Quincy

Quincy (KWIN-zee) is a coastal U.S. city in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. First settled in 1625, Quincy was briefly part of Dorchester before becoming the north precinct of Braintree in 1640. Quincy was officially incorporated as a separate town named for Col. John Quincy in 1792, the grandfather of Abigail Adams. The city was also the site of the Granite Railway, the United States' first commercial railroad. In the 20th century, both Howard Johnson's and Dunkin' Donuts were founded in the city. Quincy became a city in 1888 and is the seventh-largest city in the state. It is the birthplace of two presidents, John Adams and his son John Quincy Adams, as well as John Hancock (the first signer of the Declaration of Independence) and the first and third Governor of Massachusetts. Its population in 2020 was 101,636, making it the seventh largest city in Massachusetts. It was named after Colonel John Quincy, the maternal grandfather of Abigail Adams and after whom John Quincy Adams was also named. Quincy is the onlycity of 16 subsequent cities named Quincy in the United United States rather than "QUINCE-ee-zee" than "quincy" or "kwn-zee". It was the first city to open a granite quarry in 1826. Quincy's population grew by over 50 percent during the 1920s during the city's suburbanization as the city was accessible to Boston.

History

Quincy is the primary city name, but also North Quincy, Squantum are acceptable city names or spellings, Marina Bay, N Quincy, No Quincy, Norfolk Downs on the other hand no longer accepted or obsolete and are no longer used as a designation. The official name is City of Quincy. Quincy was first incorporated as part of Dorchester in 1630 and was briefly annexed by Boston in 1634. The area became Braintree in 1640, bordered along the coast of Massachusetts Bay by Dorchester to the north and Weymouth to the east. Quincy was officially incorporated as a separate town named for Col. John Quincy in 1792, the grandfather of Abigail Adams. In 1845 the Old Colony Railroad opened; the Massachusetts Historical Commission stated that the railroad was "the beginning of a trend toward suburbanization" Quincy granite became famous throughout the nation, and stonecutting became the city's principal economic activity. In the 1870s, the city gave its name to the Quincy Method, an influential approach to education developed by Francis W. Parker while he served as Quincy's superintendent of schools. Quincy's population grew by over 50 percent during the 1920s. The city became an important shipbuilding center in the 1880s; many famous warships were built at the Forest River Shipyard. Quincy is the firstand onlycity of 16 subsequent cities named Quincy in the United States whose residents pronounce the name as (/kwnzi/ KWIN-zee) rather than "QUINCE-ee" It is also home to the first iron furnace in the U.S., the John Winthrop Jr. Iron Furnace Site (also known as Braintrees Furnace), from 1644 to 1653. It is located on the site of the original English settlement of 1625 and takes its name from the punning name given by Thomas Morton.

Geography

Quincy shares borders with Boston to the north (separated by the Neponset River), Milton to the west, Randolph and Braintree to the south, and Weymouth to the east. Quincy's territory includes Hangman Island, Moon Island (restricted access, and all land is owned by the City of Boston), Nut Island (now a peninsula), and Raccoon Island in the Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area. Quincy Bay, within city limits to the northeast, is part of Boston Harbor and Massachusetts Bay. There are several beaches in Quincy, including Wollaston Beach along Quincy Shore Drive. The city's highest point, 517-foot (158 m) Chickatawbut Hill, is located in the southwestern portion of Quincy and includes the undeveloped Blue Hills Reservation, a state park managed by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation. The total area is 37.60% water, with 16.8 square miles (44 km²) is land and 10.1 sq mi (26 km²), according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Quincy is primarily urban, but fully 23 percent of its land area lies within the uninhabited Blue Hills reservation, which includes the city's high point, ChickatAWbut Hill. Quincy has a total area of 26.9 sq miles (70 km²); of which 16.7 sq mi is land, and of which 10.2 sq mi or 26 km² is water.

Demographics

As of the 2010 U.S. Census, there were 92,271 people, 38,883 households, and 42,838 families residing in the city. The racial makeup of the city was 65.5% White, 4.6% African American, 0.16% Native American, 24.0% Asian, and 0.02% Pacific Islander. As of 2003 about 66% of the Asians in Quincy are ethnic Chinese, giving the city one of the largest Chinese populations in the state. A growing number of people with Vietnamese origins live in the area as well and make up the second largest Asian American group in Quincy. Quincy has the highest per capita concentration of persons of Asian origin in Massachusetts. In February 2017, the City Council voted down a motion to designate Quincy as a "Sanctuary City", which would have allowed undocumented immigrants to live and work in Quincy without fear of deportation. The city has an estimated 8,000 undocumented residents and has the 11th-highest concentration of immigrants in Massachusetts overall. Quincy's Chinese population increased by 60% in the decade, to 22,174 in 2010, following the opening of a New York City-based Asian supermarket in 2003. In 2000, Quincy had a higher Asian population than the Boston Chinatown, with about 9,000 of them being ethnic Chinese. The number of Asians increased to 13,546 in 2000, and 1,127 of them were ethnic East Indian. The latter group grew by 688%, making it the fastest-growing Asian subgroup in Quincy; it is estimated that nearly 4,000 Vietnamese people live.

