In 1990, New York City looked very much like today’s San Francisco, albeit with fewer tents and more knives.
Like today, city leaders had lost control, and crime was visible when you were just walking the streets: drug dealers, scary people, cars with pathetic “No Radio” signs. Driving into the city, your first contact with humanity was threatening “squeegee men” who’d wipe your window whether you wanted to or not. Their request for money was more extortion than charity.
Like more than a few big cities today, leaders waved a white flag to criminals and degenerates.
But New Yorkers punched back with something radical: Rudy Giuliani. A hard-charging prosecutor, and a Republican no less, Giuliani ran with a simple slogan: “He’ll clean up New York.” I worked for his first campaign and had a front-row view.
One of his first targets? The squeegee men. They weren’t the city’s worst problem, but were a high-profile symbol that there was a new sheriff in town. When told by city bureaucrats that there was no law against their aggressive behavior, Rudy had them arrested for jaywalking. Soon, they were gone, along with the notion that the city accepted petty lawlessness.
But it wasn't just about the squeegees. Giuliani's approach drew from the "broken windows" theory of James Q. Wilson. It stated that if someone broke a window in an abandoned building and it was left unrepaired, soon all the windows would be broken under the belief that no one cared.
Giuliani and his team approached New York the same way, addressing minor infractions to prevent more severe crime from sprouting. Subway turnstile jumpers found themselves arrested. Graffiti artists? Same thing. Slowly but surely, the city started to breathe again.
He applied the same theory to Times Square. Police presence ramped up, zoning laws changed, and suddenly the porn theaters and drug peddlers found themselves pushed out. The result? A family-friendly downtown now synonymous with glittering Broadway shows and family-friendly shops.
They enacted the opposite of “defund the police.” Under Giuliani, the NYPD’s force swelled from 28,000 to 40,000. Police commissioner William Bratton brought computerized crime stat targeting to the city, and worked with community leaders to actually clean up New York.
And it worked. During Giuliani’s tenure, the murder rate dropped by nearly two-thirds. Violent crime fell by 56%, and property crimes decreased by 65%. The city economy roared back to life, fueled in no small part by an upsurge in tourism.
So what's stopping San Francisco from scripting its own comeback story? Simple: the political will to implement radical change.
If the city reaches a point where residents can't stomach the decline any longer, who's to say they won't break rank and elect someone tough on crime, irrespective of party affiliation? If a Democratic bastion like New York could turn to a Republican mayor in its darkest hour, why can't San Francisco?
Yes, the Rudy Giuliani I knew seems light-years away from the man making headlines today for all the wrong reasons. But the Rudy I campaigned for wasn't afraid to buck the status quo. His transformation of New York stands as a testament to what's possible when a city – and a leader – decide enough is enough.
– Ken
Ken the only thing I “take issue with” with your piece is the fact that you directed it only at San Francisco. What about New York City today? What about Denver? What about Los Angeles? What about Austin Texas? What about Chicago? What about Detroit?
It’s such a great peace and should be directed far more broadly!
New York needs mayor Giuliano again itself. Like every other democratic run city. Keep Out.