When I said "you basically couldn't have stronger gun laws in NYC" I was forgetting DC. Which is first on your post-crack list.
I think the "rate per 100,000" is skewed away from the really big cities, since the Zones Of Extreme Violence are typically concentrated, so the large numbers of people who live in big cities who will never see violent crime mess up the statistics.
But thanks for reminding me about DC.
/jordan