Fox News Hosts Cast New York as Crime-Ridden and ‘Chaotic’ While Sitting Outside on a Perfectly Pleasant Day in the City

Fox News co-hosts Harris Faulkner and Brit Hume lamented the state of the city of New York on Monday, portraying it as dirty and crime-ridden.

At the time of their discussion, they were sitting outside on a pleasant day in New York broadcasting from Fox Square Plaza, which does have its own security.

As they spoke, New Yorkers could be seen in the background freely going about their day.

“If it’s ok, I’m just going to share a little bit about what we talked about right before the show before camera,” Faulkner said to Hume on Monday’s Outnumbered. “You were here in the 1970s and you say New York feels like that now. It’s very random and very chaotic here.”

The 1970s were a notoriously crime-y time in the city’s history.

“The streets are chaotic,” Hume replied. “I see dirt and trash on the sidewalks. And the noise and the smell – the smell of marijuana is everywhere.”

“Oh I know,” Faulkner said. “It’s pervasive.”

“It does remind me of the mess that was here in the seventies, the way it is.”

Though crime has increased in New York City over the past few years, both property and violent crime rates are down drastically compared to previous decades. The focus on crime in recent months has led to a debate on both sides about how dangerous the city actually is.

Crime in big cities – including New York – has been a major topic on Fox News programming in recent months. The Big Apple is usually depicted as barely-inhabitable, with rampant law-breaking and homelessness marring the streets. On the other hand, Fox News maintains its headquarters in the city, and many if not most of its thousands of New York-based employees live there.

Watch above via Fox News