\nATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) \u2013 The three-story brick house on a mostly deserted street in the shadow of the failed $2.4 billion Revel Hotel Casino was Charlie Birnbaum\u2019s father\u2019s livelihood. It allowed him to reside a couple of blocks from his beloved beach and earn income by renting out two floors to tenants.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cThis building gave him dignity. It was his refuge,\u201d Birnbaum, 67, said this week. \u201cAs it was for my mom when my dad passed away. Because of this building, my dad didn\u2019t die in a nursing home.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tNot even the killing of his mother there during a 1998 robbery diminished Birnbaum\u2019s beautiful memories of what the house meant for his family.<\/p>\n
\tIt\u2019s those memories that keep him from accepting a buyout from the state agency in charge of redeveloping Atlantic City as the resort city\u2019s casino industry shrinks. Even with the hulking glass structure down the street preparing to sit empty after Revel closes this weekend, the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority says it still wants to redevelop the nearby land where Birnbaum\u2019s house sits.<\/p>\n
\tBirnbaum\u2019s lawyer and an attorney representing other tenants affected by the redevelopment plans met Thursday with a judge who is deciding whether the CRDA has the right to force them out through eminent domain. The judge heard arguments from both sides in May and scheduled another hearing for Oct. 6.<\/p>\n
\tThough Birnbaum does not live at the house, he still goes there almost daily. He uses the first floor for his business tuning pianos played in the city\u2019s casinos, and to play the piano himself in the living room, which is surrounded by pictures of his family.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cThe building has been my refuge in a similar way,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019ve been able to continue making a living and doing what I do.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tThe building is one of a few inhabited properties that dot the landscape, surrounded by patches of grass and undeveloped lots with for-sale signs. His parents, Holocaust survivors, bought the house in 1969 when Birnbaum was in college, and he still rents out its two apartments.<\/p>\n
\tRobert McNamara, an attorney representing Birnbaum from the Virginia-based Institute for Justice, said the CRDA doesn\u2019t have any concrete plans to redevelop the area and is out to \u201cdestroy Charlie\u2019s family home.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\u201cThey\u2019re just moving forward no matter what to create more vacant land in Atlantic City,\u201d McNamara said.<\/p>\n
\tCRDA attorney Stuart Lederman said the agency is using eminent domain to assemble land for developers because some landowners have been sitting on vacant properties for years.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cThe closing of the Revel shows that casinos alone can\u2019t support Atlantic City, can\u2019t revive Atlantic City,\u201d he said. \u201cYou need two types of development: hotel and casino development, but you need other types of development.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tThe opening of Revel two year ago had inspired plans for the surrounding South Inlet area, including a $75 million entertainment complex proposed by a group that includes former NBA star Shaquille O\u2019Neal.<\/p>\n
\tThe CRDA had planned to use its share of revenue from Revel \u2013 1.25 percent of gambling winnings \u2013 to pay for a $50 million bond to buy and clear several blocks. But Revel\u2019s struggles led the agency to use a more modest $8.5 million to remake the neighborhood.<\/p>\n
\tBirnbaum, who lives 30 miles inland in Hammonton and has tuned pianos at the casinos for Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett and others, said he was offered fair market value for his family\u2019s house, about $240,000. He said he would leave if he was given a detailed reason on what the city wants to do with the land.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cI was hoping that my parents would see some turnaround and some progress, and now I\u2019m hoping and praying that I\u2019ll be the one that sees the turnaround and progress in spite of Revel and in spite of Showboat and (Trump) Plaza, because we\u2019ve gone through some tough times,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd if it means going through more tough times, so be it.\u201d<\/p>\n
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