Southern District of New York Manhattan Division
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Southern District of New York Manhattan Division The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (SDNY) is one of the most Westchester active and influential federal district courts Rockland in the United States due to its jurisdiction over the financial markets of New York. The Southern District is split into two divisions: Yonkers Manhattan and White Plains. In Manhattan, Bronx the court sits in the Thurgood Marshall New York United States Courthouse and Daniel Patrick New York Moynihan United States Courthouse. In White Plains the court sits in the Charles L. Brieant Jr. Federal Building and Courthouse. This analysis focuses on the Manhattan Division which draws from New York, Bronx, Putnam, Rockland, and Westchester counties. Jurors are chosen from the five counties and are paid $40 for a completed day of jury service. The first native New Yorkers were the Lenape who hunted, fished, and farmed the area. Europeans began to explore the Hudson river and surrounding areas at the beginning of the 16th century but no Europeans permanently settled the area until the Dutch West India Company sent 30 families to live and work on Governors Island in 1624, and establish the town of New Amsterdam. In 1626, Peter Minuit, the governor general, purchased the much larger Manhattan Island from the Lenape for 60 guilders in trade. In 1664 an English fleet arrived. Fearing that the English would sack the colony the Dutch surrendered, but managed to briefly recapture New Amsterdam in 1673 only to lose it to the English again in 1674, at which time it was renamed New York. At first New York City grew in a haphazard way. However, in 1807 the governor of the state appointed a commission to develop a plan for the city. They proposed that new streets should be laid out on a grid pattern, with 12 avenues running north to south and 155 streets running east to west. As New York City grew, the grid pattern spread north across Manhattan. The population of the city in 1626 was only 300 people but grew quickly. In 1760 the city’s population had exploded to 18,000 and New York was the second-largest city in the American colonies. By 1820, New York had become the United State’s largest city with a population of 123,000 and it www.thefocalpoint.com | © The Focal Point LLC 2018 continued to grow rapidly. Twenty years later New York had a population of 312,000 and by 1860 the city had 813,000 inhabitants. Today, more than 8 million people live in the city’s five boroughs. New York County is conterminous with the borough of Manhattan and surrounding islands. New York County is the most densely populated county in the United States with a 2017 population of 1,664,727 residents living in a land area of 22.96 square miles. The median household income in Manhattan is $72,871, and while New York is often listed as one of the wealthiest counties in the country, it is slightly lower than Westchester and Putnam County because the city’s households tend to be smaller and younger, while the commuter counties tend to be inhabited by older, more established workers. Although the venue has a high percentage of Hispanics, they tend to be underrepresented on juries due to language and citizenship requirements. The Bronx is the northernmost of the five boroughs of New York City, located north of Manhattan and Queens, and south of Westchester County. It is densely populated (1,428,357) and home to Co-op City, the largest cooperatively owned housing complex in the U.S. In contrast to Manhattan and the middle class areas of Westchester County, the Bronx is considerably poorer. Its median household income is only $34,299 and 30.3 percent of Bronx residents live below the poverty line. Westchester County is located north of New York City and west of Connecticut. Residents of Westchester County (967,315) are quite prosperous as a group, with a median household income of $83,958. However, many of the residents who will be summoned to the Manhattan Courthouse live in the blue collar and lower income areas in the southern part of the county. Putnam County is located north of Westchester County between the Hudson River and Connecticut. The residents (99,488) are prosperous with a median household income of $96,148. The Hispanic community (12.7%) is the fastest growing population group and represents a significant change in the ethnic makeup of the county’s population. On a political level, Putnam County tends to vote Republican but on a state level, it generally votes for the Democratic candidate. The Putnam County Courthouse, located in the town of Carmel, is the second oldest working courthouse in New York State. Rockland County is located 15 miles northwest of Manhattan across the Hudson River. The residents (320,688) are prosperous with a median household income of $84,855 and have some of the highest property tax rates in the nation. The county is home to one of the largest Jewish populations per capita of any U.S. county, with over 30 percent of residents identifying as Jewish. Population Manhattan Division New York Statewide Total Population 4,445,355 19,716,637 White 39.0% 56.9% Hispanic 33.6% 18.4% Black 18.0% 14.4% Asian 7.1% 7.9% www.thefocalpoint.com | © The Focal Point LLC 2018 Consistent with the prosperity of the venue, jurors will be generally well educated. The high school graduation rate in the venue exceeds 81 percent, and 43 percent have graduated from college. However, there is considerable variation in education levels across the Manhattan Division. For example, 60 percent of Manhattan residents have a Bachelor’s degree, compared with only 19 percent of Bronx residents. New York City is home to such notable private universities as Barnard College, Columbia University, Cooper Union, Fordham University, New York University, The New School, Pace University, and Yeshiva University. The public City University of New York system is one of the largest universities in the nation. The city has dozens of other smaller private colleges and universities, including many religious and special-purpose institutions, such as: St. John’s University, The Juilliard School, The College of Mount Saint Vincent, and The School of Visual Arts. Education Manhattan Division New York Statewide High School or Less 37.3% 41.1% Some College or Associate’s Degree 19.4% 24.7% Bachelor’s Degree 23.4% 19.4% Graduate or Professional Degree 19.9% 14.8% The Southern District tends to be socially and politically liberal, and the Democratic Party holds a majority of public offices. In the 2016 presidential election, 88 percent of the Bronx County residents and 87 percent New York County residents voted for Hillary Clinton. While residents in Putnam County supported Barack Obama in the 2012 election with smaller margins than the remaining counties, 57 percent of the county residents voted for Donald Trump in 2016. 2016 Presidential Clinton Trump Election Bronx County 88.7% 9.6% New York County 87.2% 10.0% Putnam County 39.3% 57.1% Rockland County 51.2% 46.1% Westchester County 64.9% 32.1% New York State 58.8% 37.5% The current legal climate in the region has recently shifted by a few controversial bills that will have a potentially large impact, such as the bill concerning the September 11th, 2001 attacks that will allow survivors to make claims relating to injuries relating to those events. Another important bill that was passed in 2016 raised the minimum wage and made paid maternity leave mandatory. Additionally, in 2017, Mayor Bill de Blasio supported the closing of the well known Rikers Island jail complex. The facility houses, at any given time, 10,000 inmates and is set to gradually close over a ten year period. An www.thefocalpoint.com | © The Focal Point LLC 2018 independent commission recommended a smaller, borough-based prison system at a cost of $10.6 billion. The city’s low crime numbers contributed to the decision to close Rikers Island, as well as its reputation for brutality and inhumane treatment of inmates. These changes will impact all five boroughs and the first steps include, holding fewer people on bail, greater access to diversion programs for drug offenses and people with mental illness, and update current laws for low-level offenses from criminal to civil matters. The median househould incomes in the venue ($65,307) are higher than the state of New York ($61,872) and the national average ($59,039), however there is great disparity between counties. Incomes are highest in Putnam ($96,148) and Rockland ($84,855) counties. Income levels in Bronx County ($34,299) are the lowest in the venue. Unemployment rates also vary widely within the venue. As of February 2017, Bronx County has the highest in the venue at 6.5 percent and New York County is the lowest with an unemployment rate of just 4.2 percent. Household Data Manhattan Division New York Statewide Median Value of Home $568,949 $323,737 Median Household Income $65,307 $61,872 Home Ownership 33.4% 53.7% New York City is a global hub of international business and commerce and is one of three “command centers” for the world economy (along with London and Tokyo). The city is a major center for banking and finance, retailing, world trade, transportation, tourism, real estate, new media as well as traditional media, advertising, legal services, accountancy, insurance, theater, fashion, and the arts. The New York metropolitan area had a gross metropolitan product of approximately $1.4 trillion in 2016, making it the largest regional economy in the United States, and according to IT Week, the second largest city economy in the world.