On July 31, 2019, New Jersey‘s Acting Governor Sheila Y. Oliver visited a long-standing floral shop in East Orange’s downtown business district to announce the award of $2.5 million in Neighborhood Preservation Program (NPP) grants to 20 municipalities in New Jersey.
The grants will help improve the quality of life for New Jersey residents by assisting communities with their neighborhood revitalization efforts.
This year marks the first time in 11 years that the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs (DCA) has awarded NPP grants. The grant funding is part of a larger effort by the Murphy Administration to commit more resources to community revitalization programs that focus on small businesses and neighborhood improvement projects.
“We are so proud to reinvigorate the Neighborhood Preservation Program after more than a decade of dormancy,” said Oliver, who serves as DCA Commissioner.
“By re-instating funding for this critical initiative, Governor Murphy and I are demonstrating our responsibility as a state to empower and strengthen our communities with the economic tools they need to create an economy that lifts all families and residents. The grant funding is a recognition that the program works and that it routinely reports an excellent return on investment,” she added.
2019 Neighborhood Preservation Program Grant Recipients
The City of East Orange will use its NPP grant of $125,000 to address blighted properties, explore new housing development opportunities, and improve walkability by rehabbing sidewalks in a target area largely encompassed by the Sussex Area Redevelopment Plan.
“These Neighborhood Preservation Program funds will give an economic boost to this gateway corridor from Newark into East Orange. Restoration of this neighborhood will help many of our longtime existing businesses, as well as provide incentive for new businesses to make East Orange home,” said East Orange Mayor Ted Green.
The NPP program provides direct financial and technical assistance to municipalities to conduct activities that strengthen threatened but viable neighborhoods through local planning, community participation, and local investment.
Eligible grant activities include community development planning, commercial retail and residential property renovations, code enforcement, historic preservation, support of community/neighborhood organizations, and public facilities improvement.
The goal of the program’s longer-term commitment is to help towns build their local management capacity so that when the grant funding ends, they have the ability and the partnerships to sustain the work and keep making improvements. Municipal grantees had to show a commitment of resources from the neighborhood and municipality, as well as support from community organizations and residents.
Also announced was nearly $350,000 in Main Street New Jersey (MSNJ) grants to 17 Main Street district organizations throughout the state. The grants from both programs will help improve the quality of life for New Jersey residents by assisting communities with their downtown and neighborhood revitalization efforts.
This year marks the first time in its 30-year history that the MSNJ Program has awarded grants to designated MSNJ district organizations around the state. Also, it is the first time in 11 years that the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs (DCA) has awarded NPP grants. The grant funding is part of a larger effort by the Murphy Administration to commit more resources to community revitalization programs that focus on small businesses and neighborhood improvement projects.
“We are renewing our commitment to community revitalization and to these worthwhile programs after years of neglect by the previous administration. Governor Murphy and I recognize how important these programs are to the economic and social health of our communities, which is why we have invested significant resources in them,” concluded Oliver. “The grant funding will be used to create places filled with energy and ambience that draw people to live, work, and visit. We can’t wait to see how they positively impact neighborhoods and downtowns around the state.”
Historic postcard of downtown East Orange by unknown.