New Jersey Redevelopment Authority Chief Operating Officer Darryl Godfrey
EAST ORANGE, NJ — East Orange Mayor Ted Green hosted a Feb. 17 town hall meeting with several East Orange officials, including Monique Griffin and Victor Kuteyi of the Health and Human Services Department, and Planning and Development Director Dan Jennings. Joining them was New Jersey Redevelopment Authority Chief Operating Officer Darryl Godfrey, to discuss a new round of grant funding and programs to help area businesses.
“We are ecstatic. During Phase 1, we were trying to get assistance for the small businesses in the community that are suffering during this traumatic pandemic that is facing this country, and East Orange is one of the cities that we just want to provide grant opportunities to and information,” Godfrey said. “Since the public health emergency, we’ve lost nearly 50 percent of black-owned businesses. Even before the pandemic, 40 percent of all Hispanic-owned businesses didn’t have the financial runway to survive more than 60 days without revenue. As you walk the corridors of Main Street and Central Avenue of East Orange, you’ll see the hemorrhage that’s going down there in the marketplace.
“We’re hoping that this assistance that we’re providing gives them some money to stay in business. We’re hoping that this money can at least keep the lights on, and they can keep employing their people, and keep the economy of East Orange going,” he added.
Godfrey discussed an upcoming round of NJRA grants and the launch of a new program.
“In our legislation, it says that we cover 66 designated municipalities that include some of the most historically disinvested communities in New Jersey,” Godfrey said. “We received $5 million in CARES Act funding from Gov. Murphy and Lt. Gov. Oliver for Phase 2 of our Small Business Lease Emergency Assistance Grant Program. This program is not in the traditional scope of what we do. The NJRA’s primary mission is to provide short-term financing. … But we had to reimagine ourselves because of the pandemic and how it was hurting small businesses. So, we reimagined ourselves and created this program where we would provide grants up to $10,000 for commercial rent relief.”
According to Godfrey, the application process began Feb. 22; for more information on applying for possible future rounds or for information about other NJRA assistance, visit www.NJRA.us.
“When we first launched Phase 1, our program was oversubscribed, meaning we’ve had over 6,600 applicants and it took us a while to get to them. But it really goes to show you that the need is so great out there in the marketplace,” Godfrey said. “That’s why we are happy that the governor gave us an additional $5 million of CARES Act funding.
“We are focused on providing this funding to the hardest hit communities throughout our marketplace, but you have to be ready,” he continued. “We have a small business support number, which is 833-626-4600, which operates from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.”
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