Gov. Christie proposes demolition of 500 vacant Trenton homes, installation of 150 cameras

TRENTON >> Gov. Chris Christie has a new pet project.

Following the influx of cash into Camden and Newark to help turn around those cities, the Republican governor held a press conference on a dangerous Trenton street on Tuesday afternoon to announce revitalization initiatives for the capital city.

“The attorney general and I a few months ago took a ride through Trenton in the middle of the day for him to point out to me abandoned building after abandoned building that was not only preventing robust type of economic growth from happening, but also was creating an awful public safety issue, so we talked about what we could do,” Christie said on the first block of Fountain Avenue, surrounded by boarded-up homes with severe damage. “So today I’m announcing an urban blight reduction pilot program that will demolish about 500 vacant, abandoned and blighted properties in the city in an effort to increase public safety and spur positive redevelopment.”

The demolition program, which will be funded by an $11.5 million investment through the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency, will chip away at the roughly 3,000 abandoned structures in Trenton, “many of which are magnets for criminal activity, including gangs and drug dealers,” the governor said. Vacant residential and commercial properties will be targeted to increase property values and increase safety.

Read more: http://www.trentonian.com/general-news/20170530/gov-christie-proposes-demolition-of-500-vacant-trenton-homes-installation-of-150-cameras