Atlantic City’s City Hall got a new name this week.

Ernest D. Coursey Sr. City Hall honors the longtime public services of the mayor’s former chief of staff on the one-year anniversary of his death Wednesday.

“Today is about honoring my hero,” said Ernest Coursey Jr. of his father.

As the son was overcome with emotion, his younger brother, Ethan Coursey, joined him at the podium, giving an encouraging hug before standing by in silent support.

Coursey Jr. said he hoped people would see more than a name when they pass the sign comemmorating his father.

“I hope they see possibility. I hope they see hope. I hope that they understand that there’s no limitations on what you can become,” he said.

He spoke of his father’s “humble beginnings” in Atlantic City, working on trash trucks along side of Coursey Sr.’s own father and brothers.

Coursey Sr. worked at funeral homes, was a laborer for Atlantic County and did landscaping throughout the city.

“No matter what the title was, no matter what the job, no matter where life placed him, he served the people,” Coursey Jr. said. “Service was never something my father did. Service is who he was.”

The dedication coincides with facade enhancements this summer on the South Carolina and Tennessee Avenue sides.

“We are grateful for Ernest Coursey’s contributions to the great city of Atlantic City, and now his legacy will forever be part of the place he loved so much,” Mayor Marty Small said. “He’s one-of-a-kind and irreplaceable, which is why we felt it would be fitting to bestow upon him this honor. We are ensuring that every person who walks through these doors is reminded of the standard he set, and the impact he had on this city and on everyone who had the privilege of knowing and working alongside him.”

Coursey began his political career as a Third Ward councilman in 1991.

In January 2002, he became administrator for then-Mayor Lorenzo Langford. He also served as a staff assistant to former U.S. Sen. Robert Torricelli, worked on former Gov. James McGreevey’s Transition Committee, and was a commissioner for the South Jersey Transportation Authority. 

His last elected position was as the sole Democrat on the Atlantic County Board of Commissioners, where he representecd District 1 that includes Atlantic City, Ventnor, Margate and Longport.

When he announced in January 2025 that he would not seek re-election, he spoke of his reputation as a “fighter and non-conformist” with a philosophy of “leadership and respect for the people.”

He spoke of the legacy he left behind, and the final feather in his political cap: reaching a settlement with the state in the eight-year battle over the payment-in-lieu-of-taxes legislation.

Coursey was instrumental in bringing the $59 million agreement to Atlantic County, county Executive Dennis Levinson said at the time.

Coursey at the time told BreakingAC that he used the advice of his friend and boss, Small. 

“As Marty Small often tells us, relationships matter,” Coursey said.

He also credited everyone who came to the table.

“This was a group effort. It wasn’t a ‘me’ thing, it was a ‘we’ thing ,” Coursey told BreakingAC at the time.

“Everything my father acocomplished was rooted in faith of God and his believe that were were here to serve one another,” Coursey Jr. said Wednesday.

The elder Coursey knew of the plans to name the building where he spent so much time in his honor.

“He told me he cannot believe this,” his brother, Ed Coursey, previously said. “He has an 8-month-old grandson that, when he’s old enough to read, he’ll see his Pop-Pop’s name on this building.”