Huffington Magazine Issue 25 | Page 59

MARK WILSON/GETTY IMAGES The Huffington Post. She remains critical of the town’s eagerness to dole out tax abatements. “Why should the developer get that benefit?” she asked. “None of us got that benefit.” Officials with Applied Development could not be reached for comment. Mary Jane Celli, a councilwoman in Long Branch, wrote in an email that the tax abatements were part of an effort to attract developers after many years. “They were the first developers to come to the city after years of courting developers and offers to build,” she wrote. “When folks are so negative about tax abatements they should look at the whole picture not the narrow view of one small segment.” New Jersey Natural Gas technician Carlos Rojas looks for leaking gas mains in Long Beach Island, N.J.