Sprucing up Atlantic City goal of tourism plan

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — Friends have taught Larry Sherlock two main things about Atlantic City: Bally's, the Taj Mahal and the Borgata give out nice comps. And, don't venture out onto Pacific or Atlantic avenues, especially at night.

The retiree and his wife love Atlantic City enough to make the seven-hour drive from Hampton, Va., twice a month. But when they're here, they experience only a tiny slice of the resort, sticking to the casinos and the Boardwalk, areas where they feel safe.

People like Sherlock, a retired manufacturing manager, are at the heart of a redevelopment plan expected to be approved Wednesday by the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority, the newly empowered state agency tasked with carrying out Gov. Chris Christie's overhaul plans for the nation's second-largest gambling resort.

The goal is simple: to make Atlantic City safer, cleaner and more inviting.

"We've identified dozens of interesting ideas to improve visitation, improve the convention atmosphere, the Boardwalk, and entertainment venues," said John Palmieri, executive director of the CRDA. "The visitor experience is very important."

Billions of dollars and tens of thousands of jobs are at stake. For the past five years, Atlantic City's casino revenue has been plunging due to an ever-growing number of casinos in neighboring states, and the continued sluggish economy.

Lawmakers in the far more populous northern part of New Jersey have long clamored for slot machines and table games at horse tracks in their part of the state, including the struggling Meadowlands Racetrack in East Rutherford, just outside New York City. Thus far, Christie has resisted those calls, promising to give Atlantic City five years to get its act together before revisiting the question of whether it deserves to continue the monopoly on gambling that the state's Constitution gives it.

To do that, Christie got state legislators to create a new tourism district in Atlantic City consisting of the casinos, the Boardwalk, shopping districts and the former Bader Field airport site, and put the CRDA in charge of overseeing it. The plan the agency is expected to approve Wednesday addresses quality of life issues for visitors and residents alike, calling for new development in some areas, spruced up store facades, removal of anti-crime shutters on businesses, stepped-up sanitation and other initiatives.