Yeah, it's hard to argue against the results. The broken windows theory, by reasonable accounts, has contributed greatly to making NYC a much better place to live than it was before - even when accounting for the general nation-wide crime reduction that occurred in the same era.
As someone who grew up in a very liberal part of the west coast, it's hard to admit, but authoritarianism and ubiquitous police presence has done wonders for this city. It certainly unseats some assumptions.
The trouble with the success of broken windows in NYC though, is that it has created a culture where increasingly authoritarian policies are tolerated, and results proving their efficacy often not provided.
One thing I have noticed is that NYC has a lot more homeless people on the streets than just a few years ago, or at least more such people that are visible in the urban landscape. I don't know why, and my colleagues don't, either, but there seems to be an increase in the number of homeless people in general [1], which may explain it.
One problem is that the theory doesn't necessarily help every city. Seattle for instance is not exactly a city that I would consider to have many "broken windows" that need fixing. At least there isn't visible rampant petty crime. I'm not sure what they would crack down on.
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broken_windows_theory#New_Yor...