When I first moved to New Jersey, I was a little hesitant to visit New York. At that time the city was plagued with crime and was very dirty. I would even suggest that visiting friends forgo a new york discount hotel in favor of staying in New Jersey.

However, since Mayors Rudy Guiliani and Micheal Bloomberg, the city has cleaned up its act. Crimes in the city decreased from 11 percent last year and 35 percent from 2001. Murders were down to 466, the lowest since the statistic was being kept in the 1960s.