January 28, 2007
Atlantic City Casinos Reap Anti-Blight Funds
By SERGE F. KOVALESKI
Seven years after New Jersey legalized gambling in 1977, state lawmakers created an agency called the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority to redirect some casino revenue to blighted areas in Atlantic City and across the state.
But the agency, contending that the gambling industry's success is a critical component of the state's economic health, has handed about $400 million back to the casinos themselves, a sum that accounts for more than 20 percent of the money it has committed since its inception.
That approach began in 1994 and continued as gambling competition from other states intensified, Atlantic City's chief legislative proponent expanded his political power, and the state eliminated the Department of the Public Advocate, which had criticized the agency's move to distribute money to the casinos.

This article examines the Neighborhood Transformation Initiative (NTI), Mayor John F. Street’s plan to revitalize Philadelphia’s distressed neighborhoods by issuing $295 million in bonds to finance the acquisition of property, the demolition of derelict buildings, and the assembling of large tracts of land for housing redevelopment. Despite its resemblance to the discredited urban renewal programs of the past, this plan offered real potential for reducing blight by leveraging substantial private investment at a time when public subsidies
for affordable housing and community development have been steadily diminishing.

However, NTI did not promote equitable development that might have fostered broader support for an inherently controversial plan. Moreover, Street’s initial leadership in proposing this bold initiative was followed by a reluctance to promote NTI aggressively after it was adopted in 2002. The  result was a watered-down effort that achieved some goals but has fallen short of what might have been accomplished.