ATLANTIC CITY — The first year of the Murphy administration’s oversight of the resort built upon the groundwork already in place and produced a blueprint for what it hopes is a sustainable, and achievable, future for the rebounding resort.
State and city officials believe 2019 will be measured by how well that plan is executed.
“One of the things that we prioritized was doing an examination of the quality of life in Atlantic City for the people who live there,” said Lt. Gov. Sheila Oliver, who is acting chief executive of the state while Gov. Phil Murphy is out of the country until Wednesday, “while also examining ways that we could broaden economic development in the city and to give investor confidence. So, we feel that we got off to a good start in 2018.”
The past year in Atlantic City will be remembered for the tangible changes to the resort that were the result of years-long planning and development. The opening of Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City and Ocean Resort Casino, Stockton University’s Gateway Campus, South Jersey Industries’ corporate headquarters, Borarie Development’s market-rate housing project 600 North Beach and several new small businesses on the “Orange Loop” (Tennessee and New York avenues and St. James Place) all contributed to the growth made by Atlantic City in 2018, state and city officials said.
People are also reading…
As Council President Marty Small Sr. said: “2018 was a banner year.”
But the ability to sustain the progress is the next challenge, Small said.
“It’s all about execution,” said Small, a former basketball standout at Stockton who employed a sports metaphor to drive-home the focus in 2019. “As an athlete, you can go out with a game plan and not execute and you did all that practicing for nothing. So, we’ve just got to keep it up, keep the momentum and do what’s best for the residents.”
Oliver, who also serves as commissioner of the state Department of Community Affairs, credited the “painful” financial work done since the takeover began — cuts to police and firefighter staffing, the settling of tax appeals with the casinos and bonding to pay down existing debt obligations — with “long-term gains” for the city.
She added that the contentious relationship between the state and city officials since the takeover began in 2016 had improved because those tough decisions had already been made.
“There is a way to have stable government (in Atlantic City),” she said. “What we’re really trying to do is set the tone for how to run an effective government.”
The culmination of the administration’s efforts in identifying what steps needed to be taken in Atlantic City was the state’s transition report, co-authored by Special Counsel Jim Johnson, the former U.S. Treasury undersecretary and 2017 Democratic gubernatorial candidate, who was appointed by Murphy in early-2018. Johnson described his role as somewhat of a “secretary” who met with community stakeholders from every corner of the city and used the input he received to articulate their needs into the report.
“My perspective is this: you can’t fix the problem until you face the problem,” said Johnson, who advocated for removing the independent “silos” which the city’s various entities — the casino industry, local government, small businesses, civic groups, residents, etc. — operated from. “We ended up taking a much broader scan.”
Several of the Johnson report’s recommendations were almost immediately implemented. The Casino Reinvestment Development Authority, which oversees land-use and zoning in Atlantic City’s Tourism District, moved planning personnel into City Hall. City Council created a Citizen Advisory Board to work with the Atlantic City Police Department. The Atlantic City Executive Council and the Atlantic City Coordinating Council, two advisory committees made up of various community stakeholders, were formed and have already met multiple times. The state also created the Project Office, located in City Hall and staffed with Department of Community Affairs employees, to more effectively implement the Johnson report’s recommendations.
Oliver said the the groups and its members will focus on a variety of issues in 2019, including public health and safety, education and economic opportunities.
“I think 2019 is the year that we now are going to see sustainable projects and sustainable development,” she said, “and it all comes down to execution.”
