New Community Corporation (NCC) is a not-for-profit community development corporation based in
Newark, New Jersey
Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area.community organizing
Community organizing is a process where people who live in proximity to each other or share some common problem come together into an organization that acts in their shared self-interest.
Unlike those who promote more-consensual community bui ...
, provision of a variety of community-enhancing services, and resident participation in agency operation. Early prototypes of the community action movement included local housing and service agencies started by the
Ford Foundation
The Ford Foundation is an American private foundation with the stated goal of advancing human welfare. Created in 1936 by Edsel Ford and his father Henry Ford, it was originally funded by a US$25,000 gift from Edsel Ford. By 1947, after the death ...
Gray Areas Initiative and the
United States Office of Economic Opportunity
The Office of Economic Opportunity was the agency responsible for administering most of the War on Poverty programs created as part of United States President Lyndon B. Johnson's Great Society legislative agenda. It was established in 1964 as an i ...
, and both federal and private Mobilization for Youth in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
.
History, developments and services
Formation
New Community Corporation was formed by a group of community leaders in 1968, as a response to the riots of July, 1967, which left 26 dead and caused approximately $15 million in property damage. A local
Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
church parish facilitated a process of community organization that identified the needs of low-income neighborhoods in Newark's
Central Ward
Central Ward was a former ward in the city of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It originally consisted of the part of the city between Bank Street and the Rideau Canal. It was first known as Centre Ward.
It was created when Wellington Ward Wellington Wa ...
. As a result of this process, the New Community Corporation was formally incorporated with a board of directors composed entirely of community residents. Based upon input from local residents regarding community needs, the board decided to focus New Community's initial efforts on construction and operation of low-income housing.
Several years of planning, fundraising and negotiation with local, state and federal officials followed. By 1973, New Community had secured property and financing commitments that would allow it to construct a 120-unit family housing complex.
Housing ventures
NCC's "Homes" family housing complex was built as a series of five-story mid-rise buildings surrounding a center courtyard. It was occupied in 1975. In later years, NCC utilized high-rise design for senior citizen housing (as did many other low-income senior housing managers; senior citizens are generally seen to accommodate better to high-density elevator buildings than families with children). However, NCC switched to 2 and 3 story
townhouse
A townhouse, townhome, town house, or town home, is a type of terraced housing. A modern townhouse is often one with a small footprint on multiple floors. In a different British usage, the term originally referred to any type of city residence ...
design for most newly constructed family housing projects thereafter.
After the "Homes" family complex opened, NCC continued on an ambitious low-income housing development effort, including new construction, rehabilitation of older buildings that were abandoned or converted from other use, and acquisition of occupied housing complexes from other owners. Most of New Community's housing efforts were centered in Newark, but by 1995, the organization was also managing low-income complexes in
Jersey City
Jersey City is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, after Newark.Englewood, and a market-rate housing development in suburban
Eatontown
Eatontown is a borough in Monmouth County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 Census, the borough's population was 12,709,savings & loan institution. NCC originally intended to dedicate some of Stony Hill's apartments to low-income apartment seekers, but decided to sell the complex to private interests at a profit. A senior low-income housing complex in urban
Orange, New Jersey
The City of Orange is a township in Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 U.S. census, the township's population was 30,134, reflecting a decline of 2,734 (−8.3%) from the 32,868 counted in 2000.
Orange was original ...
was opened by NCC in 2003.
Most of NCC's housing consists of subsidized rental units for low and very-low income families. However, in 1998, NCC opened its first homeownership project for working families, the 206-unit Community Hills complex built on the site of the former Hayes Homes high-rise
public housing
Public housing is a form of housing tenure in which the property is usually owned by a government authority, either central or local. Although the common goal of public housing is to provide affordable housing, the details, terminology, def ...
towers. Under the terms of a
HUD
Hud or HUD may refer to:
Entertainment
* ''Hud'' (1963 film), a 1963 film starring Paul Newman
* ''Hud'' (1986 film), a 1986 Norwegian film
* ''HUD'' (TV program), or ''Heads Up Daily'', a Canadian e-sports television program
Places
* Hud, Fa ...
HOPE 1 grant, the
Newark Housing Authority
Newark most commonly refers to:
* Newark, New Jersey, city in the United States
* Newark Liberty International Airport, New Jersey; a major air hub in the New York metropolitan area
Newark may also refer to:
Places Canada
* Niagara-on-the ...
donated land for this development, and HUD subsidized development and construction costs. Since then NCC has developed 24 additional homeownership units, and is planning further homeownership projects in neighborhoods where most housing is currently rented.
