TRENTON – Senators Jeff Van Drew and Nicholas J. Sacco said the cut to the Urban Enterprise Zone program, which the Senate failed to override today, will harm economic development efforts from the northern to the southern end of the state.
“This program has proven successful in stimulating economic development in designated urban enterprise zones, from shore towns at the southern end of the state to bustling cities in the north,” said Senator Van Drew (D-Cape May/Cumberland/Atlantic). “It is extremely disappointing that we were unable to restore funding to these communities, many which are struggling to maintain services and jobs in an extraordinarily difficult economy. I want to make clear that this is not a Republican or Democratic program; it is a program that serves as an economic engine to benefit the whole state.”
“This program has been used to jump-start economic development projects in our downtowns, to create thousands of jobs in our communities, and to reinvent shopping districts across New Jersey,” said Senator Sacco (D-Hudson/Bergen). “With the economy still recovering from the worst recession in decades, this is the wrong time to abandon our most challenged municipalities. The failure of our colleagues to support a restoration of UEZ funding is not only a setback for the economic future of these municipalities; it’s a setback for the entire state.”