Trenton Assemblyman Says Move Will Harm Trenton & Further Perpetuate 9 to 5 Culture
Assemblyman Reed Gusciora on Monday came out against Gov. Chris Christie’s rushed approval process to reshape the state’s presence in the capital city – by building two new, single-use office buildings on the fringe of downtown – without considering input from affected stakeholders and the public.
“Today, the Joint State Leasing and Space Utilization Committee met to rubber-stamp the Governor’s plan for the construction of two new office buildings in Trenton,” said Gusciora (D-Mercer/Hunterdon). “We truly had the potential to reshape our capital city given the scale of this project. Successful urban revitalization projects are predicated on multi-use development. Single-use office buildings will only perpetuate Trenton’s ‘nine-to-five’ culture. This project will change Trenton’s streetscape for a generation and, after today, we know it won’t be for the better.
“In November, the State House Commission voted to hold this matter until the incoming Governor had a chance to review the project and its merits. Through some sketchy political machinations, Gov. Christie managed to, in his typically bullish and authoritarian way, undo that important work, and ram this project through the approval process in the 11th hour.
“It’s really disappointing that the Governor, who has ignored the Capital City for his entire tenure, will be able to exercise his will and reshape the City for the foreseeable future. It’s politics at its absolute worst,” Gusciora concluded.