Neighborhoods

Quincy is divided into numerous neighborhoods with individual histories and characteristics. Adams Shore was originally developed as a summer resort location and is now a year-round residential area. South Quincy is a residential area bordering the town of Braintree that includes Crown Colony office park and Faxon Park, a wooded 66-acre (0.27 km²) protected space. Squantum boasts one of the largest Irish American populations, per capita, in the United States. Wollaston was an early rail-accessed commuter home for Boston workers. Quincy Center is the commercial and government center of the city where City Hall, Thomas Crane Public Library, the United First Parish Church (Old Stone Church), Quincy Masonic Building, and numerous office buildings and residential streets can be found. Quincy Point is a densely populated residential area east of Quincy Center, with commercial areas along Quincy Avenue and Southern Artery, that is also the site of the Fore River Shipyard. The Quincy Quarries Reservation is a former granite quarries and the Granite Railway, the first commercial railway in the U.S., is located in the city's northwestern section along West SquantUM Street. North Quincy is an Asian American neighborhood along Hancock Street and Quincy Shore Drive that includes a substantial Asian American population with substantial Asian business growth as well as the location of one of city's largest high schools, North Quincy High School. The town of Milton, Massachusetts, is located on the Massachusetts Turnpike and is home to the Massachusetts Maritime Museum.

Economy

Quincy has been known as a manufacturing and heavy industry center, with granite quarrying dominating employment in the 19th century. The recent decades have seen a shift in focus to several large employers in the professional and service sector of the economy. Quincy is the location of the corporate headquarters of several firms, including Boston Financial Data Services, the Stop & Shop supermarket chain, Arbella Insurance Group and The Patriot Ledger. Other major employers with offices in Quincy are State Street Corporation, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care and Boston Scientific. TACV, national flag carrier airline of Cape Verde, has its United States corporate office in Quincy. Icelandair has its North American headquarters in the city as well. Data is from the 2009-2013 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. The city is located on the South Shore of Massachusetts and is home to the U.S. Naval Station, which is located at the base of the Massachusetts Turnpike. It is also the home of the Boston Red Sox, the Boston Bruins, the New England Patriots and the Boston Celtics. It has a population of 2.2 million people, making it one of the largest cities in the state. The average household income in Quincy is about $50,000. It also has a median household income of about $40,000, making the city one of only a handful of cities in Massachusetts with a higher average income than Quincy. The town has an average population of 3.4 million people. It was the site of the World War II Battle of the Bulge.

Government

Quincy has a strong mayor government. The incumbent mayor, Thomas P. Koch, has served since 2008; he is the 33rd mayor of the city. In 2013, the city's voters opted to extend the mayoral term to four years, beginning after the 2015 election. The city has a nine-member city council, with Noel T. DiBona serving as current president. Six councilors are elected to represent Quincy's wards, and three are elected at large. In 2017, overdose deaths in the city and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts had declined, it was thought, due to the use of naloxone by the police and others. The state legislature, in 2018, required all pharmacies to keep Narcan in stock and available to anyone, without a prescription. The Quincy PD was the first in the US to have its police department carry the nasal spray Narcan (Nalaxone) to combat the overdose outbreak associated with the opioid epidemic. By 2014, police officers had administered the opioid antagonist over 300 times. Other cities and police departments throughout the US developed their own Narcan-dispensing programs based on the model pioneered by the Quincy PD. Quincy is represented in the Massachusetts State Senate by Democrat John F. Keenan (Norfolk and Plymouth district). Four members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives represent Quincy: Bruce Ayers (1st Norfolk district), Tackey Chan, Daniel Hunt (13th Suffolk district), and Ronald Mariano (3rd Norfolk district). Each representative is a Democrat, and Mariano is the majority leader in the House.

Education

Quincy is home to various educational institutions, public and private, including one early childhood education center, one Montessori school, one Catholic school, and two colleges. In the 19th century, the city became an innovator in progressive public education with the Quincy Method, developed by Francis W. Parker. Quincy College, a community college in Quincy Center, operates under the auspices of the City of Quincy. The Thomas Crane Public Library serves as the public library system of Quincy, Massachusetts. The Quincy Chinese Language School, which offers supplementary education for Chinese children, was established in 1988. Quincy's three Catholic schools, Sacred Heart, St. Ann, and St. Mary, merged to form the Quincy Catholic Academy in September 2010. The Woodward School for Girls is a non-sectarian college preparatory day school for girls in grades 612. In December 2002 the Vrindavana Preservation Society established the Vaisnava Academy which caters to Quincy's East Indian community. Subjects include the Hindi language, Indian dance and music, and yoga. It was briefly closed by the Quincy Police Department in November 28, 2008 due to a lack of Massachusetts state and local government permits. After the state and municipal authorities cleared the school of allegations of child abuse, it was scheduled to reopen that year but was closed again due to lack of qualified teachers. It is one of only two U.S. colleges in the United States organized this way. The college is the only one of Massachusetts' 16 community colleges to be run by a city rather than by the state.

