South Jersey lawmaker wants to bring relief to Atlantic City’s neighborhoods

Assemblyman Vince Mazzeo (D-2nd) of Atlantic County has already been busy cranking out bills ostensibly designed to help get Atlantic City back on its feet, including ones providing tax breaks for casinos, and for home builders.

But Mazzeo has now introduced a bill geared toward using tax breaks to help existing neighborhoods surrounding those casinos.

The bill deals with the Neighborhood Revitalization State Tax Credit Program, in which businesses that invest in the revitalization of eligible low and moderate-income neighborhoods can get tax credits.

 To be eligible, the neighborhoods must be in municipalities that receive special state aid or have a school district designated as among the poorest in the state. In 2009, the Legislature expanded that eligibility to adjacent neighborhoods in similar economic trouble, provided they meet certain conditions such as getting a neighborhood preservation and revitalization plan approved.

Atlantic City never met the criteria for the program in the past. But it would under Mazzeo’s bill, which would extend eligibility to neighborhoods in a municipality where casino gaming is authorized and its adjacent areas.

“We need to use everything in our arsenal when it comes to reinvigorating Atlantic City’s economy, helping the middle-class and bringing tax relief and job creation throughout Atlantic County,” Mazzeo said in a statement.

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This post is part of our South Jersey Politics Blog