I take the subway exclusively in NY. It's reliable and cheap. There are definitely a lot of weirdos on the trains and busses, but no one ever threatened me. I usually just ignore them and don't make eye contact. Most of the people on the subway are perfectly normal. I would stay away from the Bronx, and probably Bushwick these days.
New York means crowds, no matter what, especially in summer. And now the whole place stinks of marijuana. I don't know anything about fishing trips, but there is plenty of good food. You can eat in Midtown at a decent restaurant for surprisingly reasonable prices. Pizza or falafel only cost a few bucks if you want to save your budget for dinners. I have stayed in hotels and Air BnBs, and I think a hotel with a parking lot in New Jersey is a pretty good option. I usually fly there, but I did drive once when I was 19 or so, and we parked in a lot in NJ and took a ferry over, if I remember correctly.