I've used nothing but a cable lock for more than 40 years, in fact the same cable and lock that long, which means no one has ever stolen my bike. Of course I don't live in NY City, but if I did live there I surely wouldn't lock up a nice bike, I would take a $200 or so used bike and lock it up instead because any lock, no matter what you paid for it, can be broken within 30 seconds, which makes all locks these days not that much better than my stupid cable lock!

So your best defense against getting a bike stolen is simply getting a beater bike and lock it up outside.