Dear Editor:
A recent article in a local daily newspaper titled, “Central Avenue Merchants take protest to EDC office, demand more funding” has a very misleading headline. The title suggests that merchants are pursuing more than what is being given to them. An appropriate headline for the article should have been “Central Avenue Merchants take protest to the EDC office, looking for City approved UEZ funds.” Merchants are not pursuing more funding, they are just pursuing Central Avenue and the Heights’ Community fair share of City approved UEZ funds. The Economic Development Corporation (EDC) is one of Jersey City’s nonprofit organizations that administrates and distributes State funds. On a more local level, UEZ funds are administered to the Central Avenue Business District through the Central Avenue Special Improvement District (CASID) Organization.
A total estimate of $300,000 of City approved UEZ funds have been blocked from our organization. The CASID was and still is willing to work with the EDC to provide improvement in the Heights’ Community through other means and/or projects that can justify the unattained $300,000 UEZ funds. The frustration that our organization has experienced in working with the EDC has led us to conclude that the only means of working with the EDC is through litigation. The picketing event that occurred on May 13, 2003 was an effort made by Central Avenue business leaders to create public awareness regarding the inadequacies of the EDC agency. However, the bottom line of this: in the 10 year existence of the CASID, 20 percent of allocated City approved UEZ funds never reached the streets of Central Avenue. Ten years of trying to work with the EDC to correct reoccurring problems is enough and the time has come to take action. The EDC is not providing the services they were retained to supply. CASID is looking for a more practical and efficient method of receiving State funding.
Recently the City Council of Jersey City has heard our voice and has acted on it. City Council has proceeded to work with both the EDC and SIDs of Jersey City to correct inconsistencies within our organizations. On behalf of the 50,000 Heights’ Community and nearly 500 CASID members, CASID would like to express our sincerest appreciation to all City Council members for their strong leadership and dedication to better communities. City Council President L. Harvey Smith and Councilman Ward D, William Gaughan, have demonstrated, yet again, their ability to resolve tough problems; Councilmen J. Healy, M. Vega, Jr., P. Brennan, M. Donnelly, S. Lipski, E. Junior Maldonado and V. Richardson have given us the opportunity to present our concerns regarding the EDC to develop new and efficient dialog with them. A special thank you is in order for City Clerk Robert Byrne, for his efforts to promptly process our FY Budgets 2002-2003 and 2003-2004 which deterred CASID from facing a financial crisis. God Bless the Jersey City Council.
Sincerely,
President Michael Yun and Board of Directors
Central Avenue SID