A local stretch of Route 1 & 9, Tonnelle Avenue runs along the foot of the Western Slope in Jersey City, and is among the ugliest highways in New Jersey.
It’s a throwback to a time when the road was one of the main north-south routes connecting north Jersey with the Jersey Shore.
Although many of its more polluting industries have vanished, what remains along Tonnelle Avenue is a landscape of used car dealerships, cheap motels, fast food stores, truck yards, and decaying empty structures, with a view of swamps and the Turnpike to the west.
Using tools granted under the state’s redevelopment laws, the City Council approved a resolution on December 14, 2016 that creates a Tonnelle Avenue Light Industry study project to treat the area as a condemnation redevelopment area.
“This will mean the use of eminent domain,” said David Donnelly, director of the Jersey City Redevelopment Authority.
The Jersey City Redevelopment Agency (JCRA) was created in 1949 as an autonomous Agency to serve as the City’s primary vehicle to eliminate blight, to create opportunities and to attract residential, commercial and industrial real estate projects. The Agency’s broad responsibilities include project facilitation, site assemblage and clearance, environmental remediation and developer selection within redevelopment areas. Since its inception, JCRA has been responsible for the direct reinvestment of billions of dollars in Jersey City and tens of thousands of jobs. The Agency is committed to enhancing the quality of life for all residents of Jersey City by guiding responsible development and reinvestment in all neighborhoods and communities in Jersey City.
Image via Google Maps.