Violent Crime in the Mid-Atlantic

Decline of Violent Crime/Homicides Continued in 2014

Metropolitan Police Dept. of the District of Columbia (MPD) Patrol Car, Washington D.C.
Photo Credit: Joe Flood via Flickr

While the Mid-Atlantic is widely known as home to some of the most dangerous cities in the nation, overall the vast majority of the region's cities are relatively safe. Moreover, the overall violent crime rate, as well as the homicide rate specifically, have been in decline in most of the region's big cities recently, mirroring national trends. Most notable is New York City, NY, which had an amazingly low 328 homicides in 2014 (3.9 per 100,000 residents)-- an improvement over the already impressive 335 total homicides in 2013 (4.0/100,000) and a rate unheard of for a large, densely populated city in the U.S. The city with the next lowest murder rate was Jersey city with 23 total murders (9.0/100,000)--over the double the rate of New York. 

New York Police Dept. (NYPD) Officer and Patrol Car, New York City
Photo Credit: Jay Miller via Flickr

Topping the list of large cities in the Mid-Atlantic, in terms of homicide rates for 2014, was Baltimore, MD with 211 murders total (33.9/100,000) barely edging out Newark, NJ which had 93 total murders (33.4/100,000). The good news is that, as in New York City, the number of homicides for 2014 in both Baltimore and Newark decreased from their 2013 totals. Murder rates in Washington D.C. and Philadelphia for 2014 were pretty much unchanged compared to the previous year (105 total,16.2/100,000 and 248 total,16.0/100,000 respectively). Unfortunately, homicide rates in the Rust Belt cities of Pittsburgh and Buffalo increased significantly. Even more troubling is the rate of violent crime and homicide in some of the small cities of the Mid-Atlantic. 

NYPD Precinct Times Square, New York City
Photo Credit: Tony Fischer via Flickr

Generally speaking, small cities tend to have significantly lower crime rates than their larger peers, but three of the region's smaller cities buck this trend in a major way. Camden, NJ; Trenton, NJ; and Wilmington, DE all had murder rates significantly higher than any of the largest cities in the region. Camden, NJ, often labeled as the "most dangerous city in America", actually saw a whopping 42.1% reduction in total homicides for 2014 compared to 2013 (33 in 2014 compared to 57 in 2013), but still had the highest murder rate (42.7/100,000) of any Mid-Atlantic city large or small in 2014. Trenton (41.5/100,000) and Wilmington (39.2/100,000) weren't far behind though.

Below is a table listing the frequencies and rates of violent crime and homicide in the Mid-Atlantic's largest cities in 2013 and 2014:

City	Population	Violent crime	Rate /100,000	Murders 2013	Rate /100,000	Murders 2014	Rate /100,000
Baltimore, MD	622,671	8,725	1,401.2	233	37.4	211	33.9
Newark, NJ	278,246	3,516	1,263.6	112	40.3	93	33.4
Buffalo, NY	258,789	3,249	1,255.5	47	18.2	62	24.0
Pittsburgh, PA	307,632	2,259	734.3	45	14.6	71	23.1
Washington, D.C.	646,449	7,880	1,219.0	103	15.9	105	16.2
Philadelphia, PA	1,553,153	17,074	1,099.3	247	15.9	248	16.0
Jersey City, NJ	256,886	1,655	644.3	20	7.8	23	9.0
New York, NY	8,396,126	52,384	623.9	335	4.0	328	3.9

*The 2013 numbers are from 2013 edition of the FBI's annual Uniform Crime Report published last fall. Homicide totals for 2014 are from local media reports and the rates are based on 2013 population numbers

City Halls of the Mid-Atlantic

The region boasts a vast collection of architecturally impressive municipal headquarters 

The city hall is the principal administrative building of a city. As symbols of local government, city halls often have distinctive architecture, and many of these buildings have great historical significance, being among the oldest buildings in their cities. 

The Mid-Atlantic region, which is one of the oldest and most heavily populated regions in the nation, is home to a relatively large number of city halls. As you'll see further down this page, certain city halls in the Mid-Atlantic hold records for being largest, tallest, or oldest in the nation. 

Most city halls in the region were built in the late 1800's when urban areas began to see heavy population growth, and municipal government services were in high demand. City halls in this era were usually built in central locations and designed in some form of Revival Architecture which gave these buildings with a grand presence. In addition to their elaborate architectural, many city halls were the among the largest buildings in their respective cities, and some still are today.  

