Secretary Fudge Marks 100 Days of the Biden-Harris Administration with a Visit to New Jersey

On Thursday, May 6th, HUD Secretary Marcia L. Fudge travelled to New Jersey for her first official trip. During the trip to Hoboken and Newark, Secretary Fudge marked 100 days of the Biden-Harris Administration and the impact of the American Rescue Plan. Secretary Fudge participated in a major groundbreaking at a $230 million CDBG-DR climate resilient infrastructure investment in Hoboken, visited a Federally Qualified Health Center COVID-19 vaccination pop-up site at the Newark Housing Authority, met with residents and partners at Georgia King Village, a HUD multifamily complex, and toured Woodlawn Village, a Newark Housing Authority site that was renovated to provide homeless families with permanent housing.

To kick off her visit, Secretary Fudge spoke at the groundbreaking for Rebuild by Design-Hudson. Rebuild by Design-Hudson is a $230 million CDBG-DR climate and disaster resilient green infrastructure project to prevent storm damage similar to that suffered after Superstorm Sandy in 2012. Secretary Fudge was joined by New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy, U.S. Senator Cory Booker, Congressman Albio Sires, and Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla.

During her visit to the Federally Qualified Health Center COVID-19 vaccination pop-up site for public housing residents at Wynona Lipman Gardens, Secretary Fudge had an opportunity to meet with residents and speak about the importance of making sure all Americans get vaccinated and HUD-assisted residents receive proper vaccination outreach. Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, Newark Housing Authority Executive Director Victor Cirillo, and Congressman Albio Sires joined her on the visit.

Later in the afternoon, Secretary Fudge visited Georgia King Village, a successful HUD multifamily housing development rehabilitation, where obstacles related to financing were overcome. Secretary Fudge and New Jersey Lieutenant Governor Sheila Oliver met with residents and partners to discuss the property's transformation, the connection between health/food access and housing, green energy improvements, and how residents were assisted during the pandemic. To complete her first official trip, Secretary Fudge ended the day with a visit to Woodlawn Village, a formerly vacant Newark Housing Authority site, that was recently rehabbed to house families experiencing homelessness during the pandemic.

A big thank you to HUD's Region II team, the Office of Congressional and Intergovernmental Relations (CIR), the Office of Public Affairs (OPA), the Office of the Secretary (OSEC), and the Office of the Assistant Deputy Secretary for Field Policy and Management (FPM) for making Secretary Fudge's first official trip a great success!

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