It IS an absurd comment to people like you and me who define NYC as Fifth Avenue in the East 60s.

I think at least the 8 of the neighborhoods here (not Midtown or Bushwick) could reasonably described as battle zones, not necessarily war zones:

https://propertyclub.nyc/article/most-dangerous-neighborhoods-in-nyc

Regarding the red-vs.-blue divide, I think it's always relevant to note the cities in red and even very red states are often blue; for instance, while Georgia, Louisiana, Kentucky, and Tennessee all voted by a large margin for Trump in 2016, Atlanta, New Orleans, Louisville, Memphis, and Nashville each voted overwhelmingly for Hillary. That's why trying to split the country in some way is an impossibility, as there'd be dozens of blue islands surrounded by hundreds of square miles of red territory, and that certainly goes for New York State.