Photo by EmilyAnn Jackman At the Sept. 13 announcement of the 75th NeighborhoodLIFT program coming to Essex County, are, from left, front row, New Jersey Community Capital President Wayne T. Meyer, Irvington Mayor Tony Vauss, Newark acting Deputy Mayor and Director of Economic and Housing Development Allison Ladd, Kimberly Smith-Moore of Wells Fargo, Joanie Straussman Brandon of NeighborWorks America, an unidentified woman, East Orange resident Daniel Jennings and an unidentified woman; and, back row, Orange Mayor Dwayne Warren, Greg White of Wells Fargo and Stephen L. Ball of Wells Fargo.
At the Sept. 13 announcement of the 75th NeighborhoodLIFT program coming to Essex County, are, from left, front row, New Jersey Community Capital President Wayne T. Meyer, Irvington Mayor Tony Vauss, Newark acting Deputy Mayor and Director of Economic and Housing Development Allison Ladd, Kimberly Smith-Moore of Wells Fargo, Joanie Straussman Brandon of NeighborWorks America, an unidentified woman, East Orange resident Daniel Jennings and an unidentified woman; and, back row, Orange Mayor Dwayne Warren, Greg White of Wells Fargo and Stephen L. Ball of Wells Fargo.
NEWARK, NJ — Irvington Mayor Tony Vauss, Orange Mayor Dwayne D. Warren and local stakeholders gathered for the announcement of the 75th NeighborhoodLIFT program at 89 Bolden Ave., Newark, on Friday, Sept. 13. The house at which the event was hosted is owned by New Jersey Community Capital and will be going on the market soon, possibly as part of the NeighborhoodLIFT grant program. Designed to boost home ownership, the program will expand to Essex County in the fall. The NeighborhoodLIFT program is part of a $1 billion commitment by the Wells Fargo bank and New Jersey Community Capital, a nonprofit lender, to address U.S. housing affordability in the next six years. Working with NeighborWorks, a nonprofit organization that supports community development, the program has implemented 74 program launches across the country and Essex County will be the 75th.
“I’m very excited about playing a small role,” Peter Grof, deputy to the president of New Jersey Community Capital, told the Record-Transcript. “We look forward to making home ownership a reality for close to 280 families.”
“NeighborhoodLIFT is a great example of a housing affordability solution Wells Fargo is bringing to communities across the U.S.,” Greg White, regional bank president for Wells Fargo Community Bank, said in a press release. “That’s because nearly one-third of U.S. households spend more than 30 percent of their income on housing costs. Through the NeighborhoodLIFT program, Wells Fargo is providing down-payment assistance to hardworking families and individuals in Essex County so they can realize the dream of home ownership. This provides them with the opportunity to build wealth and live in safe, stable, affordable homes.”
Vauss said in a speech at the event that he is grateful the program has come to Essex County.
“I want to really thank Wells Fargo for initiating the kind of conversations that we need to have in our communities, but not just talking about it, stepping up and doing something productive so the members in our communities can all benefit,” he said.
Kimberly Smith-Moore, senior vice president of the Wells Fargo Programs and Housing Foundation, knows affordable housing is an issue in Essex County.
“We’re very excited to bring the program to Newark,” Smith-Moore told the Record-Transcript. “Everyone wants to be homeowners and not everyone can, so the program really grants the tools, too. It has counseling grants, so potential homeowners can be homebuyer-ready. It’s all about ownership.”
Mayor Warren also doubled down on the issue of home ownership in the community.
“It’s important that we look at this globally and not one house at a time,” Warren said in his speech at the event. “We know that 180 homeowners will mean 180 kids are going to be at stable schools, which means they are going to start to build wealth and that means they’re going to spawn off other home ownership opportunities.”
The NeighborhoodLIFT program launch is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 5, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., at the Renaissance Newark Airport Hotel, 1000 Spring St., Elizabeth. New Jersey Community Capital will oversee multiple $20,000 grants and determine eligibility at that time.
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