NEWARK – According to officials, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has awarded the Newark Housing Authority $23.8 million in federal grants under the Federal Capital Fund Program.
The funds from this grant will be used to make major capital improvements, such as building, repairing, and renovating NHA properties.
“This grant will assist us in our continued efforts to improve the quality of life for our residents,” said Executive Director Victor Cirilo. “The capital investment comes in at the right time to allow us to address major improvements within our properties while furthering our 2020 goals.”
Officials say HUD’s Capital Fund Program is an annual grant that extends funding to approximately 3,000 public housing authorities in all 50 states, as well as the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
This year’s grant awarded more than $2.7 billion nationally to improve and preserve public housing properties. Housing authorities use this funding to complete large-scale improvements such as replacing roofs or making energy-efficient upgrades to replace old plumbing and electrical systems.
The Newark Housing Authority was awarded the seventh-highest amount under the grant. The housing authority plans to use the funding to repair roofs, elevators, boilers, steam pipes, masonry rehab, and entry doors.
The capital improvement plan is arrived from HUDs requirement to perform physical need assessments for each property for every five calendar years. The NHA also plans on adding additional public safety equipment and completing apartment turn-overs to house more Newark residents in need.
“We are always grateful for these grants as it allows us to improve the well-being of our Newark residents who reside in our public housing communities,” said the City of Newark Mayor Ras J. Baraka.
“Not only does the funding address living conditions, but it also structurally upgrades vacant apartments so that waitlisted families in need have new housing opportunities.”
The Newark Housing Authority oversees over 12,000 units throughout the City of Newark, and it is the largest housing authority in the State of New Jersey. The agency was created under the Federal Housing Act of 1938 to address blighted conditions and a shortage of affordable housing.