Senator Booker Praises Atlantic City During Orange Loop Visit

U.S. Senator Cory Booker got an up-close look at Atlantic City’s development and small business momentum during a tour of the city’s Orange Loop, offering high praise for the city’s leadership, entrepreneurs and future.

Booker toured the Orange Loop alongside Mayor Marty Small, Sr., representatives of the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority (CRDA), Council Vice President Kaleem Shabazz, Assemblywoman Maureen Rowan and Orange Loop developers. The group visited several local businesses, with Booker also taking time to patronize those businesses.

The tour included a stop at Cardinal Restaurant, where Orange Loop developers spoke with Booker about what initially attracted them to Atlantic City and why they believe the city currently represents one of the best investment opportunities from a value perspective.

As Booker heard about the development taking place and the vision for the city’s future, he said Atlantic City has many of the qualities needed for a major resurgence.

“What I saw here is all of the same kind of ingredients for a city to show its strength and its possibilities. It really got my juices flowing because (Atlantic City), in many ways, is going to be one of the best stories in all of New Jersey over the next decade,” Booker said.

Booker also praised the collaboration between city leadership, entrepreneurs and the community.

“I love this local leadership, I love the visionary entrepreneurs, I love the community connections. Atlantic City is coming back, and I hope folks will be able to see that,” he said.

The senator called Atlantic City an “urban gem,” pointing to the city’s combination of history, community, tourism and its unique coastal character.

“Everything that’s going on here is extraordinary. This is one of America’s great, historic cities,” Booker said.

He also highlighted what makes Atlantic City unlike any other city in the country.

“No city is like this, as this kind of history, this kind of community, this kind of Boardwalk, this kind of excitement, and I love seeing the investment rushing in here,” Booker said.

The Orange Loop has become one of the most visible examples of Atlantic City’s changing development landscape, with restaurants, businesses and residential projects bringing new activity and investment to the neighborhood.

For city leaders and developers, the tour provided an opportunity to showcase the progress already underway while discussing the broader potential that continues to attract investment.

Photos by City of Atlantic City Photographer Edward Lea