It is the site of a conflict between residents and the city's plans for creating a biotech park to serve nearby Johns Hopkins Medical Center. The neighborhood has suffered from extensive urban decay and housing abandonment, crime, and racial rioting. Its residents are mainly lower income African Americans; the neighborhood was a filming location for the Baltimore-based HBO drama "The Wire". Middle East is also noteworthy as being a location for the filming of scenes of the television series "" and the 1991 film "Homicide" (no relation to the TV series) featuring Joe Mantegna. The swath of land between Johns Hopkins Hospital and Frank C. Bocek Park, which includes much of Middle East, is often referred to as the "Down the Hill" neighborhood by local residents.