Fall-Winter 2010/11
As we move toward the end of the year 2010 and continue to deal with tough economic times, the Newark Housing Authority has still managed to make improvements in the communities we serve.
We recently celebrated the grand opening of Montgomery Heights I, a spectacular-looking, 80-unit affordable housing complex with choice amenities, which boasts 10,000 square feet of ground floor retail space, located on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
We also broke ground for the soon-to-be Waterfront, a sports, arts and entertainment facility in the North Ward, which will offer the latest in programming for physical fitness, cultural awareness, personal development and just plain ol’ fun.
The Waterfront is a special partnership between the city and the NHA, in which the City Council and Mayor Cory Booker committed $2.7 million to assist in funding this project. We are particularly excited about this development because it will influence the social lives of many city residents and families. The project is slated to be completed in December 2011.
Additionally, the community room at our family development Pennington Court was extensively revamped with new flooring, furniture, etc. We sincerely hope our residents enjoy it and recognize the differences we are making, while we’re still struggling with over $500 million in capital needs backlog.
The funds received from the economic stimulus package helped us meet some of our goals, but it is merely a first step in addressing the backlog.
Soon we hope to announce the approval of an energy savings contract, which will allow NHA to conduct another round of physical improvements at our properties while saving millions of dollars on energy. I’m looking forward to the future accomplishments we’ve planned. Even with the economic challenges facing us, we will continue to work hard to further our mission of building and maintaining affordable housing for the people of this city.
