THE CITY OF NEWARK RECEIVES $300,000 TO SPUR NEXT GENERATION OF HOUSING, NEIGHBORHOOD TRANSFORMATION
17 entities nationwide receive grants to execute grassroots efforts to revitalize housing, communities

NEWARK - The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced today that the City of Newark will receive $300,000 to execute grassroots efforts to revitalize the public housing at Seth Boyden Terrace and transform the Dayton Street neighborhood. (See below for additional Newark information.) In New Jersey, the City of Camden was also a grant recipient.

Newark is one of 17 entities from across the U.S. receiving a Choice Neighborhoods Planning Grant today. The funding provides these communities the resources they need to craft comprehensive, community-driven plans to revitalize public or other HUD-assisted housing and transform distressed neighborhoods.

"This funding will enable NeighborWorks Blackstone River Valley to take its initial discussions with local partners further to plan out strategies to build a stronger, more sustainable community that will address distressed housing, failing schools, rampant crime in this housing and community," said Nancy Smith Greer, HUD Rhode Island Field Office Director. "HUD's Choice Neighborhoods Initiative represents the next generation in a movement toward revitalizing entire neighborhoods to improve the lives of the residents who live there."

"This federal funding will help community leaders in Newark and Camden develop long-term plans to revitalize local neighborhoods and ensure families have a safe place to raise their children," said Senator Lautenberg, a member of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, which funds HUD. "We will continue fighting for federal funding to help provide New Jersey's families with access to safe, affordable, quality housing."

"I championed the Choice Neighborhoods initiative because I believe we must take a comprehensive approach to rebuilding struggling neighborhoods - an approach which recognizes the importance of providing affordable housing, but also addresses the need for access to transportation, good jobs, schools and supportive services," said Senator Robert Menendez. "These grants will help Camden and Newark Housing Authorities - along with local stakeholders - create comprehensive revitalization plans that will build on neighborhood assets, address community needs and guide investments."

"I am pleased to congratulate the Newark Housing Authority on receipt of a Choice Neighborhood Planning Grant," said Congressman Albio Sires. "Funds will help transform Newark's current housing units into energy efficient, mixed income communities, while improving access to transportation, schools and education programs, and job opportunities."

HUD's Choice Neighborhoods Initiative promotes a comprehensive approach to transforming distressed areas of concentrated poverty into viable and sustainable mixed-income neighborhoods. Building on the successes of HUD's HOPE VI Program, Choice Neighborhoods links housing improvements with necessary services for the people who live there - including schools, public transit and employment opportunities.

The awardees announced today were selected from among 72 applications. Successful applicants demonstrated their intent to plan for the transformation of neighborhoods by revitalizing severely distressed public and/or assisted housing while leveraging investments to create high-quality public schools, outstanding education and early learning programs, public assets, public transportation, and improved access to jobs and well-functioning services. HUD focused on directing resources to address three core goals:

• Housing: Transform distressed public and assisted housing into energy efficient, mixed-income housing that is physically and financially viable over the long-term;
  
  
• People: Support positive outcomes for families who live in the target development(s) and the surrounding neighborhood, particularly outcomes related to residents' health, safety, employment, mobility, and education; and
  
  
• Neighborhood: Transform neighborhoods of poverty into viable, mixed-income neighborhoods with access to well-functioning services, high quality public schools and education programs, high quality early learning programs and services, public assets, public transportation, and improved access to jobs.

The grantees will use the funding to work with local stakeholders - public and/or assisted housing residents, community members, businesses, institutions and local government officials - to undertake a successful neighborhood transformation to create a "choice neighborhood." The awardees will use the funding to create a comprehensive Transformation Plan, or road map, to transforming distressed public and/or assisted housing within a distressed community.

Choice Neighborhoods is one of the signature programs of the White House Neighborhood Revitalization Initiative, (http://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/eop/oua/initiatives/neighborhood-revitalization) which supports innovative, holistic strategies that bring public and private partners together to help break the cycle of intergenerational poverty. Choice Neighborhoods encourages collaboration between HUD and the Departments of Education, Justice, Treasury and Health and Human Services to support local solutions for sustainable, mixed-income neighborhoods with the affordable housing, safe streets and good schools all families need.

