Where’s Atlantic City’s Nucky?

Geoff’s Page

Location: Atlantic City, N.J.

Dateline: 02.01.13

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. - Nucky Johnson came to life again. That’s what happens when someone who knew Nucky writes and talks about him . And, Atlantic City’s most famous historical figure seemed to do that when Frank J. Ferry, Esquire launched his book, Nucky –The Real Story of the Boardwalk Boss, at Atlantic City’s Knife and Fork Inn, Sunday, January 20. There are personal perspectives as well as great detail to historical accuracy.

As a student of history who has read more books on Atlantic City than some people have read books in their lifetime, I had reminders of things that were, and more notions of things that must be again.

Atlantic City’s glory years – what happened? Why don’t we have them again as promised? Given legal booze and gambling we should be the ‘World’s Playground’ again. And, I can’t help but think we would be, if we only had one crook running the town instead of countless agencies, officials, out of town interests and corporate entities (now, regarded as people according to the U.S. Supreme Court).

With every thing Atlantic City has going, our pockets should be lined with money and our streets paved in gold overflowing with revelers and cooled by the ocean breeze.

In three years Nucky envisioned, floated the bond and built the largest convention hall the world knew for decades. That’s ten years less than we’ve studied the need for an arts district and more years then we’ve known about the need for a reborn Kentucky Avenue district, and 32 years longer than our promised renaissance. That masterpiece now known as Boardwalk Hall wowed all who entered and kept the hotels, restaurants, shows and the townspeople fed for decades. It continues to do business as a great performance arena. I’ve seen everyone as diverse as the Black Eyed Peas to Paravarotti there and enjoyed hearing Jimmy Buffet sing a new version of Margaritaville this past summer, the week he announced the great news that he is building in town. In fact, those of us who grew up here remember our AC vs. Holy Spirit High School Thanksgiving Day games held in the hall. WHAT FUN!!!

And, to get the hall built, Nucky didn’t call Trenton, or this agency and that agency, and sure didn’t study the heck out of it – he knew it was good for the city, and so did the citizens who voted to finance it. Further, he called Mayor Bader and said this is what we’re going to do. Then he used local brains and talent and made it happen. And, 7,000 pilings later, it was built; an engineering masterpiece with no interior columns covering seven acres. Nothing was impossible because instead of thinking of the limitations, AC citizens dreamed of the possibilities and created them.

All local people were embraced, had a job, were fed in lean times and loved the playground they lived in and created. All races, creeds, nationalities, etc had a place and no prejudice existed. We respected and learned from our differences.

And, the ‘ice money’ or payoff to Nucky for getting and keeping the job went back into the residents when needed instead of just into his pocket. We were a paternalistic society where a leader led. People were loyal to the machine and no one went hungry or was cold and without housing in the winter.

Seems to me the biggest difference between that ‘ice money’ then and the ‘ice money’ now is who gets it. The government mandates running town take more off the top and get less done and a lot more goes out of town than ever should. There’s no export tax or anything – it’s just whisked away. Moreover, the money that does stay in town benefits ….. you get it. You’ve all told me a million stories behind the scenes what we all know to be true.

If Nucky were alive and running Atlantic City there would definitely be a protecting environment around our citizenry, and more than a few from out of town would hear ‘off with your head’ which, unlike the Boardwalk Empire series, didn’t mean death. It meant get out of my town.

Crime would not exist because people would be taken care of without the welfare state we’ve created. People would be hiring neighbors and friends instead of corporations hiring applicants and assigning numbers, and firing them as quickly as they hire them. And, the town would have been built by now. We would be ‘Oz on the Ocean.’

Every day we wake and open the paper to new ideas on the editorial pages from residents that are quickly discounted by the power brokers that hold the city hostage. Back in the day, new ideas were embraced and empowered and new power brokers were born. We can’t have a happy town if we don’t share the wealth, and we can’t enslave a town and expect it to stay safe.

One of the more interesting things I learned in Frank’s Book – the Moe Annenberg got his start here, and when he was in jail with Nucky, his son Walter continued to grow the publishing empire.

It was a legal start he got in AC – the wire broadcast horse racing results which eventually fed the illegal horse booking activity here and across the country. From that start, a publishing empire grew which owned things like TV Guide and The Philadelphia Inquirer. Atlantic City began many empires that grew to many more legal investments throughout the world.

Nucky crossed political lines and Republicans and Democrats worked behind the scenes together – additionally – North Jersey kept to itself – and we in South Jersey kept to ourselves – and we all cooperated to keep our areas moving forward and to keep Trenton and Washington, D.C. where they belonged – in their home towns!

Yes – Nucky was crooked, crooked as hell, but, the town thrived and loved him. He was God and walked on water for many. Today, I know many who serve our current demigods, but can’t think of any who love them. And just about all of them would vote for Nucky and his forward direction if given the choice. I know I would.

Governor Christie – you say you want a functioning town and you want less government interference in business – please, sir – let’s start with that here in Atlantic City.

Your citizens for whom you fought Congress ask you to mean what you say – come talk to the residents here – not to the handpicked people told to show up at your conferences.

I’ll pick them and let you hear some truths you need to hear so you can leave a legacy in conjunction with us – instead of destruction around us. And we’ll stream the whole thing over the Internet for entire transparency.

My friends and neighbors long for freedom…. long for life.

In a nutshell: Only a free bird can be captured, and a caged bird is no fun at all. So, the bird that returns time after time to the same perch, has made his choice. The one behind bars, doesn’t know how to escape.

Let’s open the cage doors and help each other soar!