Lakewood LAKEWOOD – U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds are being spent on various public facility and public service projects and activities.
According to a press release, in March, CDBG funds helped to buy new storm doors for all residences at the local housing authority.
In April, Mayor Charles Cunliffe and the Township Committee redirected approximately $400,000 in HUD-CDBG dollars to install sidewalks on Miller Road from Central Avenue to Hope Chapel Road, as well as sidewalks on East County Line Road from Twin Oaks Drive to Lucerne Drive.
In May, the mayor and the committee directed Community Development Director Ervin Oross Jr. to re-establish program guidelines for the township’s housing rehabilitation program so that 50 percent of available funding for the year goes to residents who are either 65 years of age or older or who are considered very low income (between $16,400 and $27,350). The project was spearheaded by committeemen Ray Coles and Robert Singer.
The housing program provides assistance to eligible residents who need new heating systems, window upgrades, roofs replaced, and any other health and safety or code violation improvements at their homes, according to the press release.
In June, about $50,000 in HUD-CDBG funds has been spent on new playground equipment and benches at the Princeton Avenue Park, and another $50,000 for sewer and water extensions for an affordable housing dwelling on Jay Street.
Benefits from the CDBG program also are given to more than 20 public service groups throughout the township that offer help to needy residents, including homeless assistance, food for families in crisis, domestic violence assistance, emergency health care, after-school help for local youths, mentoring programs for single-parent households, and emergency ambulance support.
“We can talk about quality of life in Lakewood, but until people see actual things being done, that’s all it will be, talk,” Cunliffe said. “The Township Committee endorsed my Quality of Life Task Force, which is now fully funded. My Quality of Life Initiative, along with our Downtown Lakewood Resource and Referral Center, will produce results for the Lakewood residents.”