Like many other urban centers in northern New Jersey, East Orange, a city with a population of 73,552, has an affordable housing demand that exceeds the current supply. East Orange retains a core of stable families, who can trace their ancestry to signers of the document that established the city as a separate municipality. Moreover, with an inventory of studio and two- bedroom apartments near transit stops, the city attracts New York commuters.
During the first year of the Consolidated Plan, East Orange expects to use $2.1 million in Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds, $763,000 in HOME Investment Partnership (HOME) funds, and $20,000 in Deferred Payments Loan program income. Emphasis will be on housing rehabilitation, public services, and public facilities and improvements.
The city conducted an extensive consultation and citizen's participation
process using community meetings, public forums, seminars, and workshops. Of two
hearings held prior to development of the Consolidated Plan, one meeting took
place in a public housing complex. Notices of the hearings and review locations
for the draft plan were published in several newspapers which serve both major
immigrant populations and general circulation populations. East Orange's
existing citizen participation plan to review CDBG proposals was updated to
conform with Consolidated Plan regulations.
In 1990 East Orange's population was 73,552, which reflected a 5-percent decrease from its 1980 population of 77,690. During the 1980s the city lost about 2,000 households, which was consistent with decreases experienced throughout the State's northern other urban centers. The elderly population increased by only 2 percent, with the most significant increase occurring among those over 70 years of age. The median age dropped to 32, which was also consistent with Statewide trends that showed urban centers growing younger as suburbs grew older.
There are approximately 10,693 single-parent families in East Orange, 2000 more than in 1980. Single African American females, who can be characterized as "shelter poor," comprise the fastest growing segment of the population. They represent 30 percent of the city's households. As this population continues to grow, the household trend moves further away from the traditional family, which was the intended market for most of the city's pre-1970 housing stock.
Since the late-1960s and early-1970s, African Americans comprise the largest population segment (90 percent). However, the African American population is actually a rich ethnic mosaic, containing residents with ties to many other nations, such as Ghana, Nigeria, and Haiti. Between 1980 and 1990, the white population declined by 47 percent, with its current population share falling to 7 percent.
Lacking the high-income jobs that corporate headquarters and large
educational institutions provide in neighboring Newark, East Orange's 1992
unemployment rate was nearly 12 percent, double its 1987 level. Furthermore, the
city's unemployment rate is consistently higher than those of New Jersey and of
Essex County, where it is located.
Overall, the housing stock is not evenly distributed throughout some major population groups. Because there are no alternatives, many elderly residents remain in homes they can no longer afford to maintain. Furthermore, a majority of dwellings units designed for traditional families are not suitable or affordable for the increasing number of single-parent households.
Of the city's 29,987 housing units, 19,732 are renter-occupied and 7,478 are owner-occupied. The remaining 1,777 (6 percent) are vacant. The city estimates that when median family incomes (MFI) are calculated using $57,300, MFI for the Newark metropolitan statistical area, over half of East Orange families are eligible for Section 8 rental assistance.
In 1990 East Orange's housing inventory totaled 28,987 units, reflecting a 7-percent decrease since 1980. The median value of a home was $110,600. The median gross rent was $534 per month. Of the city's rental housing, 40 percent was designed for small families, containing three bedrooms or less. Two-bedroom units account for 22 percent of the rental market and 6 percent of the home-sales market. The average size of a unit is 4.5 rooms.
East Orange has a substantial number of housing vacancies. The vacant unit are either unaffordable or nearly uninhabitable because of age and neglect. These problems inhibit the "trickle-up" process, which East Orange housing officials define as the cycle that occurs whenever housing units change tenancy as the needs of occupants change.
Statistics from the Comprehensive Housing Affordability Strategy (CHAS) show the severity of housing needs among renters and homeowners in lower income populations.
Among all rental households:
Among all owner households:
The New Jersey Council on Affordable Housing (COAH) projects that between 1993 and 1999, East Orange will need 215 additional housing units. In order to expand affordable housing, the city is soliciting funds from sources such as the New Jersey Housing Finance Agency, the State Balanced Housing program, and the Federal Home Loan Bank Board.
East Orange recognizes 10 categories of special needs populations. In accordance with Statewide trends, the fastest growing special needs populations are: the elderly, single-parent female-headed households, children, and persons with HIV/AIDS. Exceptions to Statewide growth trends are: immigrant populations and single-parent male-headed households.
Of the city's 1990 population, 15 percent reported mobility or self-care problems. The city's 1,700 elderly and handicapped housing units cannot sufficiently accommodate this population, with most units having a minimum 2-year waiting list.
Extremely low-income households (0-30 percent of MFI) must limit monthly housing and utility payments to $440 in order to avoid cost burdens (spending more than 30 percent of their income for housing expenses). Exception for the elderly and single males, most households in this income category cannot afford a standard housing unit without subsidy. Those households without cost burdens are likely to be living with someone else.
Very low-income households (31-50 percent of MFI) must limit monthly housing and utility payments between $454 and $733 in order to avoid cost burdens. Although households in this income category can find housing in East Orange, those households at the higher end of the scale have fewer problems obtaining decent housing.
Low-income households (51-80 percent of MFI) can afford most of the city's rental and owner housing stock. Middle-income households (over 80 percent of MFI) have no problems finding affordable housing.
The 1990 census found 371 homeless persons living in shelters and another 15 persons living on the streets of East Orange. However, social service agencies believe that the number of unsheltered homeless is actually higher. Although the homeless population consists primarily of single-parent female-headed households with two or more children, it also includes an increasing number of single African American males who are mentally ill or who have physical disabilities. More than half of the homeless population has some sort of drug and alcohol addiction, while a growing number are persons with HIV/AIDS.
Isaiah House, Inc., East Orange's only non-commercial homeless shelter, can accommodate only 14 families at one time, while providing another 35 families with monthly rent subsidies. Countywide, the shortage of beds for the homeless is between 750 and 1,500. Isaiah House has applied for funds to expand its capacity so that it can shelter an additional 118 homeless families per day. The city Welfare Department refers the homeless and those threatened with homelessness to shelters, transitional housing, soup kitchens, and food pantries. Some emergency rental assistance is also available.
The homeless, which can include as many as 130 families at any given time, are also housed in two hotels. To avoid future violations of zoning ordinances and property maintenance codes, the city would like to halt this practice. However, East Orange has not found an alternative shelter for those lodged illegally.
The East Orange Housing Authority operates 700 units. Of these, 456 units are family housing, and 244 are senior units. As of 1990, the Public Housing Authority (PHA) had 381 active Section 8 certificates and 156 vouchers in the hands of renters. Currently, new applications are not being accepted, because more than 1,000 people already appear on the waiting list, and some of those have been on the list for 9 years.
Of the city's 1,700 units reserved for seniors and the handicapped, only 14 percent are senior units. The remaining senior units are privately owned and operated.
A Housing Task Committee, formed when the city applied for an Enterprise Community application, identified the primary barriers to development of affordable housing. These barriers include insufficient economic resources, community involvement, and vacant land.
A consultant is analyzing the East Orange's zoning ordinance in an effort to simplify the application and review process. The goal is to make zoning more user-friendly.
One major impediment to the development of affordable housing is the city's off-street parking ordinance, which requires housing unit developments to provide off-street parking. This ordinance is more stringent than other guidelines used throughout the State, inhibiting development and creating unused parking areas. The city's 1990 master plan proposed a cost/benefit analysis of the parking ordinance.
Rent control is another deterrent to affordable housing development. East Orange's rent control program creates and maintains artificially low rental rates, which prevent property owners from recouping operation costs and overhead, and which discourage property maintenance and repairs. The 1990 master plan called for a review, and possible modification or elimination, of existing rent controls.
East Orange officials also estimate that the current tax rate discourages the construction of housing that more than half of the city's residents could afford.
Based on the age of the housing stock, East Orange estimates that approximately 7,988 children under age 6 could be threatened with lead poisoning. Of 287 children screened in 1991, 2.4 percent had blood levels of at least 15 micrograms per deciliter. In 1992, abatement procedures were implemented in 560 housing units.
