Trenton Overview

Trenton is the capital of New Jersey, a state of the United States of America. As of the 2000 census, it has a population of 85,403. Trenton is located in almost the exact center of the north-south axis of the state. Due to this, it is sometimes included as part of North Jersey and as the southernmost city of the New York metropolitan area. Others consider it part of South Jersey and as the northernmost city of the Delaware Valley metropolitan area. Locals consider it to be a part of Central Jersey, and thus part of neither region, though in truth the city has more communication and transportation links with the Delaware Valley than it does with New York It is the county seat of Mercer County. The City of Trenton is governed under the Faulkner Act (Mayor-Council) system of municipal government.

Trenton is the home of the Trenton Thunder minor league baseball team, which is affiliated with the New York Yankees, and the Trenton Titans, an affiliate of the Philadelphia Flyers. The New Jersey State Prison, which has two maximum security units and houses the state's most dangerous criminals, is also located in Trenton.

This city is an anchor city for the Delaware Valley metropolitan area. Trenton and its immediate suburbs are often lumped together and referred to as "Greater Trenton" by locals.

The chief employer in the city is the State of New Jersey and a number of state and federal government buildings are located downtown. The presence of these workers has proven crucial to the survival of many of Trenton's restaurants primarily located in an area of South Trenton known as Chambersburg.

The Trenton Public School system has consistently attempted to make strides to improve the quality of education for Trenton's students. Trenton Central High School (TCHS) or "Trenton High" for short, the city's lone secondary school, is the most diverse high school in Mercer County, offering a wide-array of educational programs to enhance students' knowledge. Trenton High is noted in "Great Schools.net" as having a five-star rating in the area of student activities. Despite their less than stellar public secondary education, Trenton High students have still managed to succeed and attend top universities such as Harvard, Yale, Princeton, and the University of Pennsylvania. Trenton High offers more student activities and has more courses to choose from than its surrounding, more affluent suburbs. Recently, talk of demolishing Trenton High due to the high cost of a vast ongoing renovation project has caused backlash from city residents and officials seeing as how Trenton High is one of the most beloved and historic edifices in the city at 74 years-old.

Although there has been an increase in the Bloods and Crip gang presence in Trenton; there has been a huge effort to tackle the city's gang issues. These problems are also impacting some of Trenton's suburbs such as Ewing, Hamilton, and Lawrenceville as well as Trenton's northern neighbor of Princeton. As a result, many suburban kids have tried to imitate Trenton's youth by brining gang violence to their suburban communities. In addition, local newspapers have brought much attention to the gangs in Trenton. The Trenton Police Deparment has been effective in protecting the non-gang affiliated Trenton community.

On a positive note, there has been significant improvement in a number of the city's neighborhoods, including the Mill Hill section of the city, which has become a trendy and desirable place to live full of brownstones similar to those found in New York City's Brooklyn borough or Harlem neighborhood. The area around the State House West Trenton has also seen positive growth as has the area between Greenwood Avenue and Hamilton Avenue of Trenton's East Ward. The mayor's residence in an area of Trenton bordering Ewing Township known as Hiltonia is also an example of more upscale housing within Trenton. City government, the police, and many concerned community members have been working diligently to improve the quality of life in the city.

There are more than 60 distinct ethnicities living in Trenton. There are many Eastern Europeans (primarily Polish) who generally live in the northeast part of the city, along Olden Avenue. There are also Latinos and Hispanics from all over the world especially Puerto Rico, Guatemala, and Ecuador, as well as many African-Americans from Haiti, Liberia, and Nigeria. One can also find a significant Irish population in Trenton. Perhaps best known, however, is Trenton's Italian community chiefly centered around Chambersburg which is Trenton's restaurant district and is home to many Italian restaurants, bakeries, and delicatessens. However, overall Trenton is still predominately African-American.

The new Sovereign Bank Arena in Trenton hosts the Trenton Titans semi-professional hockeyteam as well as numerous concerts, expositions, and other events. Pollstar, a leading industry publication has ranked the Sovereign Bank Arena 17th in the world for gross ticket sales.