2010 Annual Report

Local Highlights

Greater Newark & Jersey City

Greater Newark Neighborhoods

In 2008, Greater Newark and Jersey City LISC rolled out its Building Sustainable Communities effort, known as Greater Newark Neighborhoods (GNN). This strategic initiative supports redevelopment efforts that go beyond physical development to comprehensively examine and address the broad and unique needs of the residents within their communities. The GNN target neighborhood is the Lower Broadway neighborhood with La Casa de Don Pedro as the Convening Agency.

Expanding Investment in Affordable Housing

LISC took several steps to address the high incidence of foreclosures in the city of Newark and urban Essex County, including: joining a foreclosure tax force, participating in educational campaigns, and supporting homeowner counseling and tenant advocacy work. LISC also provided financial and technical support for the acquisition and rehabilitation of 47 vacant homes.

Building Family Income & Wealth

In 2010, LISC and La Casa launched the Lower Broadway Financial Opportunity Center, which is a career and personal finance service center that focuses on the financial bottom line for low-to-moderate income families. The FOC provides services in three core areas: employment placement and career improvement, financial education and coaching, and public benefits access.

Fostering Healthy Environments

Between 2008 and 2009, LISC advanced efforts to improve recreational facilities for local youth by investing $400,000 through the NFL Grassroots Program for three new football fields. These investments resulted in a field at Cochrane Stadium in Jersey City that serves multiple schools and leagues, Nat Turner Park in Newark’s Central Ward, and Andre Tippett Field in Newark’s Branch Brook Park.
Nat Turner Park serves as open recreation space for more than 19,000 residents and 7,000 children living within a half-mile of the park.

Improving Access to Quality Education

LISC provided a $1.3 million construction loan to help Unified Vailsburg Services Organization develop a new preschool center in the Ivy Hill neighborhood of Newark. Completed in 2009, the center serves 210 children in a 27,000-square-foot facility with 14 classrooms, an indoor play and motor-skill development area, a nurse’s room and administrative offices.

Stimulating Economic Activity

In 2008, the Lower Broadway Commercial Corridor received a $2.5 million commitment from the Newark Office of the Urban Enterprise Zone for infrastructure improvements within the Lower Broadway Commercial District. Additionally, in 2009, the corridor was awarded $800,000 for a façade improvement program to enable merchants and property owners to make aesthetic improvements to existing businesses.