ATLANTIC CITY — John Palmieri, the new head of the agency responsible for giving Atlantic City a new lease on life has more than two decade of urban redevelopment experience that gives the ailing resort its best chance for survival, Gov. Chris Christie said this morning. In introducing the former head of the Boston Redevelopment Authority, Christie said Palmieri...
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Atlantic City's 11 casinos are seen in this 2011 file photo. Gov. Chris Christie has tapped the former head of the Boston Redevelopment Authority to head efforts to revitalize the South Jersey resort.ATLANTIC CITY — John Palmieri, the new head of the agency responsible for giving Atlantic City a new lease on life has more than two decade of urban redevelopment experience that gives the ailing resort its best chance for survival, Gov. Chris Christie said this morning.
In introducing the former head of the Boston Redevelopment Authority, Christie said Palmieri has the leadership skills crucial to making the city — which once had an East Coast gambling monopoly — more competitive with neighboring states that have been siphoning off revenues.
"I’m confident we’re going to see continued growth with John Palmieri at the helm of the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority," Christie said to a group of casino and regulatory executives gathered in Atlantic City’s Boardwalk Hall. "With his focus, his dedication, his experience, I believe that we’re putting the authority in good hands to shepherd future success."
A new head of the CRDA was part of Christie’s plan to reinvent Atlantic City by creating a Tourism District with state oversight in an effort to attract more casinos and tourists. Noticeably absent from today’s gathering was Atlantic City Mayor Lorenzo Langford and city council members, who have lambasted Christie’s plan as a state takeover of the city’s most valuable assets.
Palmieri takes the job as the CRDA becomes the most powerful agency in Atlantic City because it will have final say over all projects in the Tourism District.
The CRDA board members met privately earlier this morning to approve Palmieri’s contract. Taking over next month, the New Jersey native will earn $225,000 annually. Susan Ney Thompson, the chief operating officer who had been serving as interim executive director, will remain as the agency’s deputy director.
Senate President Stephen Sweeney (D-Gloucester) stood beside Christie for the announcement and praised his attempt to rescue Atlantic City from of its economic morass.
"We’ve had a lot of governors witness the decline of Atlantic City and nobody’s done anything about it," Sweeney said. "This region has been so important to the entire state of New Jersey for many years. But I’ve got to say until Gov. Christie came here, it was ignored by Democrats and Republicans."
Since its creation in 1984, the CRDA, which is funded through a portion of gaming revenues, has pumped $1.8 billion into 400 projects across the state, with much of the money going to projects in Atlantic City. As part of Christie’s plan, all CRDA funding will now go solely to work in Atlantic City.
Palmieri said he was pleased the Legislature put in place the tools the CRDA will need.
"The legislation, the powers, the authorities, the tools that CRDA needs and that the board requires to perform its tasks in this new environment are in place," Palmieri said. "That, to me, is very important."
Palmieri was hired to head the Boston Redevelopment Authority in September 2007, a position he held for nearly four years before resigning in March. In Boston, he oversaw a 6 million-square foot development project on the waterfront and a revival of the city’s theater district. Elected officials there credited him with leading the city through an economic downturn.
Before taking the Boston job, Palmieri was director of development and planning in Providence, RI from 1993 to 2002 where he helped rebuild that city’s downtown.
He spent the next two years in North Carolina as Charlotte’s first director of economic development. In that job he helped bring in Time/Warner headquarters and a campus of Johnson & Wales University.
For the next three years, In Hartford, Ct., he served as the city’s first director of development services to develop a strategic plan and marketing program for the city.