Almost, to a person, the political elite in Trenton will tell you that investment in business is the top priority. I’ve had this debate countless times and you can see it in the political rhetoric of our candidates. However, when pushed by the logic of residential development, they’ll eventually say, “well it’s really a chicken and egg” problem.

What they’re saying is “I really don’t know”. It’s a bit daft to call something like this chicken and egg in the first place. If you believe in creationism then the chicken came first. If you believe in evolution, then the egg did. Either way there is a correct answer. Just like there is for business vs. residential.

Politicians are so conditioned to tell you Trenton needs jobs that they’re blind to the economics of the situation. I’m going to attempt, without the support, of hard economic analysis to convince you that residential development comes before business.

First let’s frame the problem.

All business aren’t the same. They fall in to two big buckets: retail and commercial.

Retail obviously includes shops and grocers, but it also includes restaurants, law offices and doctors. These businesses supply goods and services to the local population. The more and better selection of retail business we have, the better our quality of life. However, retail businesses won’t go anywhere near a city without disposable income to spend.

Commercial businesses make products or deliver services that can be exported out of the region. Trenton used to have lots of this and now I’m hard pressed to come up with current examples. Manufacturers, big banks and machine part businesses count as commercial. Cities need commercial businesses in order to create wealth and jobs. Commercial business won’t locate in cities without an educated workforce, nice homes for its executives and amenities (i.e. retail) for the workers.

Residential investments includes home improvements, new developments both rental and for sale and of course the purchase of a house. Residential development depends on retail to some extent but in general homeowners will buy for many reasons other than proximity to shopping. In a region like Central Jersey, close proximity to a job is entirely unimportant.

First consider the decision making process for each type of investment.

Renters take very little risk when they move to Trenton. If they don’t like it they can leave. As long as landlords can keep their costs low (read low taxes) they can attract bargain hunting renters to Trenton.

Homeowners take a bit more risk but also are more prone to make uneconomic decisions. A quick survey of 30 or so new Trenton homeowners found driving reasons like: being close to a black church, being near a gay community, affinity for urban living and availability of interesting architecture. Homebuyers all take a risk, but their home is a somewhat fungible commodity and can be sold in a well organized market.

Of course both renters and homeowners value retail amenities. The availability of retail amenities both makes the real estate more expensive and attracts new residents.

However, retailers make much more sound business decisions on where to locate (as do their banks). It would be a questionable decision for an upscale retail shop to open in Trenton. The few residents with disposable income are spread throughout the city and can easily shop in nearby towns. A new movie theater, hotel or restaurant will never bet that residents will follow them in to Trenton. Rather they’ll happily open a new store in Hamilton or Ewing and hope to attract some Trenton residents.

Commercial businesses are even more careful. Typically they look for an educated workforce (which Trenton doesn’t have), a favorable business climate (Trentononians helped to drive away several large industries) and a great site with (we’ve got some brownfields). We really don’t have much going for us and this shows in our anemic economy. Commercial businesses are more likely to locate in a city with a variety of housing stock, retail amenties and low crime. I recall attempting to convince my former company which was then in Plainsboro and considering a move, to look at Trenton. I got laughed at.

Because residential investors are not making purely economic decisions, they are the most likely to invest in Trenton.

New residential development will beget new retail. In addition new residents, especially high wealth residents, are most likely to form and invest in new commercial business.

Residential development, especially high income development, lays the foundation for everything. And, because residents don’t worry about risk so much they’re easier to attract.

However all residents aren’t created equal. We need new residents who don’t consume expensive city services like schools, social services and jail cells. Empty nesters, gay couples and young professional are the typical target segment a city attempts to attract.

These market segments demand specific types of homes. They aren’t looking for large detached single family homes. Rather they want smaller homes with less upkeep or a more exotic home that reflects a certain lifestyle.

