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sounds like Camden is going to be a ghost town in a few years.
It is already past that. It is already the most ultimate form of "ghetto" that this country has to offer. Where are you from? Where were you just a few years ago when Camden was ranked the most dangerous city in the entire country?
They've had "plans" for Camden for decades yet it never really goes anywhere. The current plans are basically turning Camden into Baghdad with a giant "Green Zone" downtown that extends to the waterfront. Basically you'll take the highway or public transit to an area dominated by Rutgers, Cooper, government buildings and waterfront attractions. It will look nice, it will be as safe as any other urban area, but outside that section patrolled by an endless parade of State/County/Local police it will still be the worlds ultimate post-industrial ghetto.
If you want to see what they may try to do after that you just need to look at the Cooper Point/Grant neighborhood. They tear down high density housing and replace it with lower density modern single family attached homes with strict standards for being approved for the housing. Basically, they build the "green zone", then they are going to go neighborhood by neighborhood depopulating as money allows. Cooper Grant needs to be done as it is in the "Green Zone". Cooper Point lies to the north and is sandwiched between 76 and the river. There are currently some plans to do the same in Pyne Poynt as well. I just find it ironic that the stategy used to pacify areas of Iraq are now being applied to Camden.
I also just wanted to add that when you look at the history of Camden, it is also the history of low-rent public housing. This website gives a nice history of these developments that sprang up during the depression and were used to replace old housing or take up empty space. The idea was to draw people into the city to feed the factories that needed more workers. If you take the time to read through the individual articles and histories of each development, you'll see what the problem was. Basically, they ate up a lot of the affordable single family housing in the town with these developments. Then they forced them to be low-rent. As people moved in and became succesful, say dad became a foreman at the factory, they were forced to move out of these developments as they now made too much money and since there was little housing available in Camden, people fled to the newer bedroom communities springing up in South Jersey like Bellmawr, Mt. Ephraim, Audubon, Oaklyn, etc. These developments worked, but only for one generation and then the wealth that they helped create fled. The other issue was that these developments did not provide nearly the size of tax base that was needed to support the population. This was fine when the factories were there and the regular neighborhoods were functioning, but when the factories left the floor fell out.
Camden a ghost town?I don't think that will ever happen,where would the drug dealers go?Certainly not in Audubon,Oaklyn,Bellmawr,or any other neighborhoods,cops would take care of that!I grew up in the Fairview section of that town,that was probably one of the best parts of Camden until R.P.M.came in.My mom grew up in Pollock town as she called it,(South Camden) on Louis St.That was a disgrace in the early 70's.Then they built up the Waterfront with the Aquarium,Riversharks stadium & so forth in the 80's.Many big companies have left Camden,like RCA,GE to name a few,when they left,so did a lot of the people,they moved to the suburbs to have a better life for them & their kids.There's been many crooked Politicians over the past 3 decades too.Growing up in Camden today isn't what it use to be that's for sure,drug dealers rule that town,have been for the past few decades.When I drive by my old town & see dealers on corners,I just wonder why the police don't do nothing about it.People don't maintain their property either,very sad town indeed!
Homer,s was still there untill 2 maybe 3 years ago. I think it is the collingswood dinner there still excelent food and service.
I remember Homer's. My father's family are natives of that area, they all have told me stories about how great the area used to be before it went ghetto. My dad's favorite sandwich was the reuben, corned beef, melted swiss and sauerkraut on toasted rye with russian dressing, an open sandwich. That place made them like no others. My dad always said you never had a real reuben until you had one at Homer's. Is it the same owners there now that it has changed its name?
They've had "plans" for Camden for decades yet it never really goes anywhere. The current plans are basically turning Camden into Baghdad with a giant "Green Zone" downtown that extends to the waterfront. Basically you'll take the highway or public transit to an area dominated by Rutgers, Cooper, government buildings and waterfront attractions. It will look nice, it will be as safe as any other urban area, but outside that section patrolled by an endless parade of State/County/Local police it will still be the worlds ultimate post-industrial ghetto.
If you want to see what they may try to do after that you just need to look at the Cooper Point/Grant neighborhood. They tear down high density housing and replace it with lower density modern single family attached homes with strict standards for being approved for the housing. Basically, they build the "green zone", then they are going to go neighborhood by neighborhood depopulating as money allows. Cooper Grant needs to be done as it is in the "Green Zone". Cooper Point lies to the north and is sandwiched between 76 and the river. There are currently some plans to do the same in Pyne Poynt as well. I just find it ironic that the stategy used to pacify areas of Iraq are now being applied to Camden.
I don't like seeing people who have nowhere else to go or who grow up in a place or choose to stay for whatever reason being screwed over for newcomers with money, and I'll never mince words about that. However, something that has occurred to me is that any large, urban area needs sections in order to be healthy. If you look at the worst cities or urban areas in our metro or any area, it's apparent that they don't have that as much. That's why despite its own problems, people visiting Wilmington aren't likely to view it or think of it in the same way they view or think of Chester. Actually, people most likely won't even view or think of Camden in the same way they view or think of Chester, because of Camden's waterfront area and downtown. Hell, even Chester has people going there now for the Union games or the other waterfront attractions like the casino or to go to Chester-Crozer or to go to and live at Widener. Having a safe, healthy downtown to waterfront "green zone" in Camden will bring in tourist dollars as well as bring in more people and eventually more businesses. That will give Camden a real tax base as well as population gains of people who actually have money, which will eventually need retail and dining options and other things, as well as needing better schools. If it comes together the right way and sustains itself then Camden could go the way of some of the smaller, more successful cities in PA that are around the same size. What all of the troubled cities like Chester, Camden, and Wilmington have in common is they all have a college or university of some sort, they all have improving medical facilities, and they all have businesses for people to work at as well as attractions in their downtowns or waterfronts or both. They also all have a ridiculous amount of untapped potential in their waterfronts or downtowns in a time where people across the country want to live in dense, walkable areas instead of suburban sprawl.