Many seniors are remaining in homes they can no longer afford because they feel as though they have no other alternative. The waiting lists for most senior citizen buildings are 2 to 3 years in length. Furthermore, interim housing is needed for elderly residents who require occasional health care but who are not frail or in need of nursing home care.
The city estimates that public facility improvements totaling $60 million are needed for senior, youth, and neighborhood centers; and park and recreation facilities. Infrastructure improvements totaling nearly $40 million are needed for upgraded solid waste disposal; street and sidewalk repairs; and asbestos removal.
Nearly $29 million would be allocated to public service needs, including: services for seniors, the disabled, and youth; employment training and crime awareness; fair housing activities; and tenant-landlord counseling. Accessibility needs would require another $2.5 million.
Nearly $15 million would be allocated to economic development needs,
including: commercial- industrial rehabilitation; aid to micro-businesses; and
technical assistance. Implementing various other projects would cost an
additional $10.5 million.
East Orange's 5-year strategy addresses numerous housing and community development problems. It also channels specific types of assistance to the designated Extended Enterprise Community, an area comprising eight census tracts where the majority of households have incomes at or below 51 percent of MFI. To use these funds most effectively, city officials have developed the following 10-point strategy:
Development and rehabilitation of available land would expand the housing market and increase economic opportunities. In guidelines written for prospective developers, the city has indicated a preference for mixed income complexes that contain 50 units or less and that complement their neighborhoods. Projects should be designed for easy conversion to keep housing marketable. The city is open to exploring alternative ways to write-down construction costs in order to make housing affordable.
Public facilities, ranging from parking facilities to senior centers, have been assigned high priority, as have all types of infrastructure improvements. Public services are needed for fair housing, health services, and special needs populations. Economic development activities of all types are assigned high priority, as are energy efficiency improvements, code enforcement, and lead-based paint abatement.
The city's health and welfare departments administer a range of programs aimed at assisting low-income parents and other residents with limited incomes. These programs include health screenings and tests, and food distribution programs.
Three specific programs are aimed at helping the poor become self-sufficient and fostering career development among youths:
The Department of Policy, Planning, and Development is the lead agency for
implementing East Orange's 5-year strategy. This department administers the CDBG
program, Comprehensive Planning, Economic Development, Grantsmanship,
Neighborhood Housing, and Senior Citizen programs. It also coordinates with
other city agencies as well as for-profit and nonprofit developers that help to
implement the plan.
In order to implement the first year of the strategy as outlined above, East Orange will allocate $1.5 million for a pooled affordable housing program. The combined fund will consist of $763,000 in HOME funding, $640,000 in CDBG funding from Fiscal Year 1995, more than $85,000 in State funds, and $20,000 in Neighborhood Preservation Program income. Other programs will use $1.4 million in CDBG funds. The city will support proposals and applications for emergency shelter grants that help to sustain at risk and special needs populations. Some projects include:
Most programs in the 1-year action plan are citywide in scope. Those that are site-specific are contained within the city's Extended Enterprise Community.
MAP 2 depicts points of interest and low-moderate income areas.
MAP 3 depicts points of interest, low-moderate income areas, and minority concentration levels.
MAP 4 depicts points of interest, low-moderate income areas, and unemployment levels.
MAP 5 depicts points of interest, low-moderate income areas, unemployment levels, and proposed HUD funded projects.
MAP 6 is a map, sectioned by neighborhood, which depicts points of interest, low-moderate income areas, unemployment levels, and proposed HUD funded projects.
MAP 7 depicts points of interest, low-moderate income areas, unemployment levels, and proposed HUD funded projects within one of the four neighborhoods indicated in MAP 6.
MAP 8 depicts points of interest, low-moderate income areas, unemployment levels, and proposed HUD funded projects within another of the four neighborhoods indicated in MAP 6.
MAP 9 depicts points of interest, low-moderate income areas, unemployment levels, and proposed HUD funded project(s) from a street level vantage point; in addition, a table provides information about the project(s).
