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See Inquirer staff writer Matt Katz’s video overview of the takeover, videos of Camden as its residents see it, and explore where the takeover money went.

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READER FEEDBACK

Camden Rebirth: A promise still unfulfilled

The Promise and the Price: How the biggest municipal takeover in U.S. history - $175 million - cost residents their rights for little in return.

By Matt Katz

Inquirer Staff Writer

Raw sewage seeped into Jackeline and Eduardo Gonzalez's basement, through its bathroom, hallway, and bedroom.

The fumes forced the family to eat outside and sent 1-year-old Eduardo Jr. to the emergency room three times with respiratory problems. The toxic flow burned holes in walls and ruined clothes and a sofa. The mold ended Grandma's visits from Puerto Rico.

The sewage comes from a collapsed pipe at the end of their block, on Cherry Street in Camden. How does the city respond? For three hours, three days a week, a bored employee uses a noisy machine to transfer waste from the busted sewer into one that works.

This jury-rigged solution has been in place for more than a year.

Camden is so broke, so unable to perform the basic functions of government, that the obvious solution - repairing the century-old brick sewer system - is almost impossible to achieve, fiscally and politically.

Life in Camden wasn't supposed to be like this. Seven years ago, New Jersey rolled out a revitalization plan that brought with it the biggest municipal takeover in American history.

After years of being subsidized by state taxpayers, corrupt and crumbling Camden would be taken over, repaired, and put on a path to self-reliance.

Then-Gov. Jim McGreevey gave Camden $175 million in bonds and loans, plus a one-time $7.5 million appropriation from the state budget, in exchange for an appointed chief operating officer to run the government and for gubernatorial control over the school board. His plan would create jobs, improve the quality of life, decrease crime, demolish all unsafe vacant buildings, lure new businesses, and, yes, mend sewers.

Five years later, when the recovery effort was first scheduled to be completed, the Gonzalezes bought a small rowhouse with money earned cleaning offices in Cherry Hill. But their odorous problem has now forced them to put that house on the market for the price they paid, $69,900.

So far, no buyer is interested.

Unknown to the Gonzalezes - or their neighbors who have cleaned black muck from their own basements - Cherry Street's sewer was labeled an "emergency" with a purple dot in an April 2003 capital-improvement plan.

The state spent $145,570 on that plan as part of the recovery, but nothing to solve the problem.

Cherry Street tells the story of Camden today. A 13-month Inquirer investigation has found that with notable exceptions, the state takeover has failed.

Goals not reached

Officials say an impoverished place with such intractable problems cannot be turned around with just $175 million and in just seven years; the renewal has only begun.

"Is Camden better off than it was before this process began?" asked Assembly Speaker Joseph J. Roberts Jr., a law sponsor and city resident. "I think without question."

The takeover's first chief operating officer, Melvin R. "Randy" Primas Jr., said he believes that the money was a "downpayment," and that no one can expect Camden to fully come back "until the state of New Jersey deals with the issues of race, class, and poverty."

"You can't put all the poor in Newark, Camden, and Atlantic City and expect those places to survive."

Besides, the recovery has benefited the city in visible ways: a larger aquarium, a better-looking downtown, and a growing presence of higher-education institutions. Residential projects in several neighborhoods were undertaken, including a new senior-citizen complex and the redevelopment of a notorious drug alley. Some money was directed to social services, like community centers, a soup kitchen, and buildings for job training.

And with funding for two expanded emergency rooms at two expanded hospitals, Camden has better access to health care than ever before.

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Comments

Posted 06:49 AM, 11/08/2009

brian stewart

LETS SEE BUY A HOUSE WITH SEWER PROBLEMS AND NOW TRY AND SELL THE HOUSE REAL SMART PEOPLE HERE.

Posted 07:20 AM, 11/08/2009

mikeegan

Let's also see a discussion about how much Federal entitlement money these indigent residents will suck down from the Treasury. Why don't we just carpet-bomb this place once known as Camden? I resent having to continually support the non-native and native riff raff who came up there to rape the country and do crimes.

Posted 07:37 AM, 11/08/2009

rmw38

The racists are out early this morning. If the state would give Camden a fraction of the attention they pour into Newark and Jersey City, we wouldn't have this bad a problem. We need Statehood For South Jersey.

Posted 07:44 AM, 11/08/2009

James

The Cherokee housing project with a PGA Tour golf course was scuttled by nitwits among residents who filed suit. That was a billion dollar plus project. Developers now breathe easily as they could have lost their shirt in Cherokee during the recession. Campbell is redeveloping the office project and wants to acquire the dilapidated Sears building to demolish and is waiting for the city to condemn it as prospective tenants say they would buy if Sears is gone.

Posted 07:53 AM, 11/08/2009

Big Earn

"Attention?" I believe that Camden gets plenty of "attention," especially from the folks that rank worst cities in America. Camden always seems to get plenty of "attention" from them. It's a Grimm's Fairy Tale down there - I seriously don't know what to even suggest we do as a state down there. It's very sad.

Posted 07:56 AM, 11/08/2009

outtanj

The only way you will bring Camden back is to get business and industry to move back into that City, you need a tax base, Public housing is not a tax base It's a tax drain.

Posted 09:00 AM, 11/08/2009

scphillyguy

Camden will not be solved because government props the people up in Camden with subsidies and other entitlements while essentially denying private building without government subsidy (with all the restrictions in place for low income housing who would build without subsidies). Rent control and income restrictions provide NO incentive for private investment. So Camden will continue to decay. They have no tax base and still prevent private development because it is bad for the residents there. In all honesty you need to displace a large portion of Camden (ie replace the poor people) for the city to have any chance. Otherwise it continues as a never ending publicly financed ghetto.

Posted 09:24 AM, 11/08/2009

chrissmith

Some voters will stick to Democrats until their dying breath, literally. Just utter foolishness.

Posted 10:30 AM, 11/08/2009

jbruder02

Camden is beyond repairable. I was driving through there once to go see a concert and was literally scared for my life. Camden makes North Philly look like heaven.

Posted 10:34 AM, 11/08/2009

WhatWouldTDDo

Another Democratic stronghold with major issues. What else is new?

Posted 10:50 AM, 11/08/2009

olneymike

People who support this type of revitalization forget one very important aspect: What happens to the low-lifes that ruined the neighborhood once it's fixed up? They get shipped to neighboring stable communities via government housing vouchers. Now all the tax payers who paid for the revitalization get to inherit the misery. People better start waking up to that fact before it's their community that needs the face lift.

Posted 10:50 AM, 11/08/2009

LGbalsac

Dont worry, Corzine has it under control, oh wait ...guess not. The bottom line is that it does not matter. This is the type of situation that needs Governor involvement, not things like the SEPTA strike in PA. Unions suck and are simply greed public blackmail artist. Camden is full of real people trying to live safely. Fix citys like this, before giving anymore money to greedy union thugs.

Posted 10:57 AM, 11/08/2009

beermoney

And the residents continually vote for candidates that represent the party that has helped keep them in this mess! Go figure!

Posted 11:01 AM, 11/08/2009

phil geiger

Yo Eddie, are you that naive that Willie Brown said no thanks to your 7 million? You can't even get the state to function. Still no budget Some commissioner of baseball you would be. Can't even balance a checkbook. What a knucklehead.