The only problem is the fact that they'll probably do KOZ stuff with 10 year tax abatement's so the tax base will grow slowly or in a delayed manner. Eventually though, those tax abatement properties will create a major tax base, including real estate owners and companies who took the KOZ bait as well.
The fact is that New Jersey will never help Camden for as long as people like Chris Christie are running it, and people who have the money to make a difference in places like that won't ever look at it unless they see dollar signs for themselves. It makes my blood boil to see people try to just cover up problems or push the people who have them out to other places but it's better to make a place more sustainable and safe in one way than not do it at all.
The police have a policy of harrassing blacks who walk or drive through.
Are you lying by omission? Ask any white person who fled Southwest Philly not that long ago if they feel bad about "racial profiling". Their cops looked the other way in the name of "diversity", and that area has become a war zone in the last 10 or 15 years. Camden has been a dump since 1971. That was when the riots started, when Sears closed, and when Camden became a "soul" capital.
I don't like seeing people who have nowhere else to go or who grow up in a place or choose to stay for whatever reason being screwed over for newcomers with money, and I'll never mince words about that. However, something that has occurred to me is that any large, urban area needs sections in order to be healthy. If you look at the worst cities or urban areas in our metro or any area, it's apparent that they don't have that as much. That's why despite its own problems, people visiting Wilmington aren't likely to view it or think of it in the same way they view or think of Chester. Actually, people most likely won't even view or think of Camden in the same way they view or think of Chester, because of Camden's waterfront area and downtown. Hell, even Chester has people going there now for the Union games or the other waterfront attractions like the casino or to go to Chester-Crozer or to go to and live at Widener. Having a safe, healthy downtown to waterfront "green zone" in Camden will bring in tourist dollars as well as bring in more people and eventually more businesses. That will give Camden a real tax base as well as population gains of people who actually have money, which will eventually need retail and dining options and other things, as well as needing better schools. If it comes together the right way and sustains itself then Camden could go the way of some of the smaller, more successful cities in PA that are around the same size. What all of the troubled cities like Chester, Camden, and Wilmington have in common is they all have a college or university of some sort, they all have improving medical facilities, and they all have businesses for people to work at as well as attractions in their downtowns or waterfronts or both. They also all have a ridiculous amount of untapped potential in their waterfronts or downtowns in a time where people across the country want to live in dense, walkable areas instead of suburban sprawl.
The only problem is the fact that they'll probably do KOZ stuff with 10 year tax abatement's so the tax base will grow slowly or in a delayed manner. Eventually though, those tax abatement properties will create a major tax base, including real estate owners and companies who took the KOZ bait as well.
The fact is that New Jersey will never help Camden for as long as people like Chris Christie are running it, and people who have the money to make a difference in places like that won't ever look at it unless they see dollar signs for themselves. It makes my blood boil to see people try to just cover up problems or push the people who have them out to other places but it's better to make a place more sustainable and safe in one way than not do it at all.
What their building isn't for attracting outside wealth. What they are building is for the residents of Camden, just less of them. When I said strict standards, there were a lot of requirements for being allowed to live in these modern low income housing developments. Their belief is that they can help the people who want/need it while eliminating large portions of the criminal and gang element. The problem for Camden is that these properties and developments still will not generate any real tax base. I suppose the hope is that if they clear out enough, they can start to attract regular development.
If you ask me what all of these troubled cities have in common, the answer would be that they were some of the leading experiments in high density low income public housing. At first it worked, but as soon as the people who lived there became upwardly mobile they were forced to leave. This is what happened in Camden, as I detailed in another post. The people who were left became trapped and permanently stuck on government support.
The fact is, Camden has been Camden and having the same issues for generations. From the most bleeding heart liberals to the staunchest conservatives nothing has changed. Everything that has been tried has failed miserably and the state continues to pour millions upon millions into Camden to no avail. I don't know what the solution is, but none of the ideas tried over the past 40 or 50 years have met with success and they range from redevelopment to declaring martial law to clean up the streets.
If we assume that good communities are good communities because the people who live there invest into making it good and take pride in their town, then the key to Camden is engendering that same feeling the investment. How do you get the majority of people to give a crap especially when they almost have no skin in the game?
What their building isn't for attracting outside wealth. What they are building is for the residents of Camden, just less of them. When I said strict standards, there were a lot of requirements for being allowed to live in these modern low income housing developments. Their belief is that they can help the people who want/need it while eliminating large portions of the criminal and gang element. The problem for Camden is that these properties and developments still will not generate any real tax base. I suppose the hope is that if they clear out enough, they can start to attract regular development.
If you ask me what all of these troubled cities have in common, the answer would be that they were some of the leading experiments in high density low income public housing. At first it worked, but as soon as the people who lived there became upwardly mobile they were forced to leave. This is what happened in Camden, as I detailed in another post. The people who were left became trapped and permanently stuck on government support.
The fact is, Camden has been Camden and having the same issues for generations. From the most bleeding heart liberals to the staunchest conservatives nothing has changed. Everything that has been tried has failed miserably and the state continues to pour millions upon millions into Camden to no avail. I don't know what the solution is, but none of the ideas tried over the past 40 or 50 years have met with success and they range from redevelopment to declaring martial law to clean up the streets.
If we assume that good communities are good communities because the people who live there invest into making it good and take pride in their town, then the key to Camden is engendering that same feeling the investment. How do you get the majority of people to give a crap especially when they almost have no skin in the game?
Hypothetically what if Camden was able to annex all of Camden County? Wouldn't that end all of Camden's problems.
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