2019 Forums & Conferences

Past 2019 Events

TOD in Your Downtown Forum Series

  • Date and time: Friday, December 6, 9:30AM – 12:00 pm
  • Location: Edward J. Bloustein School, James J. Florio Forum, 33 Livingston Avenue, New Brunswick, NJ 08901

Downtown New Jersey, NJTOD.org, and NJ Transit co-hosted Creating Places for People: Placemaking in Transit-Friendly Downtowns, a panel discussion among experts who have been on the front linesof creating welcoming places in downtowns and transit-oriented areas throughout NJ.

Forum Recap>

Downtown New Jersey League of Municipalities Session:
How do Trenton’s downtown revitalization policies impact you?

  • Date and time: Tuesday, Nov. 19, 3:45 – 5:15 pm
  • Location: Room TBD, Atlantic City Convention Center

This session explored recent legislation, policies, and programs that may affect local decision-making, including opportunity zones, tax incentives, PILOTs, minimum wage, school funding, vacancy laws, and more.

DNJ Conference & Downtown Excellence Awards

  • Date and time: Friday, October 18, 2019
  • Location: Westminster Arts Center, 449 Franklin Street, Bloomfield, NJ 07003

Downtown New Jersey (DNJ) held its annual conference on Friday October 18, 2019 at the Westminster Arts Center in Bloomfield. The premiere downtown economic development event of the year, the DNJ Annual Conference hosted industry experts who provide insights into downtown management best practices, as well as development, business and retail market trends. The conference provides, not only an opportunity to learn the latest trends in downtowns, but also opportunity to network with peers. The theme of this year’s conference, “The Value of Downtown: Capitalizing on Your Assets to Realize Success”, was reinforced throughout the day by industry experts.

Conference Recap>
Awards Announcement>

Downtown Management Round Table (Luncheon)

  • Date and time: Thursday, September 12, 2019
    12:30PM – 2:30PM
  • Location: Verona Ristorante, 141 Kings Hwy East, Haddonfield, NJ 08033

DNJ’s quarterly round table discussion is an exchange of ideas about hot topics in downtown economic development. The September meeting discussion focused on downtown communications trends & social media.

The discussion was led by Susan Adelizzi-Schmidt of Suasion Communications Group, a boutique communications agency with offices located in Somers Point and Haddonfield, NJ.  Suasion provides public relations, digital marketing, creative and brand strategy for downtowns, tourism destinations, corporations, retail, healthcare, financial and nonprofit organizations. Suasion is a certified NJ Woman-Owned Business Enterprise (WBE).

A special thanks to our host, the Partnership for Haddonfield, for helping to organize this event.

CANCELLED: Downtown Management Round Table (Luncheon)

  • Date and time: Friday, March 15, 1:00 – 3:00 pm
  • Location: Ocean First Bank Headquarters, 110 West Front St, Red Bank, NJ 07701

DNJ’s quarterly round table discussion. The round table is an exchange of ideas about hot topics in downtown economic development. The topic for the June meeting was attracting and cultivating volunteer leadership. 

The planned discussion was to be led by Donna Harris of Heritage Consulting, Inc, a provider of training, research, coaching and consulting services on historic preservation, audience development, volunteer management, heritage tourism, program planning and organizational development issues for historic sites, downtowns, and community-based organizations.

A special thanks to our host, Red Bank River Center, for helping to organize this event.

TOD in Your Downtown Forum Series

  • Date and time: Thursday, May 30, 9:30AM – 12:00 pm
  • Location: Edward J. Bloustein School, James J. Florio Forum, 33 Livingston Avenue, New Brunswick, NJ 08901

The Voorhees Transportation Center and Downtown New Jersey co-hosted Making TOD Real – Planning & Building Transit-Oriented Development in NJ, a panel discussion among experts who have been on the front lines in taking TOD from planning to completion.

Forum Recap>

Downtown Management Round Table (Luncheon)

  • Date and time: Friday, March 15, 1:00 – 3:00 pm
  • Location: Weequahic Park Clubhouse, 92 Thomas Carmichael Drive, Newark, NJ 07114 (Enter the park via the Meeker Ave Entrance)

DNJ’s quarterly round table discussion. The round table is an exchange of ideas about hot topics in downtown economic development. The topic for the March 2018 meeting was funding for facade improvements and other downtown beautification initiatives. Representatives from the NJEDA and DCA joined us to share information about their programs and resources.

Round Table Recap>