East Second Street Project Needs Update

Now that the City Council has approved submission of a layoff plan affecting the Office of Economic Development, it is imperative that the office gives a summary of pending projects.

A major project talked about in recent years is development of the East Second Street Neighborhood Commercial District. In 2010, Plaintalker posted this article about it. I don't think we ever heard whether the Urban Enterprise Zone Authority approved the use of $1.13 million from the city's account to carry out the streetscape program. Now that the program has closed and the fund balance has been returned to the city, what is the financial commitment to this three-block project?

Councilman William Reid and Councilwoman Vera Greaves have both supported the plan. Perhaps they can give their council colleagues an update. There is also some clergy support. If in fact the staff is laid off, there must be another liaison in City Hall to monitor progress.

I recall that there was a building-by-building assessment with recommendations for repairs or enhancements to stable properties, along with concerns about a couple that did not appear viable. The current physical status of buildings in the target area is another thing that needs to be known.

City projects seem to take a very long time to come to fruition. The closed circuit television cameras for public safety, discussed as far back as 2006 or earlier, are still not operating. A business  registry never got off the ground, despite the intentions of several administrations. The second phase of a downtown streetscape project never happened. Things tend to drift and when there is constant turnover of top officials as there has been since 2006, the newcomers don't seem to catch up.

There will be a new administration in 2014. As the president of the Plainfield Municipal Employees Association pointed out, the layoff of economic development staff will mean the loss of information in that office. If at all possible, some of it should be gleaned before the office shuts down by the end of November.

--Bernice

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