NJ kills funding for Jersey City French art museum. Where will ARP funds go now?

The satellite French art museum that has long been in the works in Jersey City won’t get state funding after all.

The project has been a controversial talking point in Trenton for years and has been highlighted by Republican lawmakers as the pinnacle of pork spending but with the museum out, where will that money go.

The state’s Economic Development Authority found that the museum is no longer viable, according to a letter from the head of the authority to the museum’s president obtained by the New Jersey Monitor.

The New Jersey Monitor also reported that a deputy executive director at the Department of State told the head of the Jersey City Redevelopment Agency (JCRA) to return $6 million they had already received and that the other $42 million allocated in fiscal years 2022 and 2024 would be returned to the state’s general fund.

That’s not the only money that was earmarked for the project though. The state’s Department of the Treasury confirmed the JCRA was also allocated $10 million in American Rescue Plan funds for the museum during the Joint Budget Oversight Committee (JBOC) meeting on May 5, 2023.

The agenda item at that time said the funding was “needed to support the construction and opening of an exhibition space in Jersey City” and that it would “provide cultural and educational programming for Jersey City residents.”

The state received more than $6.2 billion in pandemic relief funding from the federal government three years ago. All of that money has been allocated, or earmarked, for specific projects − which New Jersey's state government was obliged to do by the end of this year. If it isn’t, it has to be returned to the federal government.

So where will that $10 million end up and who will make the final decision remains to be seen. The decision to fund a project or multiple projects can be determined by JBOC or by the governor.

Danielle Currie, a spokesperson for Treasury department said that the money will be “reallocated for other programs in accordance with federal law by the December 31, 2024 obligation deadline” and noted that the spending deadline is not until the end of 2026.

The governor’s office also said that the money will be “repurposed to the broader ARP pot” and that the money can’t be used for state operation costs.

The Legislature is waiting to hear from Treasury for a full accounting of remaining or lapsed ARP funds, state Sen. Paul Sarlo, who serves as Budget Committee chair in the upper chamber.

“Once we have that information, the legislative leadership and the executive branch will have discussions over the summer before scheduling a JBOC meeting at an appropriate date before the end of the year,” Sarlo said. “We intend to keep these funds in New Jersey.”

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Jersey City museum project loses ARP funds. Where will they go now?