Congress approved the Choice Neighborhoods Initiative with the passage of HUD's FY2010 budget. Funding is provided through two separate programs - Implementation Grants and Planning Grants. With this announcement, HUD has awarded a total of $12.55 million in Planning Grants to 46 cities or counties.

Choice Neighborhoods Implementation grants are awarded to entities that have completed a comprehensive local planning process and are ready to move forward with their Transformation Plan to redevelop their target housing and neighborhoods. In August, HUD announced the nine finalists that will compete for approximately $110 million in 2012 Choice Neighborhoods Implementation grants to transform public and other HUD-assisted housing in targeted neighborhoods. Teams recently completed site visits as part of the application review process to determine which of the finalists will receive Implementation grants.

Last year, HUD awarded its first CN Implementation grants for Chicago, Boston, New Orleans, San Francisco and Seattle, a combined $122.27 million investment to bring comprehensive neighborhood revitalization to blighted areas in these cities.

FY2012 CHOICE NEIGHBORHOODS PLANNING GRANT AWARD INFORMATION

Newark, NJ

Choice Neighborhoods Lead Grantee: Newark Housing Authority
Target Public Housing Project: Seth Boyden Terrace
Target Neighborhood: Dayton Street Neighborhood
Choice Neighborhoods Grant Amount: $300,000

Key Partners:
EJP Consulting Group, LLC (Planning Coordinator), Newark Public Schools, Newark Community Health Center, Beth Israel Medical Center, Newark Workforce Investment Board, the City of Newark, Rutgers, the New Jersey Institute of Technology, Essex County College, the New Jersey University of Medicine and Dentistry, Berkeley College, Fidelco Realty Group, and the Newark Alliance.

Project Summary:
The Dayton Street Neighborhood is located in the South Ward of the City of Newark. Approximately 50 percent of the units in the neighborhood are public housing units. The public housing project, Seth Boyden Terrace, was built in 1941 and is configured as a superblock. Nearly 70 percent of the neighborhood's population lives below the poverty line, and the long term vacancy rates are nearly double that of the county. The Newark Housing Authority, EJP Consulting Group, LLC and other partners will engage the community to create a plan for how the 86-acre neighborhood can be transformed to provide housing opportunities, amenities, and services that integrate the isolated neighborhood of Dayton Street into the City of Newark.

Newark Housing Authority's vision is to create a Transformation Plan grounded in rigorous needs assessments that will engage a broad base of community stakeholders, and will have particular focus on improving educational outcomes from cradle to college or career and empowering the community to get meaningfully involved in the transformation of their neighborhood. The Plan will build on the Newark Public Schools' plans to reposition the Dayton Street School, including the establishment of a 28,000 sq. ft. Training-Recreation-Education Center. Community engagement will play a pivotal role in developing the plan as the housing authority creates a Steering Committee which will consist of public housing and community residents, homeowners, businesses, civic, and governmental entities. The Transformation Plan will provide for some replacement housing on parcels owned by the city and housing authority to lessen the concentration of assisted housing units, and will incorporate state-of-the-art "green" technology and sustainable design methods. Strategies will be included for improving the current socio-economic conditions in the neighborhood, including opportunities for commercial economic development and job creation. The planning effort is aligned with two other redevelopment plans: "Dayton Street: A Neighborhood Plan" and the "Port/Airport Support Zone Scattered Site Redevelopment Plan."

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HUD's mission is to create strong, sustainable, inclusive communities and quality affordable homes for all. HUD is working to strengthen the housing market to bolster the economy and protect consumers; meet the need for quality affordable rental homes: utilize housing as a platform for improving quality of life; build inclusive and sustainable communities free from discrimination; and transform the way HUD does business. More information about HUD and its programs is available on the Internet at www.hud.gov and espanol.hud.gov. You can also follow HUD on Twitter at @HUDnews or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/HUD, or sign up for news alerts on HUD's News Listserv.