Statistics show that between 1993 and 1997 the decrease New York City crime accounted for 25 % of the nation 's overall crime decrease . Giuliani spokeswoman Maria Comella said , " Mayor Giuliani successfully worked to get guns out of the hands of criminals in order to transform a city out of control . By being tough on crime and enforcing the laws on the books , New York City 's murder rate was cut by 66 percent . " However , the FBI warned against drawing broad conclusions from the decrease in crime . " These rough rankings provide no insight into the numerous variables that mold crime in a particular city . Consequently they lead to simplistic and/or incomplete analyses that often create misleading perceptions . " < ! -- Deleted image removed : Giuliani is best known for his leadership role during the September 11 attacks . In the aftermath of the attacks , Giuliani gained the moniker " America 's Mayor " and was named '' Time Magazine '' Person of the Year in 2001 . His campaign used this image of leadership during crisis to drive his presidential campaign . Because of this , however , he was sometimes criticized and often parodied for over-emphasizing the importance of 9/11 and terrorism-related issues while campaigning . Future Vice President Joe Biden famously remarked of Giuliani , " There 's only three things he mentions in a sentence -- a noun , a verb , and 9/11 . " , and Comedy Central 's The Daily Show had a recurring animation with an anthropomorphized " 9 " and " 11 " that played when lampooning the former mayor 's 9/11 use . A BBC associate said , " Mr Giuliani 's appeal as the man who led New York through the terrorist attacks is occasionally over-emphasised in his campaign . " The International Association of Fire Fighters issued a letter in 2007 , accusing Giuliani of " egregious acts " against the 343 firemen who had died in the September 11th attacks . The letter asserted that Giuliani rushed to conclude the recovery effort once gold and silver had been recovered from World Trade Center vaults and thereby prevented the remains of many victims from being recovered : " Mayor Giuliani 's actions meant that fire fighters and citizens who perished would either remain buried at Ground Zero forever , with no closure for families , or be removed like garbage and deposited at the Fresh Kills Landfill . " The Giuliani campaign stated that the union was politically motivated from tough contract negotiations from Giuliani 's second term as mayor and quoted a retired firefighter , Lee Ielphi ( a father of 9-11 victim who was called to duty as a firefighter that day ) , saying " Firefighters have no greater friend and supporter than Rudy Giuliani . " The union denied political motivation for the criticism . Jim Riches , an official at a firefighters ' union and the father of a fallen Ground Zero firefighter , said , " We have all the UFA , the UFOA , and the fire members are all behind us -- the International Association of Fire Fighters . ... And we 're going to be out there today to let everybody know that he 's not the hero that he says he is . " The unions ' complaints focus on the malfunctioning radios used by the fire department on September 11 , 2001 and what they claim was a lack of coordination at the Ground Zero site
September 11 attacks
September 11 attacks
Public image of Rudy Giuliani