Atlantic City, Pleasantville Celebrate Grand Opening of Municipal Court Merging

Atlantic City, N.J. (August 21, 2024) – The City of Atlantic City and the City of Pleasantville held a ribbon cutting ceremony, today, for the recently-formed Atlantic City Joint Municipal Court at the Clayton G. Graham Public Safety Building in Atlantic City. On January 1^st of this year, Atlantic City Municipal Court and Pleasantville Municipal Court merged in an effort to enhance judicial services and accessibility in each community. Following the January 1^st merger, Atlantic City Joint Municipal Court renovations began, which include new furniture, carpeting, flooring and paint in the lobby, hallways, break rooms and three courtrooms. With those renovations now complete, the two municipalities are officially celebrating the grand opening of the Atlantic City Joint Municipal Court.

The merger was made possible thanks to the joint efforts between the City of Atlantic City, City of Pleasantville, Superior Court Vicinage 1 and the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs (DCA). Participants in today’s grand opening ceremony were City of Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small, Sr., City of Pleasantville Mayor Judy Ward, Atlantic City Joint Municipal Court Director Gina Holmes, City of Atlantic City Council President Aaron ‘Sporty’ Randolph, Atlantic County Superior Court-Vicinage 1 Judge Michael J. Blee, Chief Municipal Court Judge Billie J. Moore, Atlantic City Municipal Court Judge Henry L. Warner, City of Atlantic City Business Administrator Anthony Swan, Deputy Municipal Court Administrator Cotteth Stafford, as well as Atlantic City and Pleasantville court staff, who helped cut the ribbon at the end of the ceremony.

“Given the close proximity and strong relationships of our two cities, this was not only sensible, but necessary for our communities,” Holmes said. “This merger aligns with the New Jersey Judiciary’s goals of enhancing efficiencies and achieving cost savings for our taxpayers, and more effectively meeting the needs of the public. We thank Mayor Small and Mayor Ward for embracing the opportunity for our cities to come together.”

“Atlantic City and Pleasantville have a lot of history and I’m just happy we were able to complete this merger,” said Mayor Small. “Partnerships are the foundation of the Small administration, and this is another example of coming together for a common cause. I strive to provide a comfortable workspace for my employees that we can all be proud of so the courts are just the start, expect renovations in the entire Public Safety Building next.”

“Pleasantville and Atlantic City always interact with one another, which is how Mayor Small and I started the talks of merging, then everything fell into place, so here we are,” said Mayor Ward. “This was a financial burden on us that we no longer have to worry about, so we extend our gratitude to everyone involved in merging the courts. The Pleasantville employees are very happy in Atlantic City.”

Any questions regarding the Atlantic City Joint Municipal Court can be directed to the court office at 609-347-5560.