Greater Newark & Jersey City LISC eNewsletter
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Greater Newark & Jersey City LISC eNewsletter |
| Fall 2008 |
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We've moved! You can now find us at: 17 Academy Street, Suite 912 Newark, NJ 07102 Save the Date! 6th Annual LISC New Jersey Neighborhood Achievement AwardsLet's Celebrate! Come salute New Jersey's champions on November 6, 2008 at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center. Behind the headlines touting scandals and housing woes, individuals and organizations across the State of New Jersey have busily and diligently championed quality education, jobs, public services, healthcare, and affordable housing opportunities. Opportunities to be a sponsor of the New Jersey Neighborhood Achievement Awards (NJNAA) and/or to place an ad in the Awards Journal are still available. To RSVP or for more information on how to support this remarkable event, please visit our website or contact Petra Lee at plee@lisc.org.
LISC and the NFL Team Up in Newark & Jersey City
Are you ready for some football? The youth of Newark and Jersey City will be geared up very soon thanks to The NFL Grassroots Program. With the program's support, the brand new Nat Turner Field in Newark broke ground in June, and a newly refurbished field for Cochrane Stadium at Caven Point, Jersey City will be ready for the fall season. Both fields were natural choices for $200,000 awards from The NFL Grassroots Program, a partnership between LISC, the NFL Youth Football Fund with local support from the New York Football Giants. The program chooses upwards of 30 recipients annually from a national pool of applicants in a competitive vetting process. Awards provide financing towards everything from new artificial turf to goal posts and bleachers. In the words of NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, "Fields are an integral part of creating viable and healthy communities. The development and refurbishment of these football fields gives youngsters across the country a safe place to play the game, and brings families and neighborhoods together."1 1 Journal Staff, "NFL chips in for a new field at Jersey City's Caven Point", The Jersey Journal (June 8, 2008). A New $5 Million Preschool for Ivy Hill
Some of the youngest residents in Ivy Hill section of Newark's Vailsburg Community can look forward to a new preschool facility. Complete with ample play space to meet the needs of its 3 and 4 year old target population, this posh, 27,000 square foot new facility, which broke ground July 23, 2008, is being developed by the Unified Vailsburg Services Organization (UVSO) of Newark. The Abbott Preschool will begin to serve 210 children by Spring 2009.
Culture + Arts + Green Living = Lincoln Park/Coast Cultural District!
Once an area of abandoned lots and substandard housing, the Lincoln Park/ Coast area of Newark is transforming into an energized synergy of culture, arts and green living. This 11 acre, four block, community transformation is being spearheaded by the Lincoln Park/Coast Cultural District (LPCCD) through a five-phased, community supported mixed-use development project. The project includes 300 affordable, LEED certified, town homes and lofts, the utilization of Lincoln Park as a music and cultural venue, historic restoration projects and the opening of the Museum of African American Music, a Smithsonian Affiliate. The story of this community as LPCCD describes it "is a chronicle of Newark's past, from colonial village, to thriving industrial center," side by side with an old Barbary Coast (a Black entertainment and red light district), into decline and now to renewal.
In August, LPCCD celebrated the completion of the first part of phase I of this project. - the Washington Street Mixed Use Buildings. A ribbon cutting ceremony and open house was held at the site to celebrate the completion of these six LEED certified, 3800 square feet, three-unit buildings, which include both residential and commercial space. Dwelling units have been outfitted with Energy Star appliances, low-flow water fixtures, super insulated building materials, low-VOC paints, durable, sustainable building materials, and special heating and cooling filters to improve air quality. Greater Newark & Jersey City LISC provided a $250,000 recoverable grant, a $584,000 pre-development loan, and an $800,000 construction loan towards this project. Generous support for the project was also received from Wachovia and PSEG. The Newark/Essex Foreclosure TaskforceIn response to the growing foreclosure crisis, the Newark Essex Foreclosure Taskforce hosted a loan workout fair on August 25. Under the roof of the Newark Tech Vocational High School Gymnasium area homeowners not only had the opportunity to meet face-to-face with bank representatives to discuss modifying the terms of their mortgage, but they consulted with Housing Counselors and Legal Service Attorneys about how to protect their interests. The event was co-sponsored by the State of New Jersey, the Department of Banking and Insurance, Essex County, City of Newark, the HOPE Now Alliance, NeighborWorks America, and the Newark/Essex Foreclosure Taskforce. The taskforce currently has over 30 organizational members including government, community groups, and research and advocacy organizations. Greater Newark & Jersey City LISC has been a member of the Newark/Urban Essex Foreclosure Taskforce since its inception, and we continue to support the Taskforce's efforts. If you or your constituents need support managing foreclosure issues, please contact the following 24-hour resources:
Next Issue Winter 2009:
Please send questions or comments to dleblanc@lisc.org For more information about Greater Newark & Jersey City LISC, please visit our website: www.lisc.org/greaternewark-jerseycity. [HOME] [PRIVACY POLICY] |
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