As a fellow New Yorker, I will tell you this.... If you plan to actually leave your bike locked up on the street unattended, then you want to get TWO bikes..
A piece-of-crap beater bike you can use to run errands and lock up on the street without fear of it being ripped off, and a nice bike for weekend leisure rides which never leaves your sight.
That's what I've been doing for the past several years. I have a POS $100 Walmart bike I use for running errands (which no self-respecting bike thief would bother to hit), and my carbon-frame Specialized Sirrus LTD for fun weekend rides.