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BY WARREN BOROSON
NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM
A new listing (Aug. 7) of the ten "most miserable" cities in the country puts Newark, N.J., in eighth place. After El Centro, Calif., which reportedly has the highest unemployment rate in the entire U.S. (27.5%).
This listing of "worst places to live" comes from WalletPop.com, and it's accompanied by intelligent commentary:
"Where to start for one of the worst cities in America? Newark has been likened to Detroit, but with its own political and social dysfunction. More than a quarter of its population lives below the poverty line, the state has the most Superfund toxic-waste sites in the nation, and Newark Mayor Cory Booker is trying to close a $70 million budget deficit by cutting items like toilet paper. Non-uniformed city workers will soon start working four-day workweeks, which won't make it the first city to cut employee hours, but at least Booker has said he won't raise taxes.
"Booker has brought the city a long way since being elected in 2007, but he still has a long way to go. While crime in the city has been reduced, it still remains a major issue. A recent spate of shootings has reminded residents of the city's long history of violent crime."
I sent Mayor Booker a message on Facebook asking for his comment, but he hasn't answered. I thought maybe he might boast about having reduced murders in Newark from one every 1.36 minutes to one every 1.43 minutes. But not a word.
Criteria that WalletPop used in rating cities included unemployment, health data, foreclosures, crime rates, and climate.
Such lists of best-and-worst this-and-that are quite common these days, but there isn't all that much duplication between lists After all, a lot depends on the criteria used and their weightings. Besides, if a publication regularly puts out a listing, it's under pressure to vary the names somehow, or it might wind up with the same old list year after year. Changing the criteria can help.
In any case, Newark certainly doesn't make every list of "miserable cities." Forbes.com has issued its third annual list of 20 "most miserable" cities (Feb. 18), and Cleveland --- the Mistake by the Lake --- is No. 1. No Newark. New York City is No. 16 because of commuting horrors and high taxes. Criteria in general: unemployment, taxes, weather, corruption, success of professional sports teams in past two years, Superfund pollution. (The success, or lack of it, of local sports teams seems a frivolous criterion.)
Still another list of blighted cities has been issued by Morgan Quitno Awards, which publishes a variety of ratings of communities throughout the country. Its list of 25 most dangerous cities (out of 371) is led not by Newark but by St. Louis. Camden is in fifth place, Trenton is 14th, and 22nd is Newark. As for safe cities, Brick Township is No. 1, Dover Township No. 14, and Edison Township is 23rd.
Finally, there's a Website called worst-cities.com — the 80 worst in the world.
On the list:
Atlantic City. Worst part: "Gang violence. Slums. Donald Trump." Despite all its casinos, "it remains a sink hole." (The page reporting this features ads for Atlantic City hotels.) Atlantic City is listed right above Baghdad.
Camden. Because of crime and poverty. Best part: "Site of first Church of Scientology. But maybe that should be the worst part. But I don't want Tom Cruise to yell at me." Camden is listed right above Chernobyl.
Worst-cities, clearly, has the virtue of being fun to read.
One city's inclusion on the list puzzled me: Barcelona, Spain. I thought it enjoyed a glorious reputation. But worst-cities.com calls it "dirty, smelly and expensive." Not only that, but "People are very rude." And taxi-cab drivers take you for a ride.
I'm going to Spain next year, and while I'm a bit skeptical about these facile lists, I've resolved to bypass Barcelona.
On the other hand, I am going to continue regularly visiting the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark.
Warren Boroson's financial column appears every Monday.
