I agree NYC should be better but a number of problems are present there:
1. Cultural. I haven't been there for two years, but people use the subway, not the bike lanes. And I remember as recent at 2010 taxis were very prevalent, although slightly less so last time I was there. Though that could be Uber. The walkability of a city isn't just its density, it's its zoning, the width of its streets, the expected work hours. NYC is fast food, finance, media. Though they're still better off than the average American, they are no Amsterdam.
2. They have many of the problems that most American cities have: Dirt cheap unhealthy food and sugar consumption rates that are unhealthily high.
3. Many people come to NYC to make it. If they're coming from the rest of America they're coming in overweight.
>"I haven't been there for two years, but people use the subway, not the bike lanes."
The bike lanes are actually quite busy. This was true two years ago as well. It has also been steadily increasing with the increase in the number of Citibikes. The NYC DOT even has stats that support this [1]
>"They have many of the problems that most American cities have: Dirt cheap unhealthy food and sugar consumption rates that are unhealthily high."
There's also shortage of affordable and healthy options in just about every neighborhood.[2] There's also plenty of Whole Food and fruit and vegetable are present outside most bodegas.
>"Many people come to NYC to make it. If they're coming from the rest of America they're coming in overweight."
That's is a pretty absurd statement. People come for all kinds of reasons and they generally bring their A game if trying to "make it."
I agree NYC should be better but a number of problems are present there:
1. Cultural. I haven't been there for two years, but people use the subway, not the bike lanes. And I remember as recent at 2010 taxis were very prevalent, although slightly less so last time I was there. Though that could be Uber. The walkability of a city isn't just its density, it's its zoning, the width of its streets, the expected work hours. NYC is fast food, finance, media. Though they're still better off than the average American, they are no Amsterdam.
2. They have many of the problems that most American cities have: Dirt cheap unhealthy food and sugar consumption rates that are unhealthily high.
3. Many people come to NYC to make it. If they're coming from the rest of America they're coming in overweight.