Below you can view photos and information of the most exquisite city halls located in the Mid-Atlantic's largest (incorporated) cities.

WASHINGTON D.C.

John A. Wilson Building
Photo Credit: Wally Gobetz via flickr

Year Constructed: 1904
Architectural Style: Beaux Arts
City Population (2013): 646,449
Notes: Originally named the "District Building," the John A. Wilson Building is the city's second city hall. The original city hall was constructed in 1820 in the Neoclassical Style and is currently home to the District of Columbia Court of Appeals


DELAWARE
Wilmington

Daniel L. Hermann Courthouse

Year Constructed: 1916
Architectural Style: Neoclassical Revival-Greek Revival
City Population (2013): 71,525
Notes: This building originally held a number of courts and municipal offices and was at one point informally named the "Public Building," receiving it's current name only a couple of decades ago. The city and county government offices eventually moved to the Louis L. Redding City-County Building (built 1977) and in 2002 the courts moved to the newly built Justice Center, leaving the building vacant. The building was eventually purchased by developers and converted to office space, which has been occupied by a prestigious law firm since 2009.

MARYLAND
Baltimore

Baltimore City Hall

Year Constructed: 1875

Architectural Style: Second Empire
City Population (2013): 622,104
Notes: Designed by George Aloysius Frederick, a 22-year old architect. The building cost $2,271,136 and took eight years to complete.

Annapolis

Annapolis City Hall

Year Constructed: 1764 (original structure), 1867 (current structure)
Architectural Style: Neoclassical-Georgian
City Population (2013): 38,722
Notes: The original structure on this site was known as the "Ball Room" and used as different points in history as a meeting place of the Maryland Assembly, local headquarters
of Union troops during the Civil War, a guard house, and a prison camp. While being used as a prison camp it burned down and a new city hall was built on the ruins using three of the exterior walls of the original building.

Where We're From

Where people living in the Mid-Atlantic were born

The Mid-Atlantic is one of the most diverse geographic regions of the nation, with residents of many different backgrounds, races, and cultures. While a small majority of the region's residents are native to the region, a large proportion of residents are transplants from other regions of the country or immigrated here from other countries. Last month, the New York Time's The Upshot blog published interactive graphs detailing where the residents of all 50 states and D.C. originated from (and migrated to) using recent US Census data. (NOTE: Click "Switch to Migration" button above graph to see origination data).

Using the data from the graphs and the Census site, I decided to focus specifically on the Mid-Atlantic states and created my own graphs (above). As you can see, approximately 62% of people living in the Mid-Atlantic are native to their current state of residence, while approx. 20% where born in another state (including another Mid-Atlantic state), and a significant 18% were born overseas. Although, these numbers only focus on one aspect of diversity, place of origin, they really underscore the fact that the Mid-Atlantic is a very cosmopolitan region. Glancing at the detailed tables on the NY Times page also reveals that this diversity has been steadily increasing over time, and it won't be surprising if Mid-Atlantic residents native to their home state are in the minority at some point in the next few decades.

Of course, there's a large demographic variation between the Mid-Atlantic states. For instance, in Pennsylvania, a whopping 74% of the population was born in that state, while only 37% of Washington D.C. residents were born in the District. As for immigrants from overseas, a very sizable 25% of New York state residents were born in another country, while a paltry 2% of West Virginia residents were born outside of the U.S.

The Best Colleges and Universities in the Mid-Atlantic

How the region's higher education institutions stack up against the rest of the country and each other

Nassau Hall on the campus of Princeton University (Princeton, NJ) - the #1 ranked university in the country
Photo Credit: Flickr user schizoform

Last week, US News & World Report released the 2015 edition of its annual rankings of the nation's colleges and universities. The Mid-Atlantic had a pretty impressive showing. being home to 7 out of the top 25 'national universities' and 7 out of the top 25 'national liberal arts colleges.' The nation's top-ranked national university, Princeton University, is also located in the Mid-Atlantic. Below are excerpts of the more popular rankings to give a better idea of how the region's schools stacks up against others across the country.

