You may have lived around NYC, I was in it. You didn't read the facts within the article. Common sense. You don't accomplish what he did with common sense. Do you remember the condition of that city? Read the facts about crime and welfare, etc. provided. Your right those other mayors were no prize and Rudy had inherited one heck of a mess!
I love Rudy. He was my favorite guy, and guess what? His 'Ask the Mayor' show was personal and YES he did call people personally. He's not like Bloomberg who doesn't care what people think.
Other parts of the country actually arrested criminals, including petty vandals long before Rudy, other parts of the country have NEVER tolerated vagrancy or urine all over the sidewalks. Its just that NYC has historically been more dysfunctional than other parts of the country. I agree that Rudy was a find Mayor and agree that his aggressive QOL initiatives changed the city for the better (considerably). The fact that arresting aggressive panhandlers was considered a bold step in NYC says more about the dysfunctional environment of NYC than anything else.