This week’s digital issue of NJIBZ – featuring what summer at the shore is shaping up to look like, the attempt to make banking SAFE for the cannabis industry, the next round of pandemic business relief from New Jersey, we shine our spotlight on Construction & Infrastructure and more!

The New Jersey Economic Development Authority is moving ahead with pre-registration for businesses to apply for some of the $85 million in COVID-19 monetary relief targeted at small businesses and nonprofits, with applications set to formally open at the start of May.

A recent Marijuana Banking Update from FinCEN, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network of the United States Department of the Treasury, found that 515 banks and 169 credit unions nationwide serve cannabis-related businesses. Out of the approximately 5,000 banks nationwide, that’s a relatively small number to handle the estimated $18.3 billion in legal cannabis sales in 2020. The SAFE Banking Act would change that.

The pandemic’s effect on a variety of density-dependent industries has been well documented. Restaurants and bars in particular suffered as patrons stayed home, but those establishments were able to offer takeout and outside dining to stay afloat. For Parsippany-based Corporate Essentials, neither was an option. The company provides coffee, food and other services for offices.

A project of Jersey City-based Hopkins Group Management, Elks Club JSQ is an adaptive reuse of one of the city’s oldest surviving buildings – the 1918 Jersey City Elks Lodge – in Journal Square.

In January, Monmouth County officials held a ribbon-cutting ceremony celebrating the completion of a multi-year private and public project to widen, rebuild and significantly improve one of the county’s most frustrating and congested intersections.

Business and municipal leaders along the shore expect a strong season this year, even as pandemic uncertainty persists.

Oceanfront residential developments in Asbury Park and Long Branch are drawing pandemic-weary buyers to the shore.

Photos featuring Make a Wish New Jersey and Eli Manning; Columbia Bank Foundation, Boys & Girls Clubs and Blankets of Hope; Hackensack Meridian's Raritan Bay Medical Center; and donations from Datacolor, from this week’s issue of NJBIZ.

In March 2020, the state brought in $1.2 billion from tax revenue, compared to nearly $1.7 billion last month. New Jersey draws its money from three main sources: sales, income and corporate business taxes.

The city has committed $6 million to preserve the historic pumphouse and fully fund renovations for complete public access to the 14-acre site, which dates back approximately 150 years.

Zen Leaf's Monmouth County location in Neptune will service a "largely underserved market."