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: New Jersey Issues:
: Papers from the Council on New Jersey Affairs
: Program for New Jersey Affairs Princeton Urban and Regional Research Center
: Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs Princeton University

: Development Policy
: Prospects for N.J. Cities
: 1988

: By Mayor Gerald McCann of Jersey City

: First of all, I would like to point out that our budget, just introduced, has lowered taxes by $12.00 a year in Jersey City. This indicates that we are in a little better shape than has been mentioned up till now. And many such improvements have occurred since George Sternlieb and James Hughes gathered their statistics in 1982.

: I took office in July 1981. In 1982, we were second in the state in housing starts, although this was not projected in their figures. Our real estate values in 1982 rose higher than those of any other city in New Jersey. The only observation I have concerning these statistics is that it is hard to measure square-foot costs. Obviously, the towns that we are being compared with have larger lot sizes and larger houses. Hence, if we look at land values, we find that Jersey City's real estate is probably the most expensive in New Jersey-except for the Boardwalk in Atlantic City-in terms of cost per square foot.

: I have a degree in urban economics and I am a CPA. I have approached the city in a manner similar to that which George Sternlieb has suggested. We have looked at Jersey City's development opportunities as they relate to our neighbor, New York City, and we have simply tried to compete with what we saw happening in that city's economy.

: I read every New York magazine and New York newspaper every day. I subscribe to about twenty-five magazines, weeklies and biweeklies, and I read two or three books a month, including Mr. Sternlieb's. In short, I take a very active interest in this job.

: Jersey City does have some real geographical advantages, and they are what we have tried to promote. We have been fortunate to have had cooperation from the state government, in particular, through Governor Byrne and now through Governor Kean, who is doing a splendid job.
: In the last year, we have led the United States in urban development action grants, and, in the last fiscal year, we have received more money than New York, Chicago, or Los Angeles. Earlier today, at two-thirty, our $40-million UDAG was approved, and it will be signed Tuesday. 

: Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Samuel R. Pierce, Jr., will be here for the signing. There is no restriction on our grant.

: We are fortunate that a number of things are now going our way. In 1982, our crime rate went down 6.7 percent, and in 1983, 8.8 percent, a greater decrease than the national rate of decline for that year. We are building new schools in Jersey City and putting in a new aqueduct system so that we will no longer have water main breaks that might cripple the city.

: I inherited a city that had many problems. Today the worst sections of the city are the most lucrative in terms of real estate. We are building on almost every empty lot in the city.

: The LaFayette section, probably one of the most run-down parts of the city when I was elected, is now one of the most flourishing. That is the site of our proposed urban enterprise zone, and it also borders Liberty State Park. A major New York City bank has just signed a big lease in Hudson County, and Jersey City is now negotiating with that bank for more space here. Businesses are going to continue to pull out of New York as long as New York's attitude toward these business communities remains the same. We are competing with the other boroughs, as George Sternlieb said, and there is no doubt that we have been successful in that endeavor. Although it is very difficult to compete with Manhattan, we are attempting it. We have six major New York City banks and three major brokerage firms negotiating with us for back office space. Representatives of just about every major company in the New York metropolitan area have been in to see us, also.

: 
: Some of the wealthiest people in America are building in Jersey City, headed by Daniel Ludwig, who appears on the Forbes annual list of four hundred richest Americans. Builders include Sam Lefrack and Mel Simon, and we shall soon be ready to announce another major development by one of New Jersey's largest residential builders in the Roosevelt Stadium area: fourteen hundred new houses in Droyer's Point.

: We have been able to site a science and technology museum for the state of New Jersey here, and we are competing vigorously for a new baseball stadium. I think you will be hearing a lot more about that in the future.

: A major office development is underway in the journal Square area. Although Frank Hague carved journal Square out as a central business district, it never really developed as such. Today, for the first time in forty years, office buildings are rising in journal Square. Soon we shall announce a proposal by Hartz Mountain for construction of an office building there.

: In a year and a half, we have seen the amount of office space built in Jersey City in the past fifty years double. Jersey City has led the state during the past two years in building permits issued. We shall continue at that pace, and the main reason we can do this is that we have the best development staff in America, as Robert Van Fossan has pointed out. (I stole some of that staff from Mayor Gibson. It's the old highest-bidder ploy, Mr. Mayor.)

: I thought it was important to bring Jersey City back. I spent a lot of time looking for a good team. Now I think the city is on the right track. I want to thank you for giving us the opportunity to be here. I also want to acknowledge that New Jersey banks, insurance companies, brokerage firms, utility and telephone companies, and many other individuals and groups are working with us to bring this great city back to its rightful place.


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