2015 'National University' Rankings (Mid-Atlantic schools in bold)

Rank	School Name	Location
1.	Princeton University	Princeton, NJ
2.	Harvard University	Cambridge, MA
3.	Yale University	New Haven, CT
4. (tie)	Columbia University	New York, NY
4. (tie)	Stanford University	Stanford, CA
4. (tie)	University of Chicago	Chicago, IL
7.	Massachusetts Insitute of Technology	Cambridge, MA
8. (tie)	Duke University	Durham, NC
8. (tie)	University of Pennsylvania	Philadelphia, PA
10.	California Institute of Technology	Pasadena, CA
11.	Dartmouth College	Hanover, NH
12.	Johns Hopkins University	Baltimore, MD
13.	Northwestern University	Evanston, IL
14.	Washington University in St. Louis	St. Louis, MO
15.	Cornell University	Ithaca, NY
16. (tie)	Brown University	Providence, RI
16. (tie)	University of Notre Dame	Notre Dame, IN
16. (tie)	Vanderbilt University	Nashville, TN
19.	Rice University	Houston, TX
20.	University of California—​Berkeley	Berkeley, CA
21. (tie)	Emory University	Atlanta, GA
21. (tie)	Georgetown University	Washington, D.C.
23. (tie)	University of California—​Los Angeles	Los Angeles, CA
23. (tie)	University of Virginia	Charlottesville, VA
25. (tie)	Carnegie Mellon University	Pittsburgh, PA
25. (tie)	University of Southern California	Los Angeles, CA

Gilman Hall, Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore, MD) - 12th ranked national university
Photo Credit: Flickr user clio1789

The seven Mid-Atlantic schools in the top 25 'National Liberal Arts Colleges:'

Rank	School Name	Location
3.	Swarthmore College	Swarthmore, PA
8. (tie)	Haverford College	Haverford, PA
11.	Vassar College	Poughkeepsie, NY
13.	United States Naval Academy	Annapolis, MD
15. (tie)	Hamilton College	Clinton, NY
22.	Colgate University	Hamilton, NY
24.	United States Military Academy	West Point, NY

The "Snobbiest" Small Cities in the Mid-Atlantic

Bethesda Row in Bethesda, MD - #2 Snobbiest Small CIty
Photo Credit: ehplen via Flickr

Last week, real estate website Movoto released its ranking of the "10 Snobbiest Small Cities in America." This ranking is in the same vein as Movoto's previous ranking of the "10 Most Exciting Suburbs." 

While I'm not sure I agree with the use of the word "snobby" to describe these admittedly affluent cities, since it could be viewed as derisive to their residents (personally I would use "preppy"), the ranking does seem to be somewhat accurate. (I tend to appreciate rankings that actually use statistical data as criteria, rather than anecdotal experiences or informal polls.) Out of the top 10, three of the cities are located in the Mid-Atlantic: Bethesda, MD (#2), Hoboken, NJ (#6), and Rockville, MD (#8). 

Washington St in Hoboken, NJ - #6 Snobbiest Small City 
Photo Credit: City of Hoboken

Bear in mind that to qualify as "small cities" according to Movoto (and similar to my definition) populated places (incorporated or not) had to have populations of between 45,000 and 65,000. This explains the absence of places such as Potomac (which just barely missed the 45K cutoff) and Chevy Chase, MD  and Scarsdale and Chappaqua, NY. I honestly think the ranking should have focused on smaller towns (pop. ~25,000-50,000) which have less income and cultural deviations. Some of these cities (such as Hoboken and Rockville) are rather large and multi-cultural to be considered "snobby" (preppy) as a whole.

The other issue with this ranking is that it doesn't take into account relative wealth. For instance, in Montgomery County, Rockville isn't really viewed as a "snobbish" or particularly exclusive city, especially compared to it's neighbors immediately to its south. Compared to other cities in other states it might seem very well-to-do, but in the 2nd wealthiest metro area, in the 2nd wealthiest county of the wealthiest state in the nation it is merely "upper middle-class."

Top 10 "Snobbiest" Small Cities in America
Rank	City
1.	Palo Alto, CA
2.	Bethesda, MD
3.	Brookline, MA
4.	San Rafael, CA
5.	Walnut Creek, CA
6.	Hoboken, NJ
7.	Oak Park, IL
8.	Encitas, CA (tie)
8.	Rockville, MD (tie)
10.	Laguna Niguel, CA

The Mid-Atlantic's Casinos

The Gold Rush to Build New Casinos in the Region Continues to Gain Momentum 

Future MGM National Harbor
National Harbor, MD
Photo Credit: MGM

Until about 20 years ago, the only casino gambling options available to residents of the Mid-Atlantic were located in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Today, while other regions still only have legalized casino gambling concentrated in select few jurisdictions (particularly in the South and West), every state in the Mid-Atlantic region has legalized at least some form of (strictly) regulated commercial gambling and has at minimum solicited bids for the construction of multiple casinos.

