A walk, a talk, a hope for A.C.: Sweeney, Paladino tour New Brunswick’s successes

Published On: November 20th, 2015

NJBiz

Andrew George

As he made his way down Somerset Street and through the College Avenue redevelopment project, it wasn’t completely clear what state Senate President Steve Sweeney was looking at:

The ever-changing present of New Brunswick, or the potential future of Atlantic City.

“It’s remarkable what you guys are doing here,” Sweeney told Chris Paladino, the president of the nonprofit New Brunswick Development Corp., or Devco.

The two continued on their walking tour around the city, viewing some of the firm’s most recent projects that came to fruition as a result of having public-private partnerships in place.

Sweeney (D-West Deptford) and Paladino, two of the biggest power players in the state, were joined by state Sen. Bob Smith (D-Piscataway) and New Brunswick Mayor Jim Cahill on the 90-minute tour of a city that has become a symbol of urban revitalization in the state.