America's Dirtiest Cities: New York City Ranked No. 1

New York City was declared as the dirtiest city in America according to a Travel & Leisure survey.

As part of its America's Favorite Cities Survey, Travel + Leisure ranked 35 metropolitan areas based on features that interest travelers such as nightlife, food, culture and more. They also ranked them by negative qualities. The survey included responses from 50,000 people.

New York may have been chosen number one for its theater, diversity, fashion, and luxury shopping, but the Big Apple came in dead last for cleanliness making it America's dirtiest city. It was also ranked as the loudest, rudest and most expensive city by tourists.

New York is the top for grime this year after placing fifth last year. Tourists rated New York City as the dirtiest due to its trash-filled streets, rat problem and strange odors.

New York City's Mayor Bloomberg fought back against the dirty rank.

"Sounds like the people in this survey haven't been here in a long while," mayoral spokeswoman Julie Wood told the New York Daily News.

Wood says that 50 million tourists came to the city last year and "saw for themselves that the city is cleaner than ever."

New York City's Sanitation Department also notes that the city has gotten cleaner. A recent report gave it a 95 percent cleanliness rating. It only received 70 percent in the 1970's.

However even residents agreed that the city isn't the cleanest. The city was ranked the second dirtiest city by residents.

"New York is beyond nasty!" Nevillyn Parsons, 42, a city resident who has taken pictures of rats nearby, told the Daily News.

Here is the rest of the top 10 dirtiest cities in America according to Travel + Leisure: