ahh... in that case, as long as every place gets criticized equally
One thing that I've noticed about Taiwanese people is that they tend to criticize Taiwan disproportionately compared to people from other cities, and there is a general lack of civic pride... although it is getting better now. And yeah, you're right, NYC does have alot of designated parks and nice areas. However, the places that are NOT nice are also dangerous, which is a main factor that makes Taipei (and Taiwan for that matter) appealing. No matter how run down a place is, it is still safe to walk around in. I would take the most run down places of Taipei over the Bronx, Harlem, Long Beach, South Central LA any day of the week.