Blueprint Issued On Atlantic City and County Future
By David Madden
SOMERS POINT, N.J. (CBS) -- An eight month independent study into how to help South Jersey recover from the economic downturn in Atlantic City suggests a lot of work lies ahead.
With 25 thousand jobs lost in the last couple of years, paired with skyrocketing taxes and poverty, economic analyst Angelos Angelou suggests efforts should no longer be centered just on Atlantic City.
"It's going to be a long, difficult road but it's one road that we have to traverse, united as a county and as a community," Angelou told KYW Newsradio during a meeting of business and political leaders in Somers Point last week.
And the issue goes beyond the closure of 4 Atlantic City casinos last year.
"The entertainment and hospitality industry is so dominant here that no other sector has been really allowed to grow," he said.
For starters, he sees the need for a countywide economic development agency. Then the region must find growth areas outside of hospitality and entertainment to develop over time.
A prime location for potential growth, the airport, where facilities could be built to help maintain aircraft. And then there's the FAA technical center in Pomona, where Angelou sees the private sector setting up support services for airlines and the government.