New York has incredibly low pollution compared to other cities of comparable size, especially in the US. As for "regulated and taxed on more things than you even thought possible"... are you sure you're not thinking of California?
I think the air quality in in the city is only good because it gets quickly blown out to sea.
When I say Pollution, I am not just saying air pollution. I physically felt dirty the minute I stepped out into the street after getting ready for work. I would wash my hair and it would streak of dirt. The subway is absolutely filthy. Bathrooms anywhere but expensive restaurants are filthy. Sidewalks were filthy. Streets are filthy. The water that pools up at the sides of crosswalks was everywhere -- and was filthy. It's the definition of a big dirty city.
As far as taxes and regulation goes, yes California is getting crazy too, but no I am thinking about New York. The contrast was stark, especially when you move anywhere south of NY, which I did land in D.C. for a bit, and even that was better.
When did you live in New York? This mostly reads like an outdated stereotype of the city from the 1980s. I grew up in Queens and lived in NYC until I was 18, and I never had to wash dirt out of my hair from pollution (unless I had been rolling around in a park as a little kid).
Hell, I was recently back in the city visiting family and was amazed at how much cleaner midtown has gotten over the past few years.
This doesn't change the impact of pollution on health and quality of life. There may be plenty of reasons to live in NYC, but it having lower pollution than similarly sized cities is not one of them.
Mind you, there's a lot of day-to-day variation.