Atlantic City Weekly

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Atlantic City Mayor Lorenzo Langford instituted three summit committees several months ago with the objective to openly discuss and come up with ideas for the betterment of Atlantic City. The committee members have spent many hours diligently discussing the varied ideas and concepts that were presented before narrowing them down for their public presentation. On Friday, June 4, at 10am in the Atlantic City Convention Center, Langford and the committee chairpersons he appointed will present their recommendations to the public.

Kevin DeSanctis, CEO of Revel Entertainment, will present the report of the Clean and Safe Committee; Linda Kassekert, chairperson of the Casino Control Commission, will present the report of the Governmental Affairs Committee; and Don Marrandino, COO of Harrah’s Entertainment East Coast Properties, will present the report of the Marketing Committee. The mayor’s committees are comprised of representatives of the casinos; the business community; residents, various state, county and municipal officials and others with a strong commitment to the future of Atlantic City.

To my recollection this is the first time that this has ever happened in Atlantic City. It is interesting to note that very little of what has been discussed within these committees has reached the public’s ears. The members of the committees have been closed-mouth about their discussions except to say that everyone checked their egos at the door and were only interested in coming up with a master plan that will help to restore Atlantic City to its national prominence. We anxiously await their presentation.

Expanded Service on Boardwalk

Last week, Atlantic City’s City Council approved changes in the budget of the Special Improvement District (SID). That change resulted in the finding that 366 empty lots have not been assessed for SID fees. This will now allow them to provide expanded services for the Boardwalk.

One of the major things to be done is the taking over of the cleaning and operation of the Boardwalk’s restrooms in the SID district that covers Chelsea Avenue, Kennedy Plaza, New York Avenue and the Garden Pier. The facilities at Bartram, New Hampshire and Caspian avenues will continue to be operated by the city’s public works department.

As of today, all the SID bathrooms have been painted and have new paper and soap dispensers. The SID has purchased a new machine that not only will clean, but sterilize all of the equipment within the varied bathrooms. The cleaning is presently being done twice a day and within a couple of weeks it will be increased to four times a day for each of the facilities. The facilities will be inspected every half hour to see to it that they remain clean and are safe to use.

In addition the funds have provided for increasing the number of ambassadors on the Boardwalk to five, starting June 13. Each will have a cell phone capable of taking pictures, and when they see illegal signs on the front of the shops and other illegal activities taking place, they will take a picture and immediately send it in to the respective headquarters for them to handle the violation. Pricing is currently taking place to determine the costs of interior replacements of bathrooms. Depending upon the costs, this could be done within the next several months.

One should remember that the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority (CRDA) recently finished putting new roofs on the top of several of the restrooms.

Unapproved, inappropriate or badly faded signage has begun to be removed from the Boardwalk with the approval of the A.C. director of public works, and weeds have been cut and sprayed along the Boardwalk. Three new beach cleaners and three evening Boardwalk cleaners began working on May 24. The beach cleaners will cover the area from the Boardwalk to the dunes. At the current time, the bench restoration program is on track to handle 10 beaches per week. Thirty have been completed and installed so far. A total of 250 will be completed by Oct. 31.

The SID has also been given the responsibility of overseeing the covering of the ground of Pinnacle Entertainment’s former Sands casino property. Recently they seeded a lot and it is anticipated that greening will begin by mid-June. The Atlantic City SID’s board approved hydro-seeding of the old Playboy casino lots on Florida Avenue and in front of Boardwalk Hall’s West Hall. It is anticipated that will be completed by July 2, which will be a big improvement. Next in line should be the lots on both sides of Albany Avenue and the Boardwalk.

For the past several years, the Atlantic City Boardwalk Committee has been recommending the installation of newspaper-rack “condos” to replace a variety of newspaper racks that are cluttered at Boardwalk street ends. This has been done in many other cities. The city solicitor of A.C.’s office is currently working on an ordinance to create newspaper-rack condos. If it passes, the new condo racks could be in place by the end of the summer. Not only will they be more attractive, they’ll make it easier for the public to select newspapers.

It is my understanding that the CRDA is currently waiting for Atlantic City Electric for recommendations for lightning the Boardwalk. Replacements should start in August or September and be completed in December. It’s taken a long time to get this done, but realizing the cost and the quality of the poles, lights and new bulbs, it is somewhat understandable. Tom Carver, the CRDA’s executive director, recently stated they are considering putting lights to outline the Pacific Avenue side of Boardwalk Hall. You may remember how this was done with the former Playboy casino. It will make a great addition to the city’s night skyline. Stay tuned.

Pinky’s Corner airs Monday through Friday from 4 to 6pm on News Talk WOND-AM 1400. His TV show, WMGM Presents Pinky, airs Saturday at 7:30pm on TV40. Pinky’s e-mail address is: pinky@acweekly.com.