Casinos in the Mid-Atlantic: The Numbers
Number of: Delaware Maryland New Jersey New York Pennsylvania West Virginia Casinos 3 6* 11 9 13* 5    - Commercial 0 3 0 0 4 0    - Racinos 3 1 0 9 6 4    - Resort 0 2 11 0 3 1 Slot Machines/VLTs 7,000 12,893 24,368 15,779 27,250 8,020 Table Games 172 402 1,540 0 785 228 Hotel Rooms 500 500 17,638 573 1,378 1,520

*Includes one casino to be constructed in the near future

Resorts International Atlantic City: the East Coast's first casino
Atlantic City, NJ

History of Mid-Atlantic Casinos
Casino gambling first arrived in the Mid-Atlantic in 1978 in Atlantic City. ("Gambling halls" with slot machines did exist previously however in Charles County, MD from 1949 until they were outlawed in 1968). Between the end of World War II and the 1970's, the previously well-regarded resort city had entered into a steep decline, becoming plagued crime, poverty, and corruption. In an effort to revitalize the city, in 1976 New Jersey voters approved casino gambling for Atlantic City. Immediately after the legislation passed, the owners of the Chalfonte-Haddon Hall Hotel began converting it into the Resorts International. It was the first legal casino in the eastern United States when it opened on May 26, 1978 and still exists among 10 other casinos currently operating in the city.

While Atlantic City never reached the success of Las Vegas--the so-called "Entertainment Capital of the World"-- the city's casinos helped the city regain its status as a desirable resort destination, one of the most popular in the nation by the end of the 1980's. 
The success didn't last long though. WIth the advent of two Native American casinos in Connecticut and the era of "mega resorts" in Las Vegas in the 1990's, tourism in Atlantic City began a period of decline that continues to this day. The arrival of casino gambling in neighboring states has significantly compounded the problem and will likely continue to do so into the future.

Aerial view of Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races
Charles Town, WV

Casino Gambling Expands Beyond Atlantic City
Atlantic City's first wave of regional competition appeared in 1994 when both Delaware and West Virginia legalized gambling at "racinos"--combined horse (and dog) racetracks and casinos. Two years earlier, in New England, Rhode Island had also legalized racinos. Racinos proved to be very successful, particularly in West Virginia, and helped revitalize run-down racetracks as well as provide an overall boost to the horseracing industry. Legalization of racinos soon spread across the country, as far away as New Mexico, and are now legal in a total 12 states. New York, one of the most recent states to authorize racinos, legalized them in October 2001, and there are now 9 located throughout the state, including two located in or near New York City: Empire City Casino at Yonkers Raceway and Resorts World Casino New York at Aqueduct Racetrack. The opening of the New York  casinos further added to the misfortunes of the Atlantic City casinos.

SugarHouse Casino
Philadelphia, PA

Later in the decade, the legislatures of Maryland and Pennsylvania (the last two commercial gambling holdouts in the Mid-Atlantic) both passed measures to legalize casino gambling in 2008 and 2004 respectively. Unlike the other states of the region (except New Jersey), both states went a step further than racinos by legalizing a limited number of stand-alone casinos with strict restrictions attached. In addition to seven racino licenses, Pennsylvania made five licenses available stand-alone casinos (two in Philadelphia, one in Pittsburgh, and two at-large), and additional two to existing hotel resorts. Maryland passed similar legislation (ratified by voters in a 2008 referendum) which allowed the construction of five casinos in four counties and Baltimore city geographically dispersed throughout the state. Two of these casinos were built as racinos at existing horse tracks.

Horseshoe Casino Baltimore (opening fall 2014)
Baltimore, MD

Custom Google Map with location, pictures, and critical info of every casino in the Mid-Atlantic:

(Tip: Press the box above the map in the top right corner for a better view)

Amtrak's New Northeast Corridor Workhorse

Siemens ACS-64 #600 at Sacramento Manufacturing Facility May 2013
Photo Credit: Siemens/Amtrak (for all images unless otherwise specified)

Last week Friday (Feb. 7) Amtrak's newest fleet member completed its inaugural run on the the busy Northeast Corridor line on Northeast Regional #171 from Boston South Station to Union Station, Washington D.C. The brand new Siemens ACS-64 (ACS stands for "American Cities Sprinter") electric locomotive at the head end of the train is the first of 70 of the type to be delivered to Amtrak over a period of roughly two years. The locomotives, which are assembled by Siemens in Sacramento, CA to satisfy the "Buy America" requirement for federal funding, will be delivered at a rate of approximately three per month, with the final units arriving sometime next year. 

