I was just in New York City around the end of Jan. The city & metro area seemed a lot less crowded & hectic as when I visited in the late 1990s.
When I rode the subways in the 90s, they were super packed in the daytime.
It was rough.
In Mar, 2012 I got a good friend in New York a Uzi tactical pen to carry on the streets. The alloy metal pen is handy & includes a bezel crown design.
He likes it & most of the online reviews of the Uzi pen are +.
Tactical pens like the Uzi, the Tuff Writer & Tactical TakeDown are impressive. You can train to disable a subject with a pen then draw your primary sidearm.
ClydeFrog