Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop isn't giving up on his hopes to bring a controversial French art museum to town.

He's reviving the plan for a Central Pompidou, despite the state pulling financial support after saying the numbers just didn't add up.

Now, to make it happen, Philip wants to partner with the Kushner family's real estate group by offering tax abatements and other incentives.

As Ted Goldberg reports, the idea is raising eyebrows and skepticism among the local council.

We've been waiting a while for years for some new development, and we don't feel that we're a part of what's going on.

Last night's Jersey City Council meeting ran for more than four hours, with much of that time spent debating a new proposal to bring the Center Pompidou to Jersey city, a generational investment, for years to come.

With one week of notice to deliberate on, a couple weeks to decide upon is the most irresponsible aspect of arts planning that I've ever heard of.

It's just really amazes me.

Would things get rushed through and would things we have to take time to do?

All things get rushed through for.

After losing state funding to bring this museum to Jersey city.

Mayor Steve Fulop has pitched a new plan.

It involves 30 years of tax abatements, something Jersey city hasn't given out in nearly a decade.

The city will make $11 million more per year because of this cultural institution being here.

So from a dollars and cents standpoint, we will benefit.

The museum would go on this site where the only art you can find now is graffiti spray painted on the side of a garage.

Phillips says the city would benefit from a 30 year pilot agreement or payments in lieu of taxes, but the city council does not support it unanimously.

Your ex and taxpayer used to fund the bills for this.

I feel like it's being forced out.

We've been having dialogs with the community around this program for five years.

Five years, community, everybody.

This is not a new town.

The component here with its activity, we've had this conversation.

The ordinance to create the museum survived a first reading yesterday, but council people like Frank Gilmore and locals asked pointed questions about the plan's financials.

How is it that they can have a projected amount of dispersed tax revenue?

And as a administration, we can't calculate what money is coming in.

It's hard to believe the detailed financial projections and comparisons don't exist.

The question is, why aren't these being shared with you?

Our elected representatives, or the public?

We've seen promises of development and prosperity.

Yet, time and again, these arguments seem to benefit developers more than our community.

Councilman James Solomon also voted against this plan.

He says the Pompidou, in theory, is a good idea, but he doesn't think a 30 year tax abatement is the best use of city resources.

I think the city is better served by saying, hey, this didn't work out.

We've got to hunker down, make sure we're spending our money on the core things that city residents are asking for for 2022 to 2024.

You know, property taxes have gone up 3,040%, and most homeowners.

So we're in a different place as a budget situation.

Our streets are in desperate need of paving.

There's a severe lack of parking and the resources that could go toward improving the quality of life for residents are instead being funneled into tax abatements for developers.

Mayor Philip spoke for more than an hour at a caucus meeting held earlier this week.

But some in Jersey city want to hear more information about this proposal.

While the idea of a cultural arts space and the prospect of new jobs are appealing, these attractive propositions lack teeth without ironclad ironclad guarantees and stringent monitoring mechanisms in place.

My ability to look forward to this has essentially been taken away from me because, you know, the the city will not share information about what the actual vision is.

In response to this story, the Center Pompidou in France tells us their dialog is continuing with the city, but it's too early for them to say more.

In Jersey city, I'm Ted Goldberg, NJ Spotlight News.