Actually, on a nice summer night you can sit in Washington Square Park and play chess or read a novel under the street lamps. Still beautiful after all these years.
A few years ago my kid sister's youngest was considering attending NYU so we made a day trip to check it out.One point that the student guide made was that the NYPD precinct that covered most of that area had the lowest crime rate in the city.But even with that a coward like me would be nervous anywhere in the city after dark.