Like Serpiente said, a lot of people from Philadelphia area vacation at the southern NJ shore. And the two cities are about 1 hour driving time apart, so they're within commuting distance. So a guy from Philly staying in Atlantic City some of the time, and going back and forth would not have aroused the least bit of suspicion.
The same could be said for New York wiseguys years ago. Tons of Bronx, Brooklyn and Queens wiseguys had places out in the Rockaways and Long Beach. But that's a long time ago. Most of that area, save for Breezy Point, is a sewer today.
It's not only that the neighborhoods are terrible (and they
are terrible), it's also that Hurricane Sandy did a real number on the Queens coastline. And like I said, the only nice neighborhood left, Breezy Point, was devastated by 9/11 because of all of the firemen who lived there. Then, two months later, American Airlines Flight 587 went down right on the Point. Absolutely tragic.
Long Beach was beautiful back in the '60s and '70s. We rented a place every summer when I was growing up. I must have been about fifteen when Lenny's Clam Bar opened up on Howard Beach. We'd drive there for dinner a few times each summer. The place was always jammed with wiseguys. He ended up opening like half a dozen restaurants in the Metro area, but the original restaurant on Howard Beach is the only one left.
Come have a glass of wine on Joe 
.
