I was taken aback by the state of the roads in NYC when I first visited. How on earth can a country so in love with cars not have their roads in better conditio

I was taken aback by the state of the roads in NYC when I first visited. How on earth can a country so in love with cars not have their roads in better condition? The condition of footpaths wasn't much better. Especially horrible was trying to avoid stepping in the pool of stinky fluid that leaks out of the trash baskets on the corners of intersections. Still loved the place though! :)