Child daycare affiliation
During the early 1970s, New Community was also active in developing and constructing or rehabilitating facilities to be used by the Babyland Nursery organization (later Babyland Family Services) for the
daycare
Child care, otherwise known as day care, is the care and supervision of a child or multiple children at a time, whose ages range from two weeks of age to 18 years. Although most parents spend a significant amount of time caring for their child(r ...
of infants and children. Babyland is a not-for-profit community organization that originated within the same community organization process that followed the July 1967 Civic Disorders in Newark. As a result of common origins, Babyland and New Community coordinated and integrated their facilities and program activities for approximately three decades. Although Babyland served many residents of New Community housing, the proportion of children and families living outside the New Community network increased over this time.
Initial diversifications
In 1978, NCC took over the management, maintenance and security functions at its housing (and Babyland day care centers). NCC also began providing social service support for its residents through social workers assigned to its buildings.
Health care
In 1986, New Community expanded into health care with the completion of a newly constructed Extended Care Facility (an $11 million, 180- bed
nursing home
A nursing home is a facility for the residential care of elderly or disabled people. Nursing homes may also be referred to as skilled nursing facility (SNF) or long-term care facilities. Often, these terms have slightly different meanings to in ...
serving primarily
Medicaid
Medicaid in the United States is a federal and state program that helps with healthcare costs for some people with limited income and resources. Medicaid also offers benefits not normally covered by Medicare, including nursing home care and pers ...
patients). It also established a series of medical day care programs based at the Extended Care Facility and at some of its senior apartment buildings. By 1992 it added a
home health care Homecare (also spelled as home care) is health care or supportive care provided by a professional caregiver in the individual home where the patient or client is living, as opposed to care provided in group accommodations like clinics or nursing ho ...
agency and a homemaking assistance program serving medically indigent households. In 1999, New Community took over the Family Service Bureau of Newark, giving NCC greater resources in dealing with
mental health issues
A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness or psychiatric disorder, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. Such features may be persistent, relapsing and remitti ...
. In 2000, the 500-employee Essex Valley Visiting Nurse Association was merged into the New Community network (through common boards of directors), expanding NCC's client base and the range of professional nursing services that it could provide.
Human services
By 1985, New Community had expanded its outreach to its own family residents and to other families in the community with a youth activity program, a credit union, and a job referral agency. After 1990, these were supplemented with a variety of grant-funded programs targeting youth and families having particular needs, including services for persons with
HIV
The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of ''Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the immune ...
or
AIDS
Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual m ...
. Also, New Community instituted a bi-lingual
Hispanic
The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad.
The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...
outreach program (the Hispanic Development Corporation) in 1992. Finally, in 1997, New Community opened a newly constructed . Neighborhood Center which contains a stage, a basketball court and classrooms. This facility has been a key asset in expanding NCC's outreach to youth and families.
In 1988, New Community partnered with the
Hartz Mountain Corporation Hartz is a surname, and may refer to:
*Donna Hartz, Aboriginal Australian midwife and academic
* Harris Hartz (born 1947), U.S. federal judge
*Harry Hartz (1896—1974), U.S. racecar driver
* Jim Hartz (born 1940), U.S. television personality ...
and the State of
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
to newly construct a 102-unit apartment complex dedicated to
homeless
Homelessness or houselessness – also known as a state of being unhoused or unsheltered – is the condition of lacking stable, safe, and adequate housing. People can be categorized as homeless if they are:
* living on the streets, also kn ...
families in the Newark area (named Harmony House). New Community provides an intensive support program for Harmony House residents; this includes on-site daycare (through cooperation with Babyland Nursery), counseling, education, substance abuse program referrals, job placement and housing relocation assistance, and after-school activities for youth. Although generally considered successful, the State of New Jersey did not replicate the Harmony House model in other cities.
Business ventures
In 1983, New Community began the rehabilitation of a former Roman Catholic church built in 1882 into the Saint Joseph's office-entertainment complex. The building opened for business in 1985 with a fine-dining restaurant, a sandwich shop, a conference area and an exercise spa. These business ventures were controlled by individual for-profit corporations controlled by a New Community subsidiary (through common boards of directors).
In 1987, NCC teamed up with the
Pathmark
Pathmark is a supermarket brand owned by Allegiance Retail Services, a retailers’ cooperative based in Iselin, New Jersey, USA. Pathmark currently has one location in East Flatbush, Brooklyn, New York, which it has operated since 2019.
