Camden New Jersey: Encyclopedia - Camden New Jersey

Camden, New Jersey

The City of Camden is the county seat of Camden County, New Jersey in the United States. It is located just across the Delaware River from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. As of the United States 2000 Census, the city had a total population of 79,904.

Camden is the home of a branch campus of Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey. The USS New Jersey is preserved as a museum on Camden's Delaware River waterfront near the Adventure Aquarium and the Tweeter Center. Campbell's Field, the stadium where the Camden Riversharks Minor league baseball team plays, is located between the aquarium and the Benjamin Franklin Bridge. Riverfront State Prison is immediately adjacent to the stadium on the other side of the Benjamin Franklin Bridge.

It is known as the home of the Campbell Soup Company. While Campbell's corporate offices have been in Camden for decades, its Camden plant closed in 1996.

The Delaware River Port Authority (or DRPA), which maintains its main offices in Camden, owns the Benjamin Franklin Bridge which connects Camden to Philadelphia, the PATCO Hi-Speedline's three Camden stations, the RiverLink ferry to Penn's Landing in Philadelphia, and numerous area port facilities.

New Jersey Transit's Walter Rand Transportation Center is located at Broadway & Mickle Blvd. Besides being a major hub for New Jersey Transit buses and Greyhound Lines, the Walter Rand Transportation Center is also a PATCO and River LINE station.

In 2004, Camden was declared "America's Most Dangerous City" by the Morgan Quitno Corporation [1], up from third place in 2003 and topping the 354 cities studied. The city was named "Most Dangerous" again in 2005 out of 369 cities ranked nationwide [2], with Detroit, Michigan and St. Louis, Missouri in second and third place respectively.

Camden New Jersey - History

For over 150 years, Camden served as a secondary economic and transportation hub for the Philadelphia area. Originally a suburban town with ferry service to 'the city,' Camden prospered during strong periods of manufacturing demand and faced distress during periods of economic dislocation. [3] Currently, government, education, and healthcare are the three biggest employers in Camden; however, most employees commute to Camden and live in nearby suburbs such as Cherry Hill.

From 1901 through 1929 Camden was headquarters of the Victor Talking Machine Company, and thereafter to its successor RCA Victor, the world's largest manufacturer of phonographs and phonograph records for the first two thirds of the 20th century. RCA Victor contained one of the first commercial recording studios in the United States, where Enrico Caruso, among others, recorded. The RCA plant was also the site where the first color television was manufactured.

Walt Whitman lived his last years in Camden and is buried in Harleigh Cemetery on Haddon Avenue.

Camden is the place where the first drive-in theater opened, invented by Richard Hollingshead, on June 6, 1933.

Camden was once the home of a New York Shipbuilding Corporation shipyard. It was in that shipyard that the USS Nautilus (SSN-571), the first nuclear-powered submarine, was finished-off after its dedication in Groton, Connecticut in 1954. In 1962 the first commercial nuclear-powered ship, the NS Savannah, was launched in Camden, New Jersey.[4]

On September 6, 1949 mass murderer Howard Unruh went on a killing spree in his Camden neighborhood. Thirteen people died as a result. Unruh remains confined in a state psychiatric facility. In 1996, New Jersey Governor Christine Todd Whitman frisked Sherron Rolax in Camden, which many alleged violated Rolax's civil rights.

By 1969, Camden had been losing jobs and residents for a quarter century due in large part to urban renewal, highway construction, and racial tensions. The worst racial riots occurred when a Puerto Rican motorist was beaten by city police and died in August 1971. Sections of downtown were looted and torched. [5]

Camden New Jersey - High Crime Rate

Based on statistics reported to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Camden was the third-most dangerous city in the U.S. during 2002, and has been ranked the nation's most dangerous city in 2004 and 2005 [6]. "Most dangerous city" is based on crime statistics in six categories: murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, and auto theft. [7] City Councilman Ali Sloan-El, responding to 2004 news about the 2003 statistics, cites Camden's poverty as an important contributing factor to its high crime rate. The demographic data from the Census indicates about a third of the city's residents live below the poverty line.

