CRDA, Revel Settle Tourism-District Fee Dispute

The Casino Reinvestment Development Authority and the Revel’s holding company have settled a dispute over unpaid tourism-district fees that led to CRDA filing a lien on the shuttered casino property at the northern end of the Boardwalk in May. Documents filed with the Atlantic County Clerk show the lien tied to the dispute over $64,604.30 in unpaid 2015 Special Improvement District Assessments was discharged on June 30. Reports of a possible sale of the Revel have swirled in the last few weeks. The Press of Atlantic City reported that a $220 million offer for the property was made earlier this month. Revel’s owner Glenn Straub last year leased the property to a group of developers who rebranded it as TEN.

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Beach Spreading, Foreclosures, Atlantic City Crust – Thursday’s Roundup

We’ve all been on the beach next to the group that just – you know – keeps spreading. Chairs, towels. Maybe tents, and even tables have been witnessed. Amy Rosenberg covers the phenomenon of beach spreading in Sea Isle, where she encountered “a stretch of beach dotted with 6-by-6 portable cabanas, 10 by 10 canopies, half-moon baby tents, folding end-tables, a 12-by-12 canopy, wading pools, rafts the size of a twin bed and other elements of these elaborate compounds.”

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The Crust View of Atlantic City

“Maybe if people see what’s going on to our f*cking beautiful home, they’ll want to do something about it,” says Erik Klemetti, at the start of an Atlantic City documentary he and friends from the @AtlanticCityCrust Instagram feed have put together. It’s a 40-minute mashup of videos Klemetti and the Crust crew filmed in Atlantic City, including interviews with all of your favorite AC characters. And in amid the chaos and confusion there are some wise words spoken about the Queen of Resorts. We’ve written about Klemetti before. Earlier this year, he set up a GoFundMe page to help out Alex, who was sleeping rough behind an Atlantic City gas station for more than a decade.

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Pinelands, NJ Startups, Oxycodone – Wednesday’s Roundup

A proposal before the New Jersey legislature could weaken conflict-of-interest laws would make it easier for Pinelands Commission members to vote on issues in which they have a direct and indirect financial interest, Joe Hernandez reports for Newsworks. There are currently two major gas pipeline proposals at different stages of play in the 1-million-acre Pinelands and numerous other development plans come before the commission.

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Tenn Ave, More Art? – Tuesday’s Roundup

Could Atlantic City’s arts district (around Ducktown) soon be getting some new space? The Parish of Saint Monica is working to reopen the old St. Michael’s School on Mississippi Avenue (it’s been closed for 30 years). “I want to bring some life back to it. We want the parish … to be a part of the (city’s) arts corridor,” Rev. Jon Thomas told The Press of Atlantic City’s Vincent Jackson. Rev. Thomas and the St. Michael’s Church Preservation Society hope to refurbish the rooms and former school offices for use by the church, the parish, the city and the neighborhood, he added.

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Margate, South Jersey Perceptions – Monday’s Roundup

Margate public workers’ brand-name prescription costs quadrupled to a whopping $3.5 million in 2015 and the municipality has received a subpoena seeking more information on certain prescriptions, NBC 10’s Ted Greenberg reported on Friday. Margate Mayor Michael Becker said the city receives limited updates on prescription costs but was unaware of the scale of the increase that year.

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Op Ed: Out and About AC

Congrats to Atlantic City for shining bright with Pink on July 12th and kudos to all involved, including the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority! I spent the time walking all over town. Everywhere I went was mobbed, and full of smiles, except on Bart Blatstein’s Playground Pier. There, the restaurants were packed: yet, below is the last picture taken before staff on the pier lowered hurricane shutters so you could not see the crowd outside. Additionally, the Pier’s observation decks were closed.

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Route 40 Roundup Podcast – Test Run

Route 40 intern Steve Harrison put together this podcast on July 9, based on a roundup of last week’s roundups. We’re testing a podcast out to learn how it works and to see whether some of our readers might be interested in also being listeners. Please get in touch if you have comments, suggestions or any feedback at all.

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