I’m sharing a new map I created that pin-drops all abatements approved since Mayor Fulop and the current City Council took office*, i.e. since the summer of 2013. I created the map after reading Terrence McDonald‘s recent article from the Jersey Journal titled “Has Steve Fulop Evolved on Tax Abatements?” It’s a valid question and a great article, I highly recommend reading it if you haven’t already. I thought an abatement map would help supplement an understanding of this topic. I took city abatement data and layered in additional data of my own (e.g. council votes, wards) that allow for useful reports for taxpayers, detailing where tax subsidies were directed in Jersey City for the past 4 years.
FYIs about the map:
- There are 2 layers: Short-Term & Long-Term abatements. You can toggle each layer using the legend on the left side of the map.
- If you click on a pin-drop, you’ll see relevant data including Ward, which council member voted for the project, and whether the project is for affordable or market rate housing.
FYIs about the underlying data:
- The underlying data is based on the “City Abatement Tracker” online available here.
- The map is current through partial year 2016 because that’s the most recently available data on Jersey City’s Open Data Portal.
- I layered in 2013 abatements by combing through city council agendas from July 2013 through December 2013.
- I layered in data I thought was pertinent, like ordinance link, Ward, and Abatement Description to help make the data more useful, both visually and analytically. I tallied council votes for the long-term abatements only, since 5-year abatement votes were universally approved (5-year abatements qualify for approval if certain criteria vs. long-term abatements which are individually unique contracts which can have widely varying terms).
* Note: Ward B Councilman Ramchal and Ward F Councilwoman Coleman are no longer serving as Council representatives. They did, however, serve through the time period covered by this map.
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