New Jersey

New Bill Looks to Establish ‘Central Jersey'

In support of tourism, a New Jersey lawmaker has proposed an official 'central' region that would include Hunterdon, Somerset, Union, Middlesex, Mercer, Monmouth, and Ocean counties

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Believe it or not, Central Jersey does exist.

And, you don't have to take former Daily Show host Jon Stewart's faux judicial proclamation for it, either.

The region could soon be made official as one state lawmaker has proposed a bill that would establish three new tourism regions for the state -- North, Central and South.

Assemblyman Roy Freiman (D-Somerset, Mercer, Middlesex, Hunterdon), told NBC10’s Cydney Long that the legislation is intended to highlight the diversity in these areas and help promote the separate regions' downtowns, farms, museums and other amusements.

"The shore is different than the Pineland and it's different along the Delaware River and so, New Jersey is incredibly diverse," Freiman told NBC10.

The bill would divide the state into three regions.

The Northern Tourism Region would be comprised of Sussex, Warren, Morris, Passaic, Bergen, Essex, and Hudson counties.

The Central Tourism Region would consist of Hunterdon, Somerset, Union, Middlesex, Mercer, Monmouth, and Ocean counties. 

And, the Southern Tourism Region would include Burlington, Camden, Gloucester, Atlantic, Salem, Cumberland, and Cape May counties.

"It is not about geography, this is about the economy. It's about economics and it's about tourism," said Freiman.

On Thursday, the bill was reported favorably by the Assembly Tourism, Gaming and the Arts Committee and referred to Assembly Appropriations Committee.

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