Camden New Jersey - Government

Camden has historically been a stronghold of the Democratic Party. Voter turnout is very low; approximately 19% of Camden's voting age population participated in the 2005 election. [8]

Camden New Jersey - Local government

Since July 1, 1961, the City has operated under a Mayor-Council form of government. Under this form of government, the City Council consisted of seven Council members originally all elected at-large. In 1994, the City opted to modify the form of government to better address the changing needs of the citizenry. To that end, the City of Camden was divided into four councilmanic districts, instead of electing the entire Council at-large. One Council member was elected from each of the four districts. In 1995, the election was changed from a partisan election to a non-partisan Municipal Election. The Municipal Election is held on the second Tuesday in May.

Gwendolyn Faison is the Mayor of Camden. Members of the City Council are:

• Angel Fuentes - City Council President and Ward 4
• Dana Redd - Vice President and Councilperson At Large
• Curtis Jenkins - Council Member At Large
• Michael McGuire - Ward 1
• Francisco "Frank" Moran - Ward 3
• Gilbert "Whip" Wilson - Council Member At Large
• Ali Sloan-El, Sr. - Ward 2

Camden New Jersey - Federal state and county representation

Camden is in the First Congressional District and is part of New Jersey's 5th Legislative District.

New Jersey's First Congressional District, covering portions of Burlington County, Camden County and Gloucester County, is represented by Rob Andrews (D, Haddon Heights). New Jersey is represented in the Senate by Jon Corzine (D, Hoboken) and Frank Lautenberg (D, Cliffside Park).

The 5th legislative district of the New Jersey Legislature is represented in the State Senate by Wayne R. Bryant (D, Camden) and in the Assembly by Nilsa Cruz-Perez (D, Camden) and Joseph J. Roberts (D, Brooklawn). The Acting Governor of New Jersey is Richard Codey (D, West Orange).

Camden County is governed by a seven-member Board of Chosen Freeholders. Camden County's Freeholders are: Louis Cappelli, Jr. (Freeholder Director), Edward McDonnell (Freeholder Deputy Director), Riletta L. Cream, Thomas J. Gurick, Jeffrey L. Nash, Joseph Ripa and Carmen Rodriguez.

Camden New Jersey - Geography

Camden is located at 39°56'14" North, 75°6'22" West (39.937195, -75.106186)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 26.9 km² (10.4 mi²). 22.8 km² (8.8 mi²) of it is land and 4.0 km² (1.6 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 15.03% water.

Camden borders Collingswood, Gloucester City, Haddon Township, Pennsauken, and Woodlynne.

Camden contains the U.S.'s first federally-funded planned community, Yorkship Village (now called Fairview). The village was designed by Electus Darwin Litchfield, who was influenced by the "garden city" developments popular in England at the time. [9]

Camden New Jersey - Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000 [10], there are 79,904 people, 24,177 households, and 17,431 families residing in the city. The population density is 3,497.9/km² (9,057.0/mi²). There are 29,769 housing units at an average density of 1,303.2/km² (3,374.3/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 16.84% White, 53.35% Black or African American, 0.54% Native American, 2.45% Asian, 0.07% Pacific Islander, 22.83% from other races, and 3.92% from two or more races. 38.82% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race. 8.9% are foreign-born.

There are 24,177 households out of which 42.2% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 26.1% are married couples living together, 37.7% have a female householder with no husband present, and 27.9% are non-families. 22.5% of all households are made up of individuals and 7.8% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 3.12 and the average family size is 3.62.

In the city the population is quite young with 34.6% under the age of 18, 12.0% from 18 to 24, 29.5% from 25 to 44, 16.3% from 45 to 64, and 7.6% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 27 years. For every 100 females there are 94.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 90.0 males.

The median income for a household in the city is $23,421, and the median income for a family is $24,612. Males have a median income of $25,624 versus $21,411 for females. The per capita income for the city is $9,815. 35.5% of the population and 32.8% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 45.5% of those under the age of 18 and 23.8% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Camden New Jersey", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki