Atlantic City So-Called ‘Small’ – ‘BIG’ Homeless Effort Is Failing

Atlantic City, New Jersey has a significant issue when it comes to the underserved persons living outdoors … along with under and near the boardwalk and other locations in Atlantic City.

In late October, 2023, Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small updated the actions taken by a homeless initiative called “BIG” … which stands for Boardwalk Improvement Group.

The group was formed early in 2023 by a collaboration of Atlantic City, state of New Jersey and Casino Association of New Jersey partners.

Small has hired ten (10) full-time employees for the initiative and purchased what he has called a “plethora of trucks” and other equipment.

They have also created an internal smart phone app for “BIG” group members called “See It, Click It, Fix It.”

The photo featured above and directly below is that of a homeless camp, located on the beach, directly across from The Ocean Club Condominiums.

The photo was taken on Friday, December 29, 2023.

Early during his tenure as Atlantic County Prosecutor, Will Reynolds assembled a team of Atlantic County Prosecutor’s members, Atlantic City Police Officers and a number of private partners and made a big push to address the underserved in Atlantic City.

It was a noble effort, that produced limited results, because this issue is a difficult and persistent one to properly address.

Small also stated that social workers are talking directly with Atlantic City’s homeless community on a daily basis.

The Atlantic City homeless outreach effort has been in effect since March, 2023.

To be fair, for decades, municipalities around the state of New Jersey send their neediest citizens to Atlantic City with one-way bus tickets.

That is because the County of Atlantic has one of the best managed social services departments in the state of New Jersey.

The various homeless programs are being financed with funds that come from the “Clean and Safe funds,” paid by the Atlantic City casino industry … as a part of the payment-in-lieu-of-taxes legislation.

Small has also asked for the state of New Jersey to hire a homeless czar for Atlantic City.

Atlantic City Councilman Bruce Weekes has developed a concept for a public-private collaboration to address the homeless and blatant (wide open) drug issues that persist in Atlantic City.

Here are additional photos that were taken on Friday, December 29, 2023 … directly across from the Ocean Club Condominiums:

The building shown above is a storage area for summer chair and umbrella storage.