Trenton has relatively little housing that will appeal to these market segments. Hiltonia, Glen Afton, Cadwalder Heights, Berkely Sq and Mill Hill would appeal to this market but represent a relatively small portion of Trenton’s housing stock. They couldn’t possibly absorb the 20,000 or so new high income residents we need to make Trenton attractive to new retail. Also, we couldn’t possibly expect a large commercial enterprise to locate in Trenton if its mid-managers couldn’t find a place to live.

In order to create the chicken (economic development) we need to lay the egg (residential investment).

As politicians craft their economic plans and voters review them. Look for stimulating upscale residential development at the top of the list. If you don’t see it run the other way, the politician has another agenda besides fixing Trenton.

I’ve taken the opportunity to restate the debate here.  It’s a useful discussion for policymakers and I thank Jim Coston for being the kind of Councilman that is open to challenging his own assumptions.

———————————————————————————————————-

Mr. Coston’s June 17^th blog on income distribution (southtrenton.com)

I had the opportunity to discuss Trenton with its resident sociologist last week. The census is a once a decade endeavor. The 2000 data is out of date. It will get updated next year.

In the mean time, some very insightful and statistically sound community surveys have taken place. Their results are startling.

Within the past few years, Trenton’s upper class, those defined as making greater than $75,000/year, has risen by 60%. This is due in some part to the State’s Live Where You Work program. It may also be due to a societal shift toward urban living. This is, by and large, good news for Trenton. It raises our average educational level. It increases the amount of disposable income in the City. Good news for the most part.

However, there was bad news. Trenton’s middle class continues to shrink. The families earning between $30,000 and $75,000 decreased by a high percentage. Increasing property taxes, concerns about public education and other housing opportunities account for some of this decline.

The danger moving forward is that Trenton will become stratified between the upper class and the lower class, the haves and the have nots.

Trenton‘s overall population has dropped. The 2000 census put us at 85,000. The community survey posited 75,000. The South Ward is the only ward in the city with population growth; this growth is concentrated in children under the age of 7. The rest of the city is shrinking.

A declining population means less $ for schools, less federal $ for the City and less voting power.

Is there a mechanism to change these trends? Excellent question. The primary task, I suspect, for the next administration will be to build up Trenton’s middle class. The middle class enables mixed income neighborhoods. The middle class is invested in public schools and education. Trenton needs to become a place where the middle class wants to live.

————————————————————————–

Dan’s reaction to the blog was as follows

Jim, Your “class” analysis from June 17^th is a bit skewed.

I understand that you use $75K as the line between middle and upper class with tongue in cheek.  However, the distinction between what upper class really means “is” the point.

What spread or average of economic power amongst its citizens, does Trenton actually need in order to be a functioning city?

• This is difficult math and I’ve been working on it for the past several weeks without conclusion.
• However, we can presume that “average” per capita income for the state of NJ is a good guess.
• I’ve written about this before when I posited the goal of being as wealthy Clifton, NJ (a very average city).

http://www.trentonspace.com/1editorialbody.lasso?-token.folder=comm/2004/08/01&-token.story=41397.112115&-token.subpub=

I came to the conclusion that Trenton would have to absorb 16.5 x the population of relatively affluent Lambertville in order to get near the NJ average.  When I wrote the article, Lambertville had a per capita income of around $35K which translates into about $80K in per household income.

The reality is that Trenton doesn’t have “any” rich people (not really rich anyway) and very few ( under 20) real upper income citizens using the Obama definition of $250K/year.  An average NJ city would have a population distribution that includes all income ranges not just the poor and middle class.  In fact, according to the data below, we lag NJ and Clifton substantially in incomes over $100K and severely in incomes over $200K.

Source: 2007 Household Income,  US Census, American Factfinder

As you well know, our tax basis is strained by both a lack of property value (which is driven by incomes) and an over-demand for services (which is driven by low income).

Therefore, as politically incorrect as it may seem, we don’t need more $35K households with kids (who consume services such as schools), we need more wealthy $200K households with no kids.  Its these folks with lots of disposable income that keep restaurants, shops, arts institutions and other non-profits afloat.  There’s a reason Trenton has only one, sort of nice, restaurant.

