Chipotle announced this week that they will soon be opening a new "small store" in Brooklawn, near the Shop Rite. Chipotle, as is the case with many other companies, is starting to down-size their stores. The one in Brooklawn will only seat 14 people but will also have a drive-up window.
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That's one point for Brooklawn, none for Gloucester City.
Brooklawn has opened a self-storage facility. Maybe not the prettiest building but it is a good use of an available property and it pays taxes.
That's two points for Brooklawn, none for Gloucester City.
Although it is not a new building, Brooklawn has a grocery store. The closest Gloucester City had was a new, non-union grocery store where the Dollar Tree is. The night before it was to open with all the stores stocked, it caught fire and burned to the ground.
That's a minus point for Gloucester City. No serious effort has been made to replace the store.
The comparison can go on, and on, and on. Gloucester City has a lot of projects "on the books." Some of them, such as the restaurant at the Sea Port, have been on the books for as long as 40 years.
Before the comparison is over, let's look at school test scores. The only class the two towns have in common is the 8th grade.
The Math scores in Brooklawn were 17% (2023,) 0 (2022,) and 16.7% (2019.) These scores are nothing to brag about but Gloucester City scores for the same criteria were 4.4% (2023,) 13.2% (2022,) and 20.% in 2019.
The ELA scores in Brooklawn were 54% (2023,) 33.3% (2022,) and 47% (2019.) Gloucester City actually had slightly better scores at 60.6% (2023,) 50.5% (2022,) and 59.2% for 2019.
There were no Science scores reported for Brooklawn, but Gloucester City's scores were so dismal (4.0% to 4.3%) this is pretty much a push.
So, the score looks like 3 to 1 in favor of Brooklawn.*
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