I had a similar experience, and it wasn't even NY city... but one of the far out burbs ... Actually White Plains Airport. I was interviewing for a new job after not having to travel (especially to NY area) for a while. I landed at the airport, got my luggage and went to the rental car counter where I was ignored and then yelled at. As I shook my head in disbelief a fellow traveler in back of me commented 'welcome to NY'.
An observation: the PR about NYers being nice and polite is PR hype.
When I did finally get back to the city, I found no change... nor did I expect any. The nice thing about having low expectations is that no one disappoints you and you don't get as mad or frustrated at things.