Until we can admit to ourselves the simple truth of this math, we’ll continue roll around in the muck of being a poor city and a ward of the state.

Mr. Coston wondered, with the above analysis in hand

“If Trenton doesn’t actually have retail that would benefit from upper class residents, what’s the point?”

It’s true Trenton doesn’t have retail establishments (restaurants, shops, car dealerships) that cater to the middle or upper classes.

Dan’s counter-argument is as follows

It’s a chicken and egg.

I’ve long posited that in the urban revitalization chicken and egg contest, residential folks have to come first.  This is because both retail and commercial businesses make sounder economic decisions.  Will I find customers there?  Will I find skilled workers there or will my employees enjoy working there.

Residents have many more drivers many of which aren’t rational (some are).  For instance: “It’s near the train”,  “It’s inexpensive”,  “It’s near Aunt Mildred”,  “Other gay people live there”.

In a world where we have to make money bets and you can’t just say, “I’ll bet on both the chicken and the egg to come first”,  I bet on the resident.  I think you do too.  If that logic is true, then we need to bet on high income resident that drive new retail.

——————————————————————————————-

Mr Coston also argued that we don’t need to worry about school aged children

“since Trenton doesn’t really pay for our own school costs then I shouldn’t worry about the mix of children and adults we attract to Trenton.”

Dan’s counter-argument on school cost is

We need to think about an  future Trenton that pays its fair share of school costs.  My central thesis is that we in Trenton should strive to pay our own way like most other cities. If we don’t, then our children’s education will be supported on the whim of state legislators.

——————————————————————————————-

Mr Coston and Dan both want to see an analysis of disposable income by income range. It should show the impact of disposable income on retail vitality. We agreed that a better understanding of this dynamic would highlight the relative importance of attracting one income group over another to Trenton.

—————————————————————-

With just a bit more effort I found the data that Jim and I were looking for. It’s at the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

BLS takes survey data over a large population (these are US numbers) and breakdown spending by type.

• BLS tells us that higher income residents (>$150K) spend 5-7 times as much as lower / middle income (<$70K)
• The biggest differences are in important retail categories such as: restaurants, clothing stores, furniture, entertainment.
• Importantly, contributions are also about 7 times higher for the >$150K income range.

My central point in all of this is that retail spending is greatly affected by income level and in dramatic disproportion to the per capita cost of services.

Comparing the highest income bracket household (>$150K) to the lower end (<$70K):

• Higher income have twice as many children (.9 vs. .5)
• Higher income spend 4 times as much on non-grocery retail ($38.7K vs. $9.7K) retail sales translate into property tax of storefronts and quality of life.
• Higher income pay 5 times as much in property tax

Of course, Trenton population isn’t necessarily the same as the US.  If Trenton can target high income households without children we come out way ahead in terms of municipal and school budget impact.

There’s no reason to think Trenton can’t attract higher income residents without public school children

• I can tell you that of all the new Trenton Ferry residents (I can only guess at their incomes) none have children.
• The household size in relatively affluent Mill Hill (which is actually middle class)  is much lower than average Trenton (~2 vs. 2.75)  (2000 US Census)

Therefore targeting high(er) income in Trenton appears to pay off.

]]> http://livingonthenet.com/wordpress/councilman-coston-and-dan-debate-the-role-of-income-distribution-on-revitatilization/feed 1 http://livingonthenet.com/wordpress/spawning-a-290m-industry-in-trenton http://livingonthenet.com/wordpress/spawning-a-290m-industry-in-trenton#comments Sat, 28 Mar 2009 22:01:29 +0000 admin http://livingonthenet.com/wordpress/?p=38 With one act of enlightened self interest, Trentonians can spawn a new industry

It’s an industry without the risk of the car business. It attracts sought after  middle class workers. And, it’s inherently good for the community.

What’s this wonder industry? And more importantly what do we need to do to attract it?

