More than $4.9 million worth of funding from the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development has been set aside for Paterson, according to Robert Menendez, one of the two senators from New Jersey.
The city will receive a total of $4,907,804 from various programs operated by the federal agency: Community Development Block Grant, an award that is used to spur economic growth through infrastructure development and affordable housing, has designated $2,376,755; HOME Investment Partnership, a grant with a sole aim to “create affordable housing for low-income households,” granted $1,060,232; Housing Opportunities for Persons With AIDS, a program that helps provide assistance to persons with HIV by providing rent assistance as well as medical services, designated $1,294,558; and Emergency Shelter Grants, whose aim is to “assist individuals and families quickly regain stability in permanent housing after experiencing a housing crisis or homelessness,” has granted $176,259.
“This federal investment in Paterson will help provide affordable housing to families while spurring economic growth,” commented Bill Pascrell junior, U.S. Representative for New Jersey’s 9th congressional district. “Keeping families in their homes is a key to our economic recovery and essential to preserving the core of our communities and neighborhoods.”
In the past year many scandals broke due to the mismanagement of funding provided by the agency; the Community Development Corporation, which is charged with the responsibility to handle the grants in an efficient manner failed to handle the money at all, much less in an efficient manner, a move that resulted in the agency taking back a large sum of the money it once granted.