Transportation

As part of Metro Boston, Quincy has easy access to transportation facilities. State highways and the Interstate system connect the Greater Boston area to the airport, port, and intermodal facilities of Boston. Quincy is connected not only by these modes of transportation but also to the regional subway system, operated by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA), known locally as "The T" The four subway or "T" stops in Quincy are North Quincy Station, Wollaston Station, Quincy Center Station, and Quincy Adams Station. Both the MBTA Commuter Rail and Amtrak intercity lines are also available for transportation in Quincy, including several private bus lines provided by theMBTA. The Quincy Armory is the principal hub south of Boston for all MBTA bus lines for the southern part of the city, with connections to the Hancoc bus garage on the Armory side of the station. The city is located on the eastern edge of the Blue Hills Reservation, a wooded wetland region of the Cape Cod Peninsula. Quincy Bay is the main source of water supply for the city and its surrounding areas, and is the source of much of the water used by the city's residents. The Red Line of the MBT operates out of four stations in Quincy: North Quincy, Wollsaston, Quincy Adams, and South Station, with other commuter rail services available on the north and south ends of the Red Line as well as on the commuter boat line to Boston's Logan International Airport. The MBTA commuter boat service is available on both the North and South Lines, with the South Line operating out of Quincy Center.

Air Quality, Water Quality, Superfund Sites & UV Index

The Air Quality index is in Quincy, Norfolk County, Massachusetts = 26.9. These Air Quality index is based on annual reports from the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The number of ozone alert days is used as an indicator of air quality, as are the amounts of seven pollutants including particulates, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, lead, and volatile organic chemicals. The Water Quality Index is 35. A measure of the quality of an area’s water supply as rated by the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The EPA has a complex method of measuring the watershed quality, using 15 indicators such as pollutants, turbidity, sediments, and toxic discharges. The Superfund Sites Index is 10. Higher is better (100=best). Based upon the number and impact of EPA Superfund pollution sites in the county, including spending on the cleanup efforts. The UV Index in Quincy = 3.5 and is a measure of an area's exposure to the sun's ultraviolet rays. This is most often a combination of sunny weather, altitude, and latitude. The UV Index has been defined by the WHO (www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/radiation-the-ultraviolet-(uv)-index) and is uniform worldwide.

Employed

The most recent city population of 1,366 individuals with a median age of 41.5 age the population grows by 4.99% in Quincy, Norfolk County, Massachusetts population since 2000 and are distributed over a density of 6,132.63 residents per square mile of area (2,367.87/km²). There are average 2.18 people per household in the 41,786 households with an average household income of $60,884 a year. The unemployment rate in Alabama is 8.50% of the available work force and has dropped -4.07% over the most recent 12-month period and the projected change in job supply over the next decade based on migration patterns, economic growth, and other factors will increase by 23.36%. The number of physicians in Quincy per 100,000 population = 414.4.

Weather

The annual rainfall in Quincy = 48.7 inches and the annual snowfall = 48.6 inches. The annual number of days with measurable precipitation (over .01 inch) = 129. The average number of days per year that are predominantly sunny = 202. 82 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily high temperature for the month of July and 19.3 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily low temperature for the month of January. The Comfort Index (higher=better) is 50, where higher values mean a more pleasant climate. The Comfort Index measure recognizes that humidity by itself isn't the problem. (Have you noticed nobody ever complains about the weather being 'cold and humid?) It's in the summertime that we notice the humidity the most, when it's hot and muggy. Our Comfort Index uses a combination of afternoon summer temperature and humidity to closely predict the effect that the humidity will have on people.

Median Home Cost

The percentage of housing units in Quincy, Norfolk County, Massachusetts which are owned by the occupant = 46.35%. A housing unit is a house, apartment, mobile home, or room occupied as separate living quarters. The average age of homes = 54 years with median home cost = $298,190 and home appreciation of -5.09%. This is the value of the years most recent home sales data. Its important to note that this is not the average (or arithmetic mean). The median home price is the middle value when you arrange all the sales prices of homes from lowest to highest. This is a better indicator than the average, because the median is not changed as much by a few unusually high or low values. The property tax rate of $11.91 shown here is the rate per $1,000 of home value. If for simplification for example the tax rate is $14.00 and the home value is $250,000, the property tax would be $14.00 x ($250,000/1000), or $3500. This is the 'effective' tax rate.

Study

The local school district spends $8,186 per student. There are 13.3 students for each teacher in the school, 784 students for each Librarian and 220 students for each Counselor. 7.61% of the area’s population over the age of 25 with an Associate Degree or other 2-year college degree, 21.98% with a master’s degree, Ph.D. or other advanced college degree and 10.31% with high school diplomas or high school equivalency degrees (GEDs).