The crowded space is not because they feel other people will step in to help you, it is more of a disincentive from someone trying to rob you as there will be more witnesses later who can describe the thief and corroborate the victims story to police. While it is true some purse/phone snatcher type may attempt this anyway, they rely more on speed and not standing around conversing with someone for any length of time.
Anyway, this type of exchange might be best to take place at the police station, bank or somewhere with lots of cameras (and people). In any event I don't think getting into a car in a dark ally with stranger is wise under any circumstances, Bitcoin related or otherwise.
Witnesses? Ha. Unless multiple witnesses are filming you and the perp in HD up close and/or they're armed (in the criminals' utopia of NYC, law-abiding civilians can't be, which is why this robbery was utterly predictable), all criminals safely assume they can get away with anything in public and if they're lucky, have someone else convicted in their stead.
mistaken eyewitness testimony was a factor in more than a third of wrongful conviction cases
Almost all private CCTV cameras don't have sufficient resolution, focus, and zoom for facial recognition, and even if they did, would not guarantee a cop appears instantly to stop the crime, so criminals can safely give no fucks.
You may be safest in a police station, but even then, you might get arrested for "money laundering" or some other victimless, bullshit, non-actual "crime".
