Been hearing a few lies – here’s the truth.
Lie 1) Tax Abatements (PILOTS) are always given to out-of-town developers.
Fact) Many of the PILOTS have been granted to local Bayonne developers.
Lie 2) The city receives no money from a PILOT.
Fact) The City receives a great deal of money. On the PILOTS that have been approved the City will receive $516 million during the life of the agreement. Without the projects made possible by the PILOTS the City would receive $51 million. That’s a ten fold increase. Don’t believe it here, ask Joe Nichols the Tax Assessor. He has all the numbers.
Lie 3) These new developments are going to ruin our neighborhoods.
Fact) The new developments are going up on vacant properties, abandoned properties, rundown properties, and under utilized properties. An easy example to look at is Barnabas Hospital.
Lie 4) Crime is up and Bayonne is not a safe place to live.
Fact) Crime is down and Bayonne is ranked as the 27th safest city of its size in America.
Lie 5) Bayonne is becoming divided and is no longer a close-knit community.
Fact) If you attend events in this City all you see is our diverse citizenry coming out together to have a good time. Art, music, festivals, and various cultural events have served to unite our community. Anyone who says Bayonne is no longer a close-knit community either doesn’t choose to participate in our City activities or is perpetuating a lie. for anyone who wants to see just how close our community is, go to a Buddy baseball game and see for yourself.
Well that’s it for now, maybe we will do a part II soon.
Just Give me Some Truth