Education can be Trenton’s next great economic engine, all we have to do is break the monopoly government has on it.

We spend $290M on education annually in Trenton. This is a vast amount of money that’s spent on entrenched interests with no motivation or legal ability to grow and attract students from beyond the city’s boundaries. Creating a voucher system to allow parental choice, will change the educational and business landscape in Trenton and NJ.

Rather than perpetuating a stagnant bureaucracy that rules over teacher contracts and poor schools, let’s open it up and grow a network of independent schools. New independent schools will fight to serve our children, will work to attract suburban kids to the city and will provide options for the teaching profession.

Trenton’s first salvo in to what I hope will be a growth business is the River City School in downtown. The school’s central premise is that an urban environment can be a classroom for teaching. There’s merit in this kind of thinking.

A downtown Trenton school has direct access to the civics lesson that is state government. It is the ultimate classroom for the history of the American Revolution. Within close distance to the downtown location is a textbook of business history. And nearby are lessons in biology, geology and environmental science. 

Education happens when its brought to life for kids. Who doesn’t remember the field trips of their early school days. The new school will provide many such valuable learning experiences within walking distance from the classroom.

River City School will be funded through tuition set to a very low $10,000 through the efforts of a core group of volunteers. My deep hope is that a portion of the $16,000 we spend per student in Trenton can be used in the form of vouchers to help parents pay for their children to go to River City.

Moreover, I hope for the sake of our kids and for Trenton’s economy that we can unlock economic power of the $16,000 per student we spend to start up other independent schools that will attract more children to Trenton.

A vibrant market for education in Trenton will attract education workers to our city, will attract young scholars from throughout the region and will provide an attractive reason for parents to move back in to the city.

Link to River City School’s web site

1. Facilitating high end real estate development,
2. Supporting the arts and culture,
3. Cleaning up the joint,
4. Squashing the gangs, and
5. Creating a reason for Trenton to be here,

Only “Cleaning up the joint” can be done inexpensively.

Visitors to Trenton often comment that the city looks “run down” and dirty. Residents agree.

Larges sections of Trenton are awash in litter; street signs are missing or turned the wrong way; and, buildings are in disrepair and dirty. However, it’s the litter that is most noticeable.

There must be some sociological reason why Trentonians like to drop chicken bones on the sidewalk and discard fast food bags in the gutter. I don’t profess to understand it and perhaps we could employ a sociologist to help us understand. Meanwhile, there are straightforward tactics we can use to lessen our litter burden.

We need a full scale frontal attack on the trash

To develop and manage this attack, we can form a small group of citizens (let’s call it Clean Trenton) to provide leadership to neighborhood associations, the city’s public works department and other organizations that might help. Schools, universities, foundations, historical societies and other volunteer organizations can play important roles.

A well organized “Clean Trenton” program will

• Evaluate the problem areas
• Create a wide scale program
• Measure success
• Repeat

To evaluate the problem, a Clean Trenton organization should seek university help.

A university public policy program will find value in its students designing an urban anti-litter campaign. Such a program will need to develop a methodology for measuring the degree of a trash problem on a per block basis and for evaluating the causes of the problem. Local high schools will want their students to be involved in helping to carry out the creative analytics involved in such an evaluation program.

The university / high school evaluation effort will tell Trentonians

• Which blocks and neighborhoods are the cleanest
• What are the sources of the problem
• Where should tactical litter prevention efforts be targeted

We’ll need to create a wide scale program to clean up the city

Clean Trenton will need to involve as many citizens as possible but should center on strengthening neighborhood associations. Trenton has a large network of neighborhood associations that struggle with varying degrees of success to rally their residents to constructive action. Clean Trenton can be a new rallying cry that will only bolster community spirit.

The city’s public works department will also play an important role. Clean Trenton, with the support of the university and school research team, will be able to advise the city on changes in operations that may help stem the litter issue. Relatively inexpensive measures such as more litter baskets ($20,000) on the streets and residential trash-cans ($200,000) may be recommended.

