Hard Rock to open its us$ 275 million Atlantic City casino in the spring of 2014

Sykes noted that the company still must secure a series of regulatory approvals before construction gets under way. The architect disclosed the construction timetable during a public hearing at City Hall. However, most of the hearing focused on whether Hard Rock will create jobs and business opportunities for local residents.

The tone of the 90-minute hearing was cordial, but members of the audience repeatedly pressed Hard Rock representatives for a commitment to hire local residents during the construction phase and after the casino opens. "We're going to make sure that Atlantic City businesses and residents get opportunities from this day forward," Councilman Marty Small said.

Some community representatives urged Hard Rock to sign a formal agreement that guarantees local residents will be first in line for jobs. "There needs to be something now," said Steve Young, an Atlantic City resident and community activist. "We need to show that this project will be good for local residents and businesses and that Atlantic City will come first."

Joe Emanuele, Hard Rock's vice president of design and development, said the company is willing to listen, but added that it is premature for any firm commitments. "We like to do those things, and we like to explore those things as we go along," Emanuele told the audience of the possibility of a local employment agreement.

Robert Johnson, a representative of the South Jersey African American Chamber of Commerce, said promises of jobs and economic development were made in the past by other casinos but not always kept. "We ask for inclusion of all of us in this project," said Johnson, a former city councilman.

Small said it is hard to figure out why so many local residents were left out during the development of other casinos, while out-of-towners were able to secure high-paying construction jobs and executive positions. "I don't understand how someone from Philadelphia can get a job on the site before someone in Atlantic City," he said.

Barbara Camper, Atlantic City's affirmative action officer, said Hard Rock has established a solid reputation for its employment practices. Still, she stressed that City Council and Mayor Lorenzo Langford would not let up in their discussions with the company. "We're pushing for Atlantic City residents to have job opportunities and business opportunities," Camper said.

Thursday's public hearing was attended by about 70 people. Audience members voiced their support for the project, but concerns were raised about the noise and traffic that it would generate.

Jack Olenczak, a resident of the Enclave condominiums near the casino site, argued that plans for a beachfront Hard Rock Cafe should be halted until a study is done on the noise. "We're going to have to figure out how to contain it," Olenczak said of the music from the cafe.

Sykes said the cafe, which would be perched over the dunes, would create a party atmosphere on the beach year-round. When the audience began to grumble about the noise, he quickly replied that Hard Rock "will control the acoustics from the cafe."

The city has asked the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection's Green Acres program to allow Hard Rock to use a portion of the beach for the cafe. Hard Rock is also seeking city and state permission to use a stretch of the Albany Avenue right of way in O'Donnell Park for an underground tunnel for traffic leaving the casino parking garage.

Hard Rock would build at the southern end of the Boardwalk, at the foot of the Route 40-Albany Avenue entryway. It would be the first of two smaller-scale Boardwalk casinos allowed in Atlantic City under a new law. Hard Rock would start with 200 hotel rooms, but would add a 650-room tower during a second phase.

Supporters said Hard Rock would be a flashy new attraction to expand the Atlantic City tourist market. They said Hard Rock's plan to incorporate the beach and ocean would make the casino all the more exciting. "I love the way the project embraces the beach, which is so uncommon, unfortunately, in the city right now," said Frank Dougherty, owner of the Knife & Fork Inn.

"This is the best project and best place in Atlantic City," added Pete Khatiwala, who owns the Rodeway Inn and Best Western and EconoLodge hotels in Atlantic City.