NYC's City College is a great public school, (ten Nobel laureates, countless distinguished citizens, academics, and professionals) but it had a lot to recover from. So did the rest of the huge CUNY system which aspires to make higher ed accessible to aspiring New Yorkers.
I think it would be a wonderful, fulfilling career to teach at City College. The pay and benefits are good too, thanks to the taxpayers. The CUNY Revival - Higher standards and civic and political support have rejuvenated a great New York institution.