ACS-64 engineer's compartment

In addition to eventually powering all Northeast Regional and long-distance trains on the Northeast Corridor (NEC) (which serves Washington D.C., Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York, Boston, and points in between), the new locomotives will also operate on the Keystone Corridor branch line between Philadelphia and Harrisburg, PA. 

The incoming locomotive units will replace the 20 EMD AEM-7 (DC), 29 EMD AEM-7 (AC), and 15 Bombardier/Alstom HHP-8 electric locomotives currently powering trains on the NEC, most having over 3.5 million miles on them. The Swedish-designed AEM-7 locomotives (nicknamed "toasters" and originally all DC units) were delivered to Amtrak between 1978 and 1988. Between 1999 and 2002, 29 of these locomotives were upgraded by Amtrak and Alstom  to "AC" units with greater amount of horsepower allowing them to haul longer trains. 

The Mid-Atlantic's Most "Exciting" Suburbs

Downtown Silver Spring, MD at night
Photo Credit: UrbanTurf DC

Yesterday, real estate website Movoto released its ranking of the "Most Exciting Suburbs In America." Movoto created its ranking by selecting the 139 largest suburbs (using Census data)
and averaging their ranking over the following 6 criteria:

• Nightlife per capita (bars, clubs, comedy, etc.)
• Live music venues per capita
• Active life options per capita (parks, outdoor activities, etc.)
• Fast Food restaurants per capita (the fewer the better)
• Percentage of restaurants that are fast food (the lower the better)

A number of suburbs in the Mid-Atlantic made the top 50 ranking, although none of them made the top 10. The region also seems to be a little underrepresented on the top 50 as well with only with only five suburbs ranked (16% of US population should equal exactly 8 on the list). 

The #1 ranked suburb in the nation, Cambridge, MA, isn't really a surprise, neither are a few of the others in the top 10 such as Berkeley, CA and Santa Monica, CA. Some of the other top 10 suburbs however, might cause a few raised eyebrows.  It should come as no surprise though that many suburbs on the list are college towns including the Mid-Atlantic's "most exciting": Towson, MD.

Continue reading to see the national top 10 "most exciting" suburbs ranking as well as the most exciting suburbs here in the Mid-Atlantic.

Mid-Atlantic States Show Average Population Growth in 2013

According to the 2013 state population estimates released on Monday by the U.S. Census Bureau, the states of the Mid-Atlantic Region and Washington D.C. individually showed growth rates ranging from strong to weak, with the region's overall growth rate being decidedly below average. The estimates were taken on July 1, 2013. Here are some quick observations:

- All five Mid-Atlantic state with the exception of Delaware were in the top 20 most populous states, including New York and Pennsylvania, which were in the top 10

- The District of Columbia had a far higher growth rate than any of the states in the region, which is not surprising since urban areas have recently started to outpace many suburbs and rural areas in terms of growth.

- Pennsylvania easily had the most disappointing growth in the region and was the third slowest growing state in the entire nation between 2012 and 2013 (after Maine and West Virginia which both saw population declines)

- Florida, which added ~270,000 residents as the 8th fastest growing state in the nation is only ~100,000 residents away from displacing New York as the 3rd most populous state, which will likely happen some point next year

- Delaware was the fastest growing state in the region in 2013, ranking 16th with a nearly .1% rate of growth

- After Delaware, Maryland was the next fastest growing state in the region, ranking 23rd with a relatively average .7% growth rate

- New York and New Jersey both had below average growth, ranking 31st and 32nd respectively in terms of growth

The Wealthy States of the Mid-Atlantic

According to the recently released data from the U.S. Census Bureau's 2012 Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates, counties and states in the Mid-Atlantic* disproportionately dominate the top of their respective rankings of wealth and (lowest) poverty. This article discusses the wealth of the states  in the region. (A later post will focus on the counties)

The top 10 wealthiest states by median household incomes (Mid-Atlantic* states are in bold):

Rank	State	Median Household Income
1.	Maryland	$71,169
2.	New Jersey	$69,705
3.	Connecticut	$67,275
4.	Alaska	$66,503
5.	Hawaii	$66,086
6.	Massachusetts	$65,378
	District of Columbia	$65,231
7.	New Hampshire	$63,157
8.	Virginia	$61,782
9.	Minnesota	$58,828
10.	Delaware	$58,326