WEST ORANGE, NJ — West Orange has received a total of $440,000 from the Community Development Block Grant Program, an initiative funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and administered through the Essex County Division of Housing and Community Development that provides monies to projects benefiting low- and moderate-income populations.
That total is being distributed to the township across three grants paying for community development-related projects and services — $230,000 for the reconstruction of Watson Avenue, $200,000 for an expansion to the West Orange Community House and $10,000 for the continued work of Main Street Counseling. According to Mayor Robert Parisi, the recipients were all chosen by the county after the township submitted a priorities list of applications meeting the program’s income qualifications.
While it was no surprise when the town learned it had won the money — locally, the CDBG Program gives funds in varying amounts to West Orange and most other Essex County municipalities yearly — Parisi said the awards are always welcome.
“It’s a great resource every year to know that we can count on certain money from the federal government to fund certain projects,” Parisi told the West Orange Chronicle in a March 4 phone interview, adding that this year’s benefiting projects and services are “all important in what they do in their neighborhoods and collectively in what they do for our community.”
Township engineer Leonard Lepore told the Chronicle that the Watson Avenue reconstruction, which will span the entire length of the street, will consist of milling and repaving the roadway while also adding new granite block curbs and concrete sidewalks and driveway aprons. Additionally, Lepore said there will be some drainage improvements by Washington Street and John Street to correct an icing issue.
Watson Avenue was selected as a focus point for the CDBG Program this year since it is the only street in the area that the township has yet to improve in the past few years, Lepore said. It is also in need of an upgrade, he said, considering that it has not been repaved in more than 20 years and its sidewalks and curbs are deteriorating.
Now that the grant to do the project has been obtained, the engineer said the township will put the work out to bid shortly, with the hope of a late spring or summer start date. He said the project should take approximately 45 days, during which time sections of the roadway will be closed off during working hours.
And though the grant will probably not cover the project completely, Lepore said the $230,000 is nonetheless a boon to West Orange since it will prevent the township from having to use as many tax dollars to fund the reconstruction.
The $200,000 received by the Community House is also greatly appreciated since it will allow the Boys and Girls Club-run institution to finally complete its near-decadelong expansion. Executive Director Paul Cito explained to the Chronicle that the grant will fund the construction of the 1,200-square-foot addition of bathrooms and a lobby area for the gymnasium, which his organization has been incrementally adding for the past nine years. Work on this final part of the project will go out to bid once the West Orange Planning Board approves it, which Cito said will hopefully occur in May. Even with the wait, he said he is still happy to be “seeing daylight” after years of extensive work and the investment of approximately $1 million.
Cito is also confident the effort and money invested will be worthwhile once residents can start taking advantage of the gym, which includes a full basketball court with multiple hoops. What is certain is that having a community center on Main Street will fill a needed void for the township, the executive director said.
“There are not enough facilities in town for people to use,” Cito said in a March 3 phone interview. “We’ve already gotten inquiries. It’s going to be used.
“It will be a good thing for the town at large,” he added.
The funds the Community House received this year is actually the first grant from the CDBG Program the organization will use for its expansion, according to Cito. But Main Street Counseling is no stranger to the funding source. In fact, Executive Director Steve Margeotes estimated that his service has received $200,000 in grants from the program during the past 20 years, helping it to continue providing affordable outpatient individual, couples and family counseling.
Margeotes said this year’s $10,000 grant will go toward hiring one or two more staff members, which will allow Main Street Counseling to offer roughly 20 additional therapy sessions. As a result, he said his organization is grateful to the township for including it on its priorities list. As a nonprofit that relies partially on $500,000 in grants a year, the executive director said every dollar makes a difference. But getting an endorsement from the municipality is quite a statement in itself, he said.
“The credibility of having the town back us allows us to go for other grants,” Margeotes told the Chronicle in a March 4 phone interview. “All funders want to know who is investing in your program. So to say that your host town is supporting you means a lot.”
WO to see improvements soon thanks to CDBG added by Sean Quinn on
View all posts by Sean Quinn →