From ...
supermarket chain to develop a $12 million, 55,000 (interior) square foot supermarket and satellite store complex having a 227 car parking lot. The new supermarket opened in 1989, located in a Newark neighborhood that saw its last supermarket close near the time of the 1967 Civic Disorders. New Community invested nearly 10 years of planning effort and legal fees in acquiring site control, and gaining zoning clearances and financing (despite a variety of objections from landowners and political interests). Using the same business model from the St. Joseph's complex, NCC set up a variety of satellite businesses adjacent to the Pathmark supermarket, including a
Dunkin' Donuts
Dunkin' Donuts LLC, also known as Dunkin' and by the initials DD, is an American multinational coffee and doughnut company, as well as a quick service restaurant. It was founded by Bill Rosenberg (1916–2002) in Quincy, Massachusetts, in 195 ...
franchise, a fast-food restaurant, a print shop, and a mailbox / shipping services center. The development of the Pathmark center has been cited by various academic and urban assistance groups as a textbook example of reintroducing supermarkets into inner-city areas, and the site has been visited by a variety of other community development groups from cities throughout the United States.
In contrast to a small Fashion Institute producing custom clothing and home furnishings (NCC's smallest business venture), NCC developed a $3 million, factory facility on the site of a former Borden's milk processing plant. The "New Community Technologies" factory was dedicated to the construction of pre-fabricated housing and school building components for sale to local housing developers and school boards, and opened in 2001 (after limited production commenced in an adjacent storage facility in 1999).
Job training
In 1993, New Community expanded into
vocational training
Vocational education is education that prepares people to work as a technician or to take up employment in a skilled craft or trade as a tradesperson or artisan. Vocational Education can also be seen as that type of education given to an ind ...
, starting various career classes for low-income residents. The initial classes centered on career fields that New Community was already familiar with, e.g. health care and food service; however, the curriculum was later expanded. In 1999, NCC centralized most of these classes within a new $2.4 million, Workforce Development Center, and increased its cooperation with State and local welfare-to-work initiatives. One training program remained at a special facility, a cooperative venture with the
Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. The company sells automobi ...
and a local Ford dealership that trains low-income urban residents to assume careers as professional auto mechanics. That program was started in 1996 at a garage equipped with classrooms, tools, and modern auto diagnostic equipment.
Financial services
By 1998, New Community further expanded its presence in the
financial services
Financial services are the Service (economics), economic services provided by the finance industry, which encompasses a broad range of businesses that manage money, including credit unions, banks, credit-card companies, insurance companies, acco ...
field (it opened a
credit union
A credit union, a type of financial institution similar to a commercial bank, is a member-owned nonprofit organization, nonprofit financial cooperative. Credit unions generally provide services to members similar to retail banks, including depo ...
for residents, employees and families otherwise served by NCC in 1985). It began two new programs, the first offering loans for the start-up or expansion of small businesses that create jobs for Newark area residents. The second venture, called Garden State Affordable Housing, matched investors interested in federal low-income housing tax credits with developers of low-income housing throughout the State of New Jersey, operating as an investment pool. This mechanism provides much-needed financing for the development of affordable rental housing.
Education
New Community had become involved in elementary grade level education in the mid-1980s, through a cooperative relationship with a local Roman Catholic parish school. In the late 1990s, NCC took advantage of New Jersey State legislation allowing the formation of private
charter school
A charter school is a school that receives government funding but operates independently of the established state school system in which it is located. It is independent in the sense that it operates according to the basic principle of auto ...
s that operate with funding from the local school board. In 1999, NCC opened its New Horizons Charter School for 500 Kindergarten to 5th grade students at a newly constructed facility in Newark. In 2000, NCC gained permission from the N.J. State Board of Education to open a second charter school, the "Lady Liberty Academy", for 300 students in K-8th grades in September, 2001 at a rehabilitated Roman Catholic parish school that had recently closed. Also in 2000, NCC opened an Early Learning Center at its Community Hills homeownership complex which offers formal pre-school classes for 3- and 4-year-olds.
Financial uncertainties
In 2001, after taking over the Essex Valley Visiting Nurse Association, NCC and its direct affiliates employed approximately 2,000 employees and managed or had developed 2,818 units of housing. However, financial pressures and accumulated debt stemming from the organization's rapid expansion in the 1990s, and from reductions in federal housing subsidies, required an assessment of priorities and a rationalization of programs lacking sufficient financial support (i.e., from
grants
Grant or Grants may refer to:
Places
*Grant County (disambiguation)
Australia
* Grant, Queensland, a locality in the Barcaldine Region, Queensland, Australia
United Kingdom
*Castle Grant
United States
* Grant, Alabama
*Grant, Inyo County, C ...
