Tyrone Garrett KENNY WALTER The word being used to describe Long Branch Housing Authority (LBHA) Executive Director Tyrone Garrett last week was “prolific.”
“The guy is prolific; many thought it was just talk when he arrived here 10 years ago,” LBHA Chief of Staff Daniel Gibson said in an interview. “I think some of the naysayers now are saying, ‘Hey, the guy did everything he said he was going to do and more.’ ” Gibson’s comments came after Garrett was named to the Federal Home Loan Bank of New York (FHLBNY) Housing Council for a three-year term.
Garrett, 42, explained in an interview last week what the role of the council is.
“I’m excited about the opportunity, and the reality is the council is going to be able to make recommendations about what’s going on in the housing industry, at least in the affordable market,” he said. “I’m glad to be a part of a group that is going to be advocates for affordable housing. “The Federal Home Loan Bank is going to be able to offer opportunities to developers to build affordable housing in the mid- Atlantic region,” he added. “It just gives you an opportunity to create opportunities and give advice, more than anything else.”
The FHLBNY helps community lenders in New Jersey, New York, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands advance housing and community growth, according to the website .
The organization is part of the congressionally chartered, nationwide Federal Home Loan Bank System, which was created in 1932 to provide a flexible credit liquidity source for member community lenders engaged in home mortgage and neighborhood lending.
Garrett said that it is an honor to be acknowledged at a regional level.
“I’ve been doing this for about 10 years now, so it shows my peers are starting to recognize the hard work that we accomplished in Long Branch,” he said .
Garrett came to the city in 2002 from the Newark Housing Authority, where he served as an urban initiatives coordinator and a community services manager.
Gibson said that Garrett is the first LBHA director to be named to the council.
According to Gibson, the authority has allocated nearly $136 million in construction projects under Garrett’s lead, including Seaview Manor, Grant Court, Garfield Court I, Garfield Court II and the Adam “Bucky” James Community Center.
There are also plans and funding in place to demolish and replace the Woodrow Wilson homes and convert the Gregory School into senior housing.
Gibson explained that the project that Garrett is most proud of is the 2009 renovation of the community center, converting the dilapidated center to a state- of-the-art facility.
“With all the accomplishments in the area of housing, he is more interested in the education of young people in this town,” he said. “The second floor of Bucky James is dedicated to furthering the education of kids in this town.”
Gibson also said Garrett has won 16 NAHRO (National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials) awards, and the authority has been designated a high performer by the Department of Housing and Urban Development in seven of Garrett’s 10 years at the helm.
Carl Jennings, who has been an LBHA commissioner since 1995 and currently serves as chair, said that Garrett has taken the authority to a new level since taking over in 2002, despite having to deal with budget cuts in recent years.
“Since he’s been with us, he has just put our housing authority on the top of the list as far as housing authorities in the state and nationally,” Jennings said in an interview. “He is finding innovative ways to help our housing authority continue to grow and to beautify the City of Long Branch.
“Whenever we hit a roadblock, especially as far as funding coming in, he finds ways to reach out to other entities to create housing,” he added.
Jennings said that Garrett’s appointment is proof that his peers are recognizing his work.
He also explained that the FHLBNY really vets the people named to the council and that Garrett passed the test.
“When they do choose someone, they really go over the person’s résumé, go over the person’s background, and they go over the person’s history with their particular housing authority,” Jennings said. “He is just someone they feel would be able to aid the commission and come up with ways to increase funding for housing authorities nationally.”
While the city has seen new and renovated housing stock in recent years due to his impact, Jennings said that Garrett is at his best when dealing with residents.
“I just think that his commitment to the residents of the housing authority [complexes] is probably his greatest attribute,” he said. “The best thing I can say about Mr. Garrett is that he is fair.
“There might be an issue with a particular resident, he will listen to the concerns and address it as fair as he can,” he added. “Of course everyone is not going to agree with his decisions, but his decision is a fair decision.”
He went on to say that before Garrett, he used to receive “complaint after complaint” from residents, but he no longer hears nearly as many complaints.
Long Branch Mayor Adam Schneider said that the new housing stock developed by the LBHA has had a positive impact on the city.
“Now you have places … that wouldn’t look out of place on the oceanfront,” he said. “The end result is really attractive housing that is much more conducive to family life.
“What’s been built and what’s there now provides for a different kind of family life,” he added.
He went on to say that previous housing lacked amenities and was too small, and the new townhomes feature front lawns, garages and other amenities.
“Now you are giving people something to live in that is much more substantial with a much better design, a much better plan,” Schneider said.
He said that one of the reasons the authority has been successful in recent years is a stable board of commissioners.
“These are huge accomplishments, and the part I like is you see continuity on the housing authority commissioners,” he said. “They like working there, they are getting stuff done — they want to be on the board.
“No job gets done quickly in government, and if you have turmoil and turnover on the boards, you don’t get someone qualified who wants to stay,” he said, adding that there were three or four executive directors in the years leading up to Garrett’s arrival.
Jennings said that he is looking forward to continuing to work with Garrett in the future.
“The future is bright even with the obstacles that we have,” he said. “He keeps coming up with these innovative ideas and programs.
“What it is doing is rubbing off on our staff, and our staff is taking the lead on certain things,” he added. “I just see the housing authority moving forward, the employees of the housing authority realizing the importance of putting their ‘pedal to the metal’ each and every day and creating more and more innovative projects.”
After high school, Garrett went on to the University of Virginia, where he graduated in 1992 with a bachelor’s degree in history and a minor in sociology.
After his graduation, Garrett was hired at Prudential Insurance in Newark, where he wrote reinsurance policies for international marine and aviation businesses.
While working there, he also attended law school and in 1998 he received his juris doctor degree from Rutgers University School of Law.
During his time in law school, he also switched jobs, taking positions as an aide to various city department heads in Newark and serving as the municipal official on the city’s planning board.
In 2001 he completed a program for senior executives in state and local government at Harvard University.