Thanks to funding from the Foundation of the Atlantic City Free Public Library, the "Atlantic City Free Public Library Little Library Project" makes books even more accessible to the community. The library currently provides two Little Library locations in the city: at O'Donnell Park (since April 2023) and Absecon Lighthouse (since May 2024). Click here to read more.
The New Jersey State Library, an affiliate of Thomas Edison State University, has awarded the Atlantic City Free Public Library (ACFPL) and other organizations in the state grant funding as part of its Community Center Digital Connect Program – a community resilience project that will address disparities in access to education, employment, and health services by investing in capital improvements at community facilities. The ACFPL will receive $1.283 million for its Building Community Project. Click here to read more.
The Atlantic City Free Public Library is one of nine organizations — each from a different New Jersey county — to have been accepted into the 2024 cohort of the New Jersey Council for the Humanities’ Community History Program. In the program, the organizations will receive free, expert training on public history practices and develop projects in collaboration with their local communities to learn about and share their untold stories. In addition to the training, each organization will receive $5,000 in funding from NJCH to develop and launch projects that showcase their work. Click here to read more.
Construction is scheduled to begin Monday, March 11, to replace the HVAC system at the Main Library – located at 1 North Tennessee Ave. The project is expected to take approximately two months to complete. The library asks for the public’s patience. It is anticipated there will be increased noise inside the Main Library at times due to the ongoing work, and certain phases of the construction might require closing the Main Library temporarily. Click here to read more.
Former Atlantic City Mayor Joseph Lazarow died Thursday, Jan. 3, 2008, in St. Petersburg, Fla., at the age of 84.
Mr. Lazarow served as the city's mayor from 1976-82. He oversaw the beginning of the casino era in Atlantic City. During his tenure as mayor, gambling was legalized in Atlantic City and the city's first casinos opened. Mr. Lazarow was predeceased by his wife, Fredlyn, in 1993. He is survived by two daughters and two sons.
Stories and photographs of Lazarow are available in the Atlantic City Free Public Library's Alfred M. Heston Collection. Please call (609) 345-2269, ext. 3062, for details on how you can view them.
Information about former Atlantic City Mayor Joseph Lazarow
Personal
Political
As Mayor
Quotes:
"I believe the government shouldn't be a dictatorship. I don't believe in running and buttonholing people and saying, ‘I want you to vote this way on this or that way on that.;"
"When a person is quietly and honestly doing a job and people have no real criticism, the first thing they say is the leader can't make a decision. But I've made plenty of decisions. And when history is in, history will probably record that this is the most effective period of leadership the city has ever had."
Bibliography
Weinberg David. "An Ordinary Joe." New Jersey Monthly (June 1979): 74.
"Candidate Schultz Scores Lazarow." Press of Atlantic City (5 May 1976): 26.
"Press Endorses Five for City Commission." Press of Atlantic City (8 May 1976): 1.
Prendergast, Frank J. "Resort Incumbents Win." Press of Atlantic City (12 May 1976): 1, 22.
"Lazarow: Comeback Possible." Press of Atlantic City (11 August 1983): 3.
Click above to visit the Atlantic City Experience site. Visit the Atlantic City Historical Museum and see the best historical and cultural resources of Atlantic City.