The program will also need to engage retail and commercial businesses, landlords and state government. It will need a public relations component and outreach to build on the already good relationship between sanitation workers and the public. Other efforts to clean buildings, maintain vacant land ,and straighten out street signs might be part of the program. Grants, awards and other recognition may also be in order.

Finally, we need a goal. The evaluation and measurement effort should benchmark Trenton against other cities. There is no reason we can’t strive to have the cleanest city in America. This is a tall order but one that will speak volumes towards making Trenton an attractive place to live.

We’ll need to continuously measure our success.

A sustainable Clean Trenton program will need help in measuring the cleanliness of the city. The most likely way to institutionalize this effort is for it to become a regular part of a local school program based on the original university evaluation method.

Such an ongoing measurement program will serve to teach students about:

• Economics & statistics
• The scientific process
• Sociology
• Civic involvement

By publicizing the results of our efforts, we will create a linkage between our hard work and its impact on property values. This empirical evidence will help home buyers and businesses decide which areas of the city are worthy of new investment. Over the years it is likely that neighborhoods, streets and blocks will want to vie for the honor of cleanest and most improved.

I’m sure there are deep seated reasons that cause a person to throw a chicken bone on the sidewalk. Hopefully a large scale effort to involve citizens in cleaning the city will eventually touch that person and help them to find a wastebasket for their trash.

However, there may be a secret ingredient to revitalization success that economists don’t measure.

• There must be a reason Cleveland has rebounded while Detroit remains a basket case or why Chattanooga has had a successful re-birth while Camden continues to fail
• There has to be a spark that starts even the most planned of revitalizations.
• Money and analysis can’t be the only ingredient in a re-birth

What is the intangible missing ingredient that helps a city succeed?

With little supporting evidence, I suggest that a loving community spirit will be a big part of making Trenton an attractive place to live.

This revelation came in the most unexpected and tragic of ways. My 19 month old son passed away unexpectedly on December 20^th. He was a perfect child: happy, fearless and out-going. Those that knew him comment that he lit up a room and was generous with hugs even to people he’d recently met.

In many ways he was Trenton to us. We took him out to dinner at Settimo Ciello and the Trenton CC. He’s been to Art All Night, Trenton2Nite and Patriots Week. He was part of the Mill Hill baby boom and an instigator of the city’s growing mommy network. He is even multiracial, like our city. His death has devastated his parents but also affected the lives of neighbors in Trenton and the surrounding area.

In the days leading up to his memorial service on Dec. 23^rd and at the service itself, we were overwhelmed with the showing of support for our little boy.

What we were feeling was an outpouring of community spirit. We knew most of the people at the service from working on community endeavors like Passage Theatre, the City Museum, Leadership Trenton, The Trenton Film Society, Junior League, Child Placement Review Board, Artworks and neighborhood associations. Others we know from being active in the city’s political discourse and not always on the same side of the argument.

This week we’ve heard words of support from The Mayor and City Councilpersons, we had quick and compassionate help from the police, EMTs and staff at Mercer Hospital. We’ve heard words of encouragement from Alexander’s daycare, tenants and our pest control company. Most of all we’ve had staunch support from friends in the community. These are the same people who steadfastly support Trenton and its institutions.

Their support and love stems from a common thread; that being involvement and spirit for their community. Their support showed a true capacity for compassion. My friend, developer Michael Goldstein, commented the next day that Alexander’s service reinforced his belief that though Trenton is small city, it can absolutely feel like a community.

This brings us back to Alexander. Several speakers at the service pointed out that one of the lessons from his life was that he loved people and didn’t sweat the small stuff. I can’t help thinking that if we, as community spirited Trentonians, could work harder at attacking issues with love in our hearts and a focus on the big things, we’d really get the ball rolling. I know I could do more to foster such a cooperative spirit.

Our community events would be easier to put together, our political discourse would be more civil and our institutions easier to run. We’d be more trusting of each other and more open to newcomers and visitors. A community spirited Trenton with a true sense of loving cooperation and perspective would surely be one of the most attractive places to live in the country.

