New Jersey Future Praises Governor Murphy’s Commitment to Neighborhood, Downtown Revitalization

 

TRENTON, April 12, 2018 — New Jersey Future Executive Director Peter Kasabach today applauded Governor Murphy’s call to reinstate Main Street New Jersey and the Neighborhood Preservation Program. The governor’s budget would provide Main Street New Jersey with $500,000 to restart and enhance the program, and $2.5 million to restart the Neighborhood Preservation Fund.

“Vibrant downtowns are key to strong, healthy neighborhoods that attract residents, and the Main Street Program has a long track record of success revitalizing downtowns. New Jersey Future is proud to welcome the return of both programs,” said Kasabach. “Now is the time to engage the many stakeholders involved in downtown and neighborhood redevelopment to expand both programs’ reach, build new public-private partnerships, and attract new resources to these efforts.”

“Recent data show that healthy downtowns attract both Millennials and the employers who seek them. Investing in Main Street is investing in economic growth,” continued Kasabach. “We were also pleased to hear Lieutenant Governor Oliver and several of the mayors present for this announcement note that many of the towns that will benefit from these programs are also transit hubs. Investment in transit service is another key to attracting and keeping people, particularly Millennials, in our downtowns, so all these initiatives are mutually reinforcing. We look forward to working with the administration to further these efforts, and we encourage the Legislature to keep this vital funding in the final budget.”

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