vigilance and common sense safety precautions. Read on to learn more.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• A hotel safe
• Luggage with locks
• A New York City guidebook
• A healthy skepticism about money-making schemes

Protect Your Valuables

1. Leave your valuables behind in the hotel safe. There’s no reason to carry a lot of cash with you, so leave extra credit cards and cash in the safe at the hotel. It’s also wise to lock your suitcases and hide your laptop computer while out of your room.
2. Never wear flashy jewelry if you can avoid it. You will be a walking advertisement to criminals looking for an easy mark.
3. Men should keep their wallets in a front pocket rather than in their back pockets. Women should carry their purses in front, if possible, with one hand firmly on your purse straps. Keep cameras in front of you, as well, to deter pickpockets.
4. Don't ride in an empty subway car. Instead, find a car with plenty of other people. At subway platforms, the same rule applies. Stick with the crowds. Be aware of your surroundings.

Know the Neighborhoods

5. Stay in well-populated New York City neighborhoods at night. Hail cabs in unfamiliar territory or if you feel uncomfortable or disoriented. Unless you know the area, approach certain neighborhoods with care at night, including the Lower East Side, the Meatpacking District, or Alphabet City in the East Village.
6. Don’t wander onto deserted side streets. Instead, stay on main and well-traveled streets. Don't be afraid to go; but head straight for your destination. Don't wander onto deserted side streets. For example, if you’re in Times Square, stay with the crowds on Broadway rather than taking the quieter side streets.
7. If you’re in town for a convention at the Jacob Javits Center, take a cab or bus back to your hotel at night because it’s hard to avoid deserted streets on your way out of the Javits area.
8. Visit Central Park's Strawberry Fields during the day, but avoid it at night. Don’t walk through Central Park at night, unless you’re there for a performance and will be surrounded by crowds of other performance-goers. Do visit the park during the day. Then, it’s a completely different place.

Avoid Scams

9. Don’t deal with anyone who approaches you on the street with a money-making proposition, or a sob story in which they claim to need your help. They will be likely to grab your money or your purse and run.
10. Avoid card games on the street, more commonly known as three card Monte. You will not win the game, but you’re sure to lose plenty of cash. In addition, the card games are patently illegal and the organizers of the games will simply fold up shop and run if they see the police approaching.
11. Avoid eye contact with panhandlers, who are seldom dangerous and won’t become aggressive if you ignore them. A simple but firm “no” or “not today” will usually dissuade panhandlers. Then move on quickly.
12. Hail yellow Medallion taxicabs and steer clear of so-called gypsy cabs. Don’t get into a taxicab unless it is a yellow Medallion cab, which are the only cabs authorized by the New York Taxi & Limousine Commission to pick up riders hailing a cab. Avoid unmarked “gypsy” cabs, which are unregulated, less safe and will charge you more than medallion cabs. Remember that taxis are cash only and that drivers usually can’t change anything higher than a $20 bill.