In a five-star review of the album's 1995 reissue, "Q"'s Bill Prince noted that "New York" "signalled the beginning of the defrosting of Reed's Velvet Underground past that has so far marked out his '90s.". Mark Deming wrote in his review for AllMusic that ""New York" is a masterpiece of literate, adult rock & roll, and the finest album of Reed's solo career." In a retrospective overview of Reed's discography for "Spin", David Marchese stated that the album had a "mix of sharp detail, righteous anger and razor-wire rock" and "was Reed's best of the decade".