Newark Trying To Add Housing For Families Earning Under $32,000

NEWARK, NJ — “Affordable” doesn’t always mean you can actually afford it when it comes to living in Newark.

On Thursday, Mayor Ras Baraka announced that the city is putting $20 million into a new initiative that’s been dubbed “Affordable Newark.” Through the program, officials hope to create and preserve housing for local families who earn $32,000 or less per year.

The program will be paid for with municipal funds, some of the city’s share of federal American Rescue Plan aid, and funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Home Investment Partnerships Program.

According to Baraka, 59 percent of all Newark renters are “cost-burdened,” meaning they spend more than a third of their incomes for housing.

“Unfortunately, what federal guidelines fund as ‘affordable’ is often well above affordability for the average Newark resident,” Baraka said.

The mayor said the program will help to compensate for a lack of federal investment in the city’s affordable housing stock, including the Home Investment Partnerships Program (HOME), which funds housing that is affordable to families at 80 percent or less of the area median income (AMI).

However, the HUD defines the Newark area as including all of Essex County, Morris County and other wealthier suburban counties nearby – a large, sprawling area with an AMI of $96,000. And that’s why the city’s program is targeting families who make 30 percent or less of the federally defined AMI, which comes to $32,000. It’s a number much closer to Newark’s true median income of $35,000, officials stated.

Notably, the $20 million investment in Affordable Newark is more than four times the total that the HOME program made available to the city in 2020.

“The Affordable Newark initiative shows why more federal housing dollars must be targeted to the lowest income renters,” Baraka said.

The city plans to issue a request for proposals on June 21 for interested real estate developers. A virtual “How to Apply” session will be held that week.

Preference will be given to minority and women developers, projects with minority co-developers and small-scale developments of 30 units or less, city officials said.

• See related article: Newark 'Land Bank' Hopes To Boost Homeownership, Beat Blight
• See related article: Newark Trying To Boost Housing Market With No-Interest Loans
• See related article: Long-Awaited Newark Apartments Will Be 100% Affordable Housing

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