Greater Newark, NJ

LEADERSHIP
Executive Director:
Rhonda Lewis
Chair, Local Advisory Committee:
Preston Pinkett III, Chair, Vice President,
Prudential Foundation
CONTACT INFORMATION
17 Academy Street, Suite 912
Newark, New Jersey 07102
Telephone: (973) 624-6676
Fax: (973) 624-0990
Website

Established in 1986

Achievements by the Numbers:

(By LISC and Affiliates since inception)
  • 1,671 homes and apartments
  • 372,402 square feet of commercial space
  • $77.3 million total investment
  • $312 million leveraged

Profile:

In 2008, Greater Newark and Jersey City LISC rolled out its Building Sustainable Communities effort, known as Greater Newark Neighborhoods in the target neighborhood of Lower Broadway. This strategic initiative supports redevelopment efforts that comprehensively examine and address the broad and unique needs of the residents within their communities. In 2010, LISC and La Casa launched the Lower Broadway Financial Opportunity Center, which is a career and personal finance service center focusing on employment placement and career improvement, financial education and coach, and public benefits access.

LISC advanced efforts to improve recreational facilities for local youth by investing $400,000 through the NFL Grassroots Program for three new football fields: The Cochrane Stadium, Nat Turner Park, and Andre Tippett Field. Cochrane Stadium in Jersey City serves multiple schools and leagues, while Nat Turner Park serves as a much needed open recreation space for more than 19,000 residents and 7,000 children living within a half-mile of the park. In order to improve access to quality education, LISC provided a $1.3 million construction loan to help develop a new preschool center in the Ivy Hill neighborhood that serves 201 children in a 27,000 sq-ft facility with 14 classrooms, an indoor play and motor-skill development area, a nurse’s room and administrative offices. Furthermore, to stimulate economic activity, 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. In 2009, the corridor was also awarded $800,000 for a façade improvement program to enable merchants and property owners to make aesthetic improvements to existing businesses to ensure that residents can shop for the goods and services they need in their own neighborhood.