(Photo: Lew Steiner)

The annual tradition of Atlantic City Mayor Lorenzo Langford giving the “Unofficial State of the City”address continued Thursday afternoon, Jan. 10, at Bally’s Atlantic City.

The mayor, his wife Nynell and his cabinet, along with hundreds of other guests —  including local dignitaries, community leaders, businesspersons and others — were in attendance at the Metropolitan Business & Citizens Association’s (MBCA) annual Winter Kick-Off Meeting and Luncheon.

Per usual, Langford gave a truncated version of the official State of the City address, which he will deliver during the next Atlantic City City Council meeting on Jan. 16.

During his brief speech, Langford touched upon the challenges the city faced in 2012, including Superstorm Sandy, the death of Dennis Gomes and the struggling economy.

Langford  also wished Don Marrandino, the former president of Caesars Entertainment’s eastern division who resigned last Friday, well in his future pursuits and thanked him for all he did for Atlantic City.

Langford thanked FEMA and the American Red Cross for their help with victims from Sandy, as well as pro sports figures Michael Vick and Shaquille O’Neal who also helped out local victims of the storm.

While also thanking and praising the first responders during the storm, Langford made it clear that several thousands of city residents heeded the “clarion call” and evacuated. He repeated the statement to be sure that it was clear, adding “Are you listening Guv?” which drew laughter from the large crowd assembled inside the Traymore Ballroom.

Langford also praised the city’s partnership with the CRDA (Casino Reinvestment Development Authority) in 2012, and thanked Liza Cartmell and her staff at the ACA (Atlantic City Alliance) for their efforts to market the city in new ways to draw more visitors.

With regard to the city, Langford noted that in 2013 he hopes Atlantic City will emerge from state monitoring so that elected city — and not state — officials controlled the city’s own affairs. He said that was his New Year’s resolution.

On a lighter note, Langford hinted at more festivals coming to Bader Field in 2013, in addition to redevelopment plans for the huge plot of land once thought to be the most valuable real estate of its kind as well as redevelopment plans in the works for a part of the southeast inlet.

Langford said the Atlantic City Seafood Festival would be one of the festivals held at Bader Field in 2012 to return in 2013.

“We are moving forward, in a positive direction,” the mayor said at one point.

Mayor Langford with MBCA president John Schultz. (Photo: Lew Steiner)

GreenLee Security sponsored the luncheon. To learn more about the MBCA, visit acmetbiz.com.

What happens in Atlantic City, should stay in Atlantic City, according to a new statewide poll.

A recently released Fairleigh Dickinson University PublicMind poll indicates that 56 percent of the New Jersey voters surveyed on the issue of whether or not casinos should be allowed to operate in the state outside of Atlantic City are opposed to casinos anywhere else but in Atlantic City.

Thirty-five percent say casinos should be added elsewhere in the state.

Read more.

The Associated Press reports that the “consensus” relating to today’s New Jersey state Assembly Tourism and Arts Committee hearing, held at Dante Hall, is that Atlantic City is on the right track.

Jeff Guaracino, spokesperson for the Atlantic City Alliance (ACA), is quoted as saying that regional tourists’ perception of Atlantic City is “changing” for the better and the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority’s (CRDA) John Palmieri testified:

“”If we want to get people to visit, we need to continue to do all we can do to create an enjoyable experience,” Palmieri said. “We’ve been meeting with some success in a tough environment. This has been a tough four to five years for the nation. I like to think we’re well-positioned.”

Both the CRDA and the ACA are working towards a state mandated Tourism District from Gov. Chris Christie.

READ: Interview with CRDA chief John Palmieri

ATLANTIC CITY —  Along with this week’s cover story interview with Jane’s Addiction’s Dave Navarro, the Oct. 20 issue of Atlantic City Weekly features interviews with two very important new faces in the resort — John Palmieri and Liza Cartmell.

The former is the new head of the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority (CRDA) and the latter is the newly announced CEO of the Atlantic City Alliance (ACA), a non-profit agency tasked with rebranding and marketing Atlantic City not just as a gaming destination, but as a true world-class tourist destination. Although casino CEOs fill its board of directors, the ACA, with its $30 million budget, has been created to bring in more than just gamblers to Atlantic City.

Liza Cartmell

Both Cartmell and Palmieri have solid credentials and their experience is vast and impressive.  Additionally, both are very personable, pleasant to speak with and seem genuinely eager to make positive change in Atlantic City and the region.

Both have experience outside of Atlantic City, which is good, and both reside in New Jersey.

We have learned quite a bit about these two new faces in town from the pair of interviews we conducted earlier this week. The interviews also shed light on how how each of these leaders plan to tackle some of the biggest problems and projects the city has had to face in its 150-plus years.

You can find both interviews inside this week’s Oct. 20 issue of Atlantic City Weekly. Additionally, you can read much more from the Liza Cartmell interview on the online version at acweekly.com.

John Palmieri

Many are anticipating big things from these two, and we wish both of them the very best in their important endeavors. Some are calling this pair two of the most powerful people in Atlantic City right now.

They both have big jobs ahead of them and for the betterment of Atlantic City and the region, let’s hope that a clear focus, cooperation, a little thinking outside the box and a dash of courage prevails.

Read interview with John Palmieri here and the interview with Liza Cartmell here.

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