Acting Governor Oliver Signs Sacco-Sponsored Bill to Re-Establish Urban Enterprise Zone Program 

Sacco Sponsored Original Bill That Brought UEZ to Township in 1994, Has Worked Tirelessly to Bring it Back to Life After Christie Defunded Successful Program

NORTH BERGEN, N.J. —  State Senator and North Bergen Mayor Nicholas J. Sacco (D-32) is the primary sponsor of a bill signed into law by Governor Phil Murphy that will re-establish the state’s Urban Enterprise Zone program and appropriate $42.5 million to bring it back to life. The highly successful program came to North Bergen, West New York and Guttenberg in 1994 thanks to legislation sponsored at the time by Senator Sacco, and the funding it generated along with the reduced 3.5% sales tax for participating businesses helped the township revitalize the Tonnelle Avenue shopping corridor, generating millions of dollars in tax revenue and creating hundreds of jobs.

“The Urban Enterprise Zone program is one of our state’s most successful economic development initiatives and it helped communities like North Bergen make tremendous progress when it was in effect before Governor Christie removed its funding and essentially ended its ability to help urban municipalities,” said Senator Sacco. “Ever since that poor decision to end the program I have worked tirelessly to restore it and I am thankful to my legislative colleagues for supporting it and to Governor Murphy and Acting Governor Oliver for signing it into law.”

While it was in effect, the UEZ program helped North Bergen attract major retailers like Walmart, Target, Home Depot, Lowes and more to the community. It also provided significant funding for local economic development initiatives, from marketing local small businesses to providing enhanced police presence in retail shopping areas. The new program is expected to support efforts by local leaders to attract more commercial development and support existing businesses.