Atlantic City Weekly

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Below are excerpts from a Casino Reinvestment Development Authority (CRDA) press release. On Monday, March 15, the CRDA approved the South Inlet Demolition Program, which targets unoccupied, derelict structures for demolition in an area bordered by Delaware, Maine and Melrose avenues and the Atlantic City Boardwalk. The program is a pilot for possible future demolition projects in Atlantic City. The CRDA has negotiated with representatives of the City of Atlantic City and Revel Entertainment to structure the investment and the program criteria. The program will be funded by $500,000 via a donation to CRDA by Revel as a pre-payment against their Atlantic City Housing Investment Alternative Tax obligations.

“The South Inlet Demolition Program is consistent with some of the suggestions heard in meetings held by [A.C.] Mayor Lorenzo Langford,” says CRDA Executive Director Thomas D. Carver. “Many of the community and business leaders said that the perception of Atlantic City needed to be improved. This is a good first step.”

In a description of the program and summary of procedure, it is explained that CRDA funds will be provided to the City of Atlantic City in two $250,000 installments. The second installment will be issued by the CRDA once the initial installment depletes to $50,000. Funds will cover such things as utility disconnection fees, demolition costs (permits, all on-site demolition, disposal, grading, etc.). It will not cover such items as unpaid utility bills, staff costs, legal fees and relocation expenses. The program requirements include a dedicated city staff and a start-up date within 30 days of the initial, demolition liens placed by the city, city-recovered funds returned to the CRDA within 30 days of receipt, mutually agreed-upon demolition priorities, monthly status meetings between the CRDA and city program staff, and all work competitively bid upon and awarded to qualified contractors.

All of this is very good news to the city, as the demolition program is one that has been discussed for many years, but the financial wherewithal needed to get rid of the derelict structures in the city was never achieved. Hopefully additional funds will be found to attack the other areas within the community. This is the beginning of more to come from the committees that have been meeting to come up with ways of improving and beautifying Atlantic City, and bringing in more events for visitors and to the area’s residents.

A Successful A-10 Tourney

Last year at this time we were concerned about the Atlantic 10 tournament remaining in Atlantic City. The two-year contract had expired and the 14 universities involved in the A-10 were to vote on returning to Atlantic City or other sites that expressed interest in hosting the tournament. Fortunately, under the leadership of League Commissioner Bernadette McGlade, the vote was overwhelmingly in favor of Atlantic City and they chose to sign a three-year contract extension with Boardwalk Hall. Despite the horrendous weather, the four events on Friday, March 12, (two doubleheaders) drew 11,445 fans; the one on Saturday, March 13, had 8,208 fans; and the championship on Sunday, March 14, was played before 7,882 spectators. The total for all of the events was 27,535 paying spectators — the largest A-10 tournament crowd in five years. Without a doubt, there would have been several thousand more if we had good weather.

Boardwalk Hall was certainly the place to be last weekend. Most of the colleges brought their school bands and cheerleaders. Each of the games was well played, and you could tell by the scores that the emphasis was on defense. For the third consecutive year Temple was crowned A-10 champions. The quality of the play in a marvelous arena where every seat was a good one provided an experience that had the people saying to one another after the games, “I will see you next year in Boardwalk Hall.” Congratulations to all those who were involved in making the A-10 tournament the success that it was.

By the way, that was the second consecutive, weekend-long sporting event hosted by Boardwalk Hall. First came the New Jersey High School Wrestling Championships. Next year the ECAC Hockey Championships will be held in the third weekend of March. Some of the ECAC’s 14 colleges with hockey programs — such as Princeton, Cornell, Dartmouth, Brown and others — will be coming to A.C. for their consolation and championship games. There will be two league semifinal games on Friday and the consolation and final game will be held on Saturday. The colleges have rabid hockey fans and they are looking forward to coming to Atlantic City for their marquee event. Steve Hagwell, the ECAC hockey commissioner, was here for the A-10. He said he is anxiously awaiting the opportunity for his league to have their championship determined here. This town should be booming in March 2011.

Notes of Interest

Good news for those living in the Enclave Condominiums in the Chelsea section of Atlantic City. While walking on the Boardwalk last week I saw a young lady climbing a ladder in the dormant, dilapidated pavilion on the Boardwalk at Roosevelt Place. I asked her what she was doing and she told me that she was taking measurements for architects. I later learned at a Boardwalk Committee meeting that the CRDA has hired an architectural firm for the redevelopment of that pavilion and that it should be rebuilt in time for the summer season. I’m happy to pass that information along to those of you who’ve been inquiring when the pavilion would be available for those who liked to sit there and enjoy the view of the dunes (the view used to be of the ocean) and those walking on the Boardwalk. Slowly but surely, the upgrading of the Boardwalk will be done.