The Ruins of Trenton

Some delays experienced by developers in Trenton occurred when city Mayor Douglas H. Palmer tried to get his wife a piece of the development action, according to sources in development companies in the city.

Lucky enough for those companies, the delays that come after refusing to get involved with developer Cristiana Foglio-Palmer eventually ended. The specific development was able to move forward, albeit with much delay and lost revenue.

It's too bad that a mayor who frequently vocalizes about the imagined progress made in his hometown would be willing to mortgage the success of projects with the potential to contribute to that progress, only to play hardball with developers who decline to get involved with his wife.

Mayor Palmer also requests for significant campaign donations from developers, with negative responses usually resulting in a similar application of brakes to the specific piece of development, according to the same development people.

That system of paying tribute has also resulted in significant delays for those developers, but delays aren't mecessarily the only result, depending on the developer.

For people like Bob Torricelli, those campaign contributions seem to indicate a higher likelihood of getting lucrative city appropriations down the road, despite any inconsistent record with development in Trenton.

Several Torricelli-related developments in the city that have received significant financial assistance from the city continue to languish in various stages of construction or planning.

Just think of it as the topsy-turvy environment of economic development in New Jersey's capital city.