Tax break needed for Toms River businesses hit by road work, freeholder says

TOMS RIVER - Ocean County Freeholder Joseph H. Vicari floated the possibility Wednesday of designating the besieged Route 166 business corridor as an Urban Enterprise Zone, which would cut the state sales tax in half for businesses operating within the zone.

Business owners in the area have struggled to stay open due to ongoing road work in the area, which began in March 2016 and is still a minimum of seven months away from completion.

Ann Gauthier, owner of the popular Toms River restaurant Shut Up and Eat, came before the Board of Freeholders Wednesday evening to plead with the county government for help. On Monday, contractors for the state Department of Transportation closed the entrance to her business without notice.

“The road department put me out of business on Monday,” Gauthier told the board during its public comment session. “Tuesday, I closed early. (Wednesday), I closed early.”

Dressed in her signature pajamas, which is the uniform of the restaurant at 804 Main St. (Route 166), Gauthier said business revenue fell 20 percent in 2017 and continues to fall in 2018 as a result of the DOT project.

“I’m not a million-dollar company and I’m not looking to be a millionaire,” she told the freeholders. “But I would like to stay in business.”

More: Mathis Bridge to reopen by first week in May

More: When Barbara Bush came to Toms River

More: Toms River restaurant reopens day after Route 166 work forced it to close

Vicari, a Toms River resident and a former mayor of the township, has taken a keen interest in the issue — which he observed has impacted a minimum of 85 small business owners in the area, some of whom he said have seen as much as a 50 percent to 60 percent drop in revenue over the past two years.

Citing a systemic failure of state government to get the job done, Vicari posed the question Wednesday whether New Jersey has a responsibility to award some form of compensation to those Route 166 business owners.

“What’s the state going to do to compensate?” Vicari asked. “Well, they’re not going to give you any money. But perhaps … if they made that an Urban Enterprise Zone — so to speak — to make up for the damages.”

New Jersey’s Urban Enterprise Zones were established in 1983 to promote business investment in depressed urban areas. Businesses inside the zones can charge half the state sales tax rate and earn tax credits, among other incentives. Currently, the only UEZ in Ocean County is in Lakewood.

“I am not giving up, I am not giving up,” Gauthier said. “I will continue to make phone calls. I will continue to keep my mouth open. If I have to be out there in my pajamas directing traffic, I will be out there. I am not going to let this beat me, I am not going to let this beat me.”

Vicari, a Republican, had previously threatened to put up signs around the road work on Route 166 with Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy’s phone number emblazoned on them — so motorists stuck in traffic would know whom to call and complain to about the inconvenience. However, at recent board meetings the freeholder has dropped the bombast in favor of diplomatic tact.

The freeholder announced he had spoken Wednesday to one of the governor’s aides about the issue. Vicari emphasized in his public remarks that he did not blame the governor for the seemingly never-ending construction work that has upended Toms River’s business district.

Work began more than two years ago on the $11.8 million state-funded project to widen Route 166 from Old Freehold Road — south through the Route 37 intersection — to Colfax Street.

The project includes improvements to the jughandles between Route 166 and Route 37; traffic signal upgrades; the relocation of utilities such as gas lines; and improvements to drainage and sidewalks, which will include ramps that are compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act, all according to state transportation officials.

However, the work was suspended between the summer of 2016 and the summer of 2017 after then-Gov. Chris Christie ordered a shutdown of the Transportation Trust Fund over a dispute with the state Senate about an increase in the gas tax.

By the time the political crisis was resolved, the contractors had moved onto other jobs and the unfinished work continued to sit in limbo.

“It’s really almost two miles of mismanagement by the state of New Jersey and something has to be done,” Vicari said. “The people are on the verge of rebellion. … (Gauthier) may lose her business.”

Ryan Blumenthal, third-generation owner of Corinne Jewelers at 917 North Main St., also pleaded with the freeholder board for help.

“The biggest frustration I can share with you about this massive project is that I have a front window that I look out of every day and I can see nobody working,” Blumenthal said. “It goes a week or two where no one is there. And for the life of me, I can’t understand how that’s possible. Businesses can take only so much.”

Erik Larsen: 732-682-9359 or elarsen@gannettnj.com