1970s New York City = Rock Bottom: On the verge of financial collapse, NYC in the 1970s was not a place that you wanted to be. Known for its high crime rates, high suicide rates, widespread rat infestations, graffiti-plagued public transit, and political corruption, NYC had reached a low-point in its urban history. Facing bankruptcy, the city was able to secure a series of federal loans topping $3.5 billion. However, these loans came with strict stipulations such as drastically cutting municipal services, including buses, subways, libraries, and police/fire stations. Even NYC's teachers' union, headed by Albert Shanker, had to fork over as much as $150 million from its pension fund to keep the city afloat. Yet aside from financial problems, NYC had also garnered negative press in the 1970s for a variety of other reasons. Perhaps the most infamous was the police department's corruption scandal, which saw detective Frank Serpico testify about the need for vast reforms within the NYPD. Such reforms involved subjects like officer accountability, internal affairs investigations, and confidential informants.