Things change. Ben Franklin’s Free Library looked nothing like the ancient Greek library. Nor should today’s version look anything like the Carnegie funded book temples of the last century.

Libraries have a noble tradition dating to a time when books held a much more sacred place in society than they do today. During the golden age of libraries, in the 1700s, books were relatively expensive. Today, most people can afford to buy as many books as they want and do. Also, the Internet has replaced much of a library’s utility as a research institution.

Libraries in general, and certainly Trenton’s library, are hanging on to a past that has largely become meaningless. According to a Online Computer Library Center (OCLC) report, Perceptions of Libraries and Information Resources library users perception of the library “brand” is books and books only.

Yet modern libraries are a mish-mash of services including:

• Homeless shelters
• Babysitters
• Free computer sites
• Educators
• Study halls
• Book lenders

The library has become over-run with social causes as missions to educate have crept into the agenda.

Meanwhile alternatives to libraries have evolved

• Big box bookstores are part reading room, part café and part bookstore
• The Internet is first source for research and news
• Vast 2^nd hand book networks are available online

Trenton’s public library, like many libraries around the country, finds itself in serious budget troubles. The debate in the city is about whether to mothball branches or take some other drastic action.

Now that Trenton can no longer fund the status quo. It’s time to try something new.

If we had a “do over” how would libraries operate?

There are two useful options

1) Turn the whole thing over to the county if they’ll take it. This doesn’t fix the fundamental problem of an outdated organization, but at least it out of Trenton, OR

2) Turn the libraries over to a third party

The county option is easy and is the safest way to solve the problem for the city budget. However, Option 2 is the more interesting and useful option for Trenton’s citizens.

The library can be reinvented as a book concession

This is a simple notion compared to today’s heavily programmed public library. Combining the noble aspirations of civic enrichment with the sustainability of a functioning business could very well be the next evolution of the library.

This type of arrangement is similar to how most institutions offer food service. The city can develop a set of requirements and then contract with a commercial provider to:

• Offer a lending program subsidized by the city
• Provide study and reading space

• Mandate computer access with portals to research databases

Eliminate the research department

It doesn’t take a stretch of the imagination to believe that the computer is a better research tool than card catalogs and stacks ever will be. The job of moving all research to the Internet is mostly done, Trenton can add to the effort by moving its one of a kind material online.

Trenton could use more bookstores

Trenton has only one book store for a population of 83,000 people. Retailers have decided that cities like Trenton are bad risks. By converting libraries to lending bookstores and thereby re-inventing the model, we can save the essence of the library and inject new retail commerce into the economy at the same time.

This reinvention idea might sound a little out there, but really, if we’re going to be gutting Trenton’s public library, isn’t this the right time to consider new options?

To be honest, I hurried up to get this test written in advance of a review of of Capital Park Master Plan.

Happily the Capital Park plan does not claim to be revitalization but instead is just a very nice state park.

Having not yet read the Master Plan, I expected to read all sorts of claims about how the park was key to Trenton’s economic development. As it turns out, the opposite is true.

There are next to no claims about revitalization.

This is a good thing. Instead the stated goals are:

• Reinforce the Capital Core
• Reclaim the Riverfront
• Release the Assunpink
• Reconnect Trenton

These goals are pretty innocuous and can pretty much be summed up as follows, “Build a pretty park, that has some historical aspects, increase the downtown foilage, make life great for walkers and cyclists and don’t mess up traffic too much”.

Sounds lovely. What it doesn’t say is that the Capital Park will create jobs or spawn massive new development. This is OK. Trentonians can use more “lovely”.

If there is a state budget for building new parks just because parks are lovely, then I’m glad we’re getting our fair share.

When will Dad’s wallet run dry?

My only concern is that, as Trentonians, we can only ask for so much. Eventually Dad’s wallet will run dry. Hopefully we’re asking for all the right things.

