The Ruins of Trenton

Nice to see a hearty dose of F-bombs in a Ruins of Trenton post.

Whiskey is good like that.

Drink more whiskey, my friend - I like the edge it gives you.

Stuy town. Nice big city feel, the sights and a perfect place for a stroll. I think there was this very well kept park which was a place of solace set amongst all the tall apartment buildings.

Before I started learning just how corrupt and deceptive NJ politicos are I never would have thought that Federal crime data stats were distorted. If the data came from the FBI I figured it must be the most reliable information one can go by. Yes, I do think some city leaders are that corrupt as to manipulate their towns' crime numbers.

But that said, we should be aware that many of the crimes perpetrated are never even reported to a media source. The citizens do have a right to know what is going on in their neighborhoods. We aren't living under Communism where much of the news is suppressed. This freedom of press is just one of many great qualities within a Democracy.

Violent crime likely occurs every day in this town. One need not go looking for this sort of trouble on our streets. It is out there, happening every single day and night. Even someone such as myself, who does minimal driving within the city, comes across plenty of incidents. It's obvious when I see the arrests taking place, the open drug dealing, the fights, erratic driving due to someone under the influence, auto accidents and much more I don't have the authority to look into. I don't get it why some of the most troublesome streets receive such little attention. I know of 2 street corners where there has been persistent criminal activity for at least the past 25 years. They are.. Walnut and Hampton avenues; and Hoffman and Oakland streets. Why cannot such a large police force clear these corners of trouble once and for all? One could cruise through some of the most notoriously high crime areas of town and not see a single cop for blocks.

I have witnessed things occur where I swear we would all be reading about it the next day or perhaps on TV news. Some crimes it seems are never reported to any outside sources. The powers within the confines of the administration must file them away and pretend they never happened. Everything perhaps from break ins to robberies and assaults go unreported to media regularly. If some news reporter happens on the scene of say, an assault, or is called there on a tip, then that is the only way we will ever hear of it. Of course some crimes are so serious that they cannot hide them from the public.

If we citizens knew about all that goes on I bet it would come as a shocking revelation. we hardly know what happens on our own street. Even worse, anyone contemplating a move here would be scared away if they performed even a cursory look at our crime data. This is still no reason to hide the real numbers and forms of crimes. Palmer and Santiago have been lying to us all along to make themselves appear as though they are such great leaders in their respective jobs. There are not enough people in this city who care enough to as much as take issue with any of this.

I don't know if Elizabeth, NJ officials change their crime data any, but if the FBI crime data out of there is any indication, then that place is doing something right. The population stands around 125,000, compared to us...84,000. They have a National crime rate consistently lower than ours. The police force is actually a little smaller than ours. The same goes for an even larger city, Bridgeport, Connecticut with over 140,00 pop. How are they able to make do with only about 20 more cops on the force than us? Clifton, NJ is a perfect example of great leadership. All of city government is leaner and the crime rate is very low. The pop. there is on par with us, give or take a few thousand. Paterson, NJ, around 150,000 pop. and only about 450 officers to our approximately 380. One must look at the much bigger populations and the size (square miles) of these places. We are the smallest city so far mentioned. Erie, Pa manages things very well. 110,000 residents but only 170 cops. Crime rate is much lower than not only Trenton's average, but the national average. Erie's population exceeds ours by at least 25,000 and there are far less total city employees than our school staff.

We already have enough police to deal with the crime. And they are well paid..a point I failed to mention with regard to them other cities who pay cops less. I think due to incompetent leadership, starting with Palmer, Santiago, and trickling down to the lowest level of city management. What they do here is raise property taxes every year. It's always one more hurdle to get over or a shortfall in state aid or any excuse. Our tax rate happens to be the 2nd highest in Mercer County, next to Hightstown. So even Princetonians' taxes are cheaper. There are way too many city employees, (not needed) in all departments. Whenever I go into any of the offices at city hall there is always a few people sitting, doing nothing. They have so many security guards that you have to woinder what they are protecting in there? They walk around and just are basically idle all day. Some have a snide attitude. This is the first impression one gets upon entering a place that belongs to the people. Some major layoffs here so the heavy burden of taxes can be lessened on homeowners.

I just read where a city employee was told he was not educated enough and lacked experience for his position and so was demoted to assistant from director. Palmer also is probably not educated adequately or intelligent enough to be the mayor. He has the experience as far as conning and stringing us along for so long. His 'charm' is gone and his con game is becoming unraveled as each new problem is discovered.