, donations, fees or sales). By late 2004, several of the for-profit business ventures were closed, including the building components factory, the print shop, the fast-food restaurant at the Pathmark store, the mailbox store, and the exercise spa. The 754-unit, five-story Douglass-Harrison housing complex built in the 1930s and sold to NCC in 1983 for $50 by
Prudential Insurance
Prudential Financial, Inc. is an American Fortune Global 500 and Fortune 500 company whose subsidiaries provide insurance, retirement planning, investment management, and other products and services to both retail and institutional customers ...
was closed in 2005. Douglass-Harrison was difficult to maintain and its very small apartments and lack of elevators failed to meet modern housing standards (NCC plans to build 130 modern housing units on the site). Also, several branches of NCC's medical day care program were closed. By 2002, there was a reduction in managerial staffing at the corporate level. Also, in 2001 New Community and Babyland Family Services terminated their cooperative agreement to jointly develop new facilities and programs and integrate them within NCC's broad array of activities.
Conclusion
NCC is developing additional homeownership housing, and recently built and opened a four-story office building so as to consolidate the management of its medical care services. It recently opened a for-profit temporary staffing agency for office workers, and continues to participate in
welfare-to-work
The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA) is a United States federal law passed by the 104th United States Congress and signed into law by President Bill Clinton. The bill implemented major changes to ...
assistance contracts. The Pathmark supermarket itself, now owned by
the Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company
The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company, better known as A&P, was an American chain of grocery stores that operated from 1859 to 2015. From 1915 through 1975, A&P was the largest grocery retailer in the United States (and, until 1965, the lar ...
(A&P), continues to operate as a successful and profitable business venture, both for Pathmark as operator of the store, and for New Community as owner and manager of the store complex. And NCC continues to be cited for its long list of accomplishments; had there not been a New Community Corporation, the City of Newark would not have experienced the same level of neighborhood and downtown re-investment as has occurred since 1980.
However, a growing number of experienced community development organizations in Newark now compete with NCC for vital grant funding. Most of these organizations did not exist when NCC opened its first housing complex in 1975. Also, a 1993 ethnographic study by the
New School University
The New School is a private research university in New York City. It was founded in 1919 as The New School for Social Research with an original mission dedicated to academic freedom and intellectual inquiry and a home for progressive thinkers. ...
(published in 1997) indicates that although New Community's broad range of services benefited its tenants in numerous ways, it could not shield them from the negative forces plaguing the surrounding neighborhoods, i.e. crime, gang activity, substance abuse, unemployment, social isolation, insufficient education and other human capital, etc. Although community development corporations such as the New Community Corporation will continue to play a significant role in addressing the needs of low-income
inner city
The term ''inner city'' has been used, especially in the United States, as a euphemism for majority-minority lower-income residential districts that often refer to rundown neighborhoods, in a downtown or city centre area. Sociologists some ...
residents, their promise as the "magic bullet" against the
cycle of poverty
In economics, a cycle of poverty or poverty trap is caused by self-reinforcing mechanisms that cause poverty, once it exists, to persist unless there is outside intervention. It can persist across generations, and when applied to developing count ...
is now in doubt.
References
*Carter, B. and Jordan, G. (March 1, 1998). "Social-Service Provider Marks 30th Anniversary." Star-Ledger (New Jersey Section)
*DeSouze Briggs, X. and Muller, E. J., "From Neighborhood to Community, Evidence on the Social Effects of Community Development." New York: New School for Social Research, 1997
*Guskind, R. and Pierce, N., "Against the Tide: The New Community Corporation, 1968-1993." Newark, NJ: Prudential Foundation, 1993
*Lemann, N. (January 9, 1994). "The Myth of Community Development." New York Times (Sunday Magazine Section)
*Sherman, T. (August 22, 2004). "Newark Nonprofit Stretched For Cash. Aid Dries Up, Bills Pile Up At New Community Corp." Star-Ledger (Essex County, NJ Edition)
*Stewart, B. (February 18, 1996). "Bill Linder and His City of Hope." New York Times (New Jersey Section, N.J. Edition)
*Sullivan, M. L., "More Than Housing: How Community Development Corporations Go About Changing Lives and Neighborhoods." New York: New School for Social Research, 1993