I’m not an investigative reporter. I’m just a fat guy with a dopey blog. I keep reading stories every week about the Devils being accused of not paying their debts. Perhaps Newark should lock the building and encourage the Devils to find a new home until they pay up. That’s better than the way things usually get solved in NJ.
City officials say they’re still waiting for the hockey team to pay for sewer installation and small businesses displaced by the arena, along with contractors and sub-contractors who say they are also awaiting checks for services rendered.
At the same time, a half-dozen businesses forced out of the arena zone by eminent domain say they are struggling to get by without reimbursement for their moving expenses. The Housing Authority and the Devils are fighting over who must pay the roughly $750,000 in relocation costs.
Jorge Aguayo, whose pompom factory was forced out of the zone, is owed $292,000, his attorney, William Ward, said.
The housing authority argues the Devils must pay the relocation costs since the city handed over $220 million to fund the construction. The city and other public agencies have also spent $85 million fixing up the area around the Prudential Center.