The state has spent hundreds of millions of dollars on Trenton over the last several years. So far we’ve not actually gotten anything that would lead to revitalization. I wonder if we shouldn’t trade favors and try to get real revitalization money instead.

Some are touting the park as economic development anyway

Though the plan itself does a good job avoiding claims about economic development, I’ve received at least one email from a park Steering Committee member who does make that claim. The park is compared to the San Antonio’s Riverwalk, which is sort of like comparing a Volkswagon to Ferrari. They serve two different purposes. Though I’ve asked many people and read the complete Master Plan, I see no economic impact analysis.

It’s sloppy to make such comparisons and should they start appearing in the press I’ll attempt to expose them. Meanwhile, I’m concerned that the legislators who approve funding won’t be so discriminating in their evaluation of the project. They’ll be handed a “plan for a lovely park” and be told its really a revitalization engine. That’s dishonest politics.

The park’s supporters shouldn’t mislead the legislature about what this plan is and isn’t.

There will be economic benefit

To be honest, after reading the plan, I was ready to give the park credit for as much as a 5% increase in property values within 1/2 mile. We’ll see if this can happen and I’ll be in a good position to test the benefit as our two Peace St. properties are within 100 yards of the park border. Will I be able to raise rents by $30/month because of the park?

There are some issues with the plan

From my reading of the plan, the three biggest risks seem to be:

1. Funding dries up during the process
2. The public safety situation gets out of control
3. The Parking mitigation efforts don’t work

There is a risk the plans ambitious programming efforts don’t materialize, however, the park can still be an enjoyable spot even without them.

I didn’t participate in the process and wish I had. I would have made sure these risks and their potential impact on operating costs were highlighted. Also, I don’t feel represented by anybody on the steering committee. Most steering group member were state agency representatives. The lone city representative presumeably takes orders from the Mayor and therefore doesn’t represent progressive Trenton policy.

Despite all my fuss, I must say that the plans look good so far.

Wish it was more of a fitness park

Of course the devil is in the details and here’s a detail that didn’t come through in the plan. Most parks today are used to improve fitness, not look at plants or historical artifacts. There didn’t seem to be a focus on fitness level biking or running.

Running and especially cycling for fitness require different infrastructure than their casual cousins. One only needs to observe Route 29 between Stockton and Frenchtown. Bikers stay on the highway and casual riders are on the canal path. Serious riders can’t use the canal path.

“Art All Night” is a free event sponsored by Artworks in Trenton that showcases art submitted by anybody that wants to. Every professional and amateur artists was welcome to submit 1 piece and as a result over 600 artists were represented. In addition: films, bands, art demonstrations and food were part of this quirky art event led by Michael Gumpert and now in its 2nd year.

The event moved to a new space this year, a ~100,000 SF former Roebling wire rope factory and attracted many more patrons (probably double or triple) than last year’s already healthy attendance.

But the question is, what does it mean to Trenton?

Without the city spending a dime and with barely any involvement from city hall, this event has grown to one of Trenton’s largest attractions. Like the Trenton Film Festival before it, “Art All Night” was built with grass roots effort to make Trenton more attractive to potential residents and in particular to the much sought after creative class.

Trenton’s target market is the very people that would be come to such an event. They’re outgoing, engaged and interested in being stimulated by creative energy. They won’t find this in Hamilton, Ewing, West Windsor or even Princeton.

The very fact that several thousand people could be milling around the Roebling Market enjoying art at midnight on a Saturday night sends a strong signal to both potential residents and businesses.

That is, “You won’t be bothered by crime if you try to have fun in Trenton”.

At this point, this is THE important thing to get across. There we all were, women, children, black, white, businessmen and artists hanging out looking at art smack in the middle of Trenton. No issues.

“Art All Night” makes Trenton more attractive for the very people we want as neighbors and it costs the city nothing.

Our only cost was the effort and time of the volunteers. Trentonians can repay them by signing up now to help operate the event next year. As a Trentonian, this is almost as good an investment as you can make in the future of your city.