Program Achievements
One of the fundamental concepts of the Building Sustainable Communities (BSC) program is “doing while planning.” Such "Early Action Projects" illustrate that BSC is not just about visioning and meeting, but is also a program committed to taking action to improve the target area. Early Action Projects quickly address a community priority highlighted during the engagement effort. In Lower Broadway, a critical concern for merchants, residents and customers is parking. LISC is now working with community stakeholders and the city to implement these recommendations.
Since launching the Greater Newark Neighborhoods Initiative in May 2009 several achievements have been made in the following areas:
- Commercial Market Analysis
- Graffiti Clean-Up
- Streetscape Improvements
- Commercial Corridor Parking Study
Merchants on Newark’s Lower Broadway Commercial Corridor are planning a 
comeback. Once a highly successful shopping destination known for its fine furniture stores, the commercial corridor experienced some decline in recent decades. Now, as a part of the local LISC’s Greater Newark Neighborhoods Initiative (GNN), significant changes are planned for the area.
La Casa de Don Pedro, the lead agency for the GNN program in Lower Broadway, coordinated a comprehensive retail analysis of the existing stores and market and make recommendations for improvement. The analysis, undertaken by LISC Metro Edge and funded generously by the Garfield Foundation, revealed many positive things, including:
- Since 1990, the Lower Broadway neighborhood has had a significant increase in middle-income households, despite a decrease in that population within the City as a whole.
- The concentrated buying power of Lower Broadway is nearly twice that of the whole of Essex County.
- Despite the years of downturn in the area, Lower Broadway is still a destination for the purchase of gasoline, health & personal care items, and furniture & household items.
- The Corridor is highly accessible for commuters with six different buses serving the area.
- Crime has decreased steadily within the Corridor despite local perception.
Merchants are excited about the potential to attract these new customers to their businesses. Merchants and customers, along with representatives from the Newark Police Department, Office of Planning and Urban Enterprise Zone have participated in roundtable discussions, one-on-one interviews and stakeholder meetings and have determined that improvements in cleanliness, safety and parking availability are the critical elements to ensure the corridor’s future success.
Reflecting the GNN Program’s commitment to quickly address short term community needs while planning for long term improvements, a parking consultant has been retained to study parking trends along the corridor and issue recommendations for improvement in the coming months.
For further information as it relates to the Lower Broadway Corridor and the Merchant Stakeholders group activities, meetings and events, please refer to our event calendar.
For all other inquiries related to the Lower Broadway Commercial Corridor, please contact Roberto Frugone at La Casa de Don Pedro at 973.485.0701 or rfrugrone@lacasanwk.org.
Lower Broadway Commercial Corridor merchants took a giant step in combating 
the community’s graffiti problem by removing graffiti from storefronts within the retail area. The “Graffiti Busters” event sponsored by La Casa de Don Pedro and supported by the LISC Greater Newark Neighborhoods program and the Garfield Foundation took place on May 22, 2009 and was highly successful.
In addition to merchants, La Casa staff, LISC staff and local volunteers helped to remove graffiti from seventeen stores. By taking a public stand and removing the graffiti from their shops, the merchants made the corridor more attractive to shoppers and proved to vandals that graffiti will no longer be tolerated along the Lower Broadway commercial corridor.
Recognizing that painting over graffiti is only a temporary measure, the GNN program is also working to bring a mural program to Lower Broadway to serve as permanent deterrent to graffiti.
The Newark Office of the Urban Enterprise Zone (UEZ) has committed 
approximately $2.5 million for infrastructure improvements within the Lower Broadway Commercial District. This money will fund sidewalk improvements, decorative lighting, and benches – all much needed physical enhancements to the commercial corridor.
The project is in the initial design phase and an architectural, engineering & design firm has been hired to complete design work. Rafael Zabala, Acting Director of the Office of the Urban Enterprise Zone, is a member of the Lower Broadway Commercial Corridor stakeholder group and will oversee the streetscape improvement project.
To ensure that Lower Broadway residents and merchants contribute to the streetscape design, La Casa de Don Pedro will host a community design meeting where residents will comment on the proposed design. Please check back to our calendar for meeting times and locations and sign up for our enewsletter for updates.
Construction is scheduled to begin Spring 2010. These physical improvements coupled with the quality of life improvements that will result from the GNN program’s community-based planning process will continue the work of addressing the comprehensive needs of Lower Broadway’s residents.
Commercial Corridor Parking Study
A perceived lack of parking spaces and customer difficulties with the city’s single-meter for multiple spaces parking system fueled concerns. Greater Newark & Jersey City LISC provided support to GNN Lead Agency La Casa de Don Pedro to conduct a parking study along the Lower Broadway commercial corridor. Sam Schwartz Engineering Firm completed the study and made several recommendations including:
- Introducing angled parking spaces on one side of Broadway;
- Issuing permits for merchants and residents to park;
- Taking steps to improve the safety and security on adjacent streets where parking is available.
To read the complete parking study, visit Lower Broadway's GNN website by clicking here. LISC is now working with community stakeholders and the city to implement these recommendations.
Click here to download the complete document in format.
