New Community Corporation (NCC), Newark, NJ
Throughout the early decades of the 20th century, Newark's Central Ward was a transitional community for European ethnic groups who were working their way into the American middle class. During the 1940s and '50s, waves of African Americans from the South also began to settle in the area in search of low-skilled industrial jobs and the opportunity to advance economically and socially. Upon their arrival, they were met with hostility from white residents who felt that the growing presence of African Americans threatened their access to a dwindling supply of blue-collar jobs and housing. Like many other urban neighborhoods throughout the country, the Central Ward began to see "white flight." In a matter of years, the mass exodus of whites into the suburbs left the area populated predominantly by African Americans. Because of racial discrimination and disinvestment, the Central Ward experienced rapid decline and became characterized by the signs of severe urban poverty - high infant mortality rates, unemployment, juvenile delinquency, and dilapidated physical conditions. Marginalized by the political system, the residents of the Central Ward, as well as other oppressed communities throughout the country, were incited to express their extreme frustration in mass rebellion in the Summer of 1967.
Forming a New Community
This expression of outrage and alienation in the black community compelled Catholic church leaders in the area to discuss the responsibility of the church to help address the problems that caused the unrest. Father William J. Linder, a key figure in the group, enlisted his parishioners in an effort to address some of the most urgent issues facing the community. The first step was to form a policy board composed of leaders of the parish and the African-American community, and to create a locally-based community development corporation (CDC). Thus in 1968, New Community Corporation (NCC) was formed to "improve the quality of life of the people of Newark to reflect individual dignity and personal achievement," as its mission statement read.
The founders of NCC recognized that the pursuit of this mission demanded the creation of stable social and economic institutions in the community. They also understood that the problems afflicting the area's residents stemmed from their lack of access to resources and opportunities for advancement. Guided by religious principles of self-determination, NCC believed that the solutions to these problems lay in the power of people to control their lives and their environment. In order to carry out their social change agenda, NCC helped the residents of the Central Ward to work as a collective force. NCC's model was a method of community organizing developed by Saul Alinsky, whose strategy was to mobilize people to identify problems and demand that existing public and private institutions help solve them. The organization took this model one step further, however. Rather than focusing all of its energy on fighting institutional barriers to better conditions in Newark, NCC set out to engage community residents in the process of building their own new institutions.
Building a Foundation
NCC's first development project responded to the findings of a study commissioned by New Jersey's governor on the root causes of the civil unrest of 1967. The report concluded that permanent, affordable housing was needed to stabilize an otherwise transient population. These findings corresponded to the concerns of Central Ward residents about the deteriorated physical conditions in which they lived. NCC's founding president, Father Linder (later to become Reverend Monsignor), believed strongly that a "new community" could be built in the process of creating improved housing.
When the fledgling organization began planning its first housing project, New Community Homes, it had few resources and little experience in large-scale development. In 1969, NCC reached out to a number of suburban white allies to create Operation Under-standing, which increased communication between suburban communities and Newark's black inner-city neighborhoods. This cooperative relationship led to the formation of the New Community Foundation, which launched a massive grassroots fund drive. Using a fundraising strategy that helped to rebuild Israel after its war with Egypt, the New Community Foundation raised over $100,000 for New Community Homes by symbolically selling parcels of land in Newark.
To ensure that the project was responsive to needs articulated by the community, NCC staff asked sixty families living in public housing to help plan New Community Homes. For over two years, the group spent one Saturday a month learning about the process of developing housing. They participated in design seminars and traveled to Model Cities sites that had been designated as areas for intensive investment under a federal urban development program. Through this process, the future tenants of New Community Homes became the true owners of the completed project.
The unique scheme they developed confronted serious challenges along the way, however. While the members of the planning team felt that the standard high-rise model for public housing developments did not foster a sense of community, the rules governing the state's rental housing voucher program had rigid specifications regarding the cost per foot for low-rise housing. Msgr. Linder remembers the state's argument: "They said it was too expensive. In fact, one state official said it looked too good for poor people. So we kept fighting." As the conflict with the state dragged on, NCC's leadership was faced with a difficult decision - change the plans to meet the specifications, or stand behind the consensus that had been reached through the participatory planning process. They decided to stand their ground, and after years of concerted pressure, the state agreed to build the 120-unit New Community Homes project as planned. When it finally opened in 1975, the complex was hailed as a model for affordable yet high quality housing. After its initial trial and success with New Community Homes, NCC was able to complete five major building projects in the next five years, creating an additional 829 units of affordable housing, over 350 of which were developed for senior citizens.
Maintaining a Stable Base
While searching for land on which to build New Community Homes, NCC had the option of competing for a number of Urban Renewal parcels that were controlled and subsidized by the city. In order to remain outside the fray of local politics, the board decided to avoid any dependence on city funds. It chose instead to raise money on its own and purchase land at market rates. This made the development more expensive, but allowed NCC to use its real estate to leverage future loans. As a result, NCC has been able to establish an excellent credit rating.
The organization has also made a practice of avoiding dependence on any one source of support. For instance, its housing developments have usually been financed through a combination of private loans and Section 8 certificates, which are federal rent subsidies attached to low-income housing units. When this strategy became less feasible because of cuts to the federal budget in the late 1970s and early '80s, NCC was able to make use of a number of other financing mechanisms, among them the federal low-income housing tax credit. This focus on self-sufficiency and diversification has been one of NCC's most successful characteristics.
Addressing the Needs of Working Mothers
From its inception, NCC has had a close relationship with Babyland Nursery, Inc., an infant day care program for working mothers in Newark. Babyland was formed in 1969 by a group of inner-city and suburban women who named themselves Operation Housewives. Their first infant care center was housed in a seven-room apartment in one of Newark's public housing complexes and was run by Mary Smith, both a mother and president of the building's tenants association. When Babyland first opened, the State of New Jersey had no means of licensing or funding day care programs for children under two and a half years old. With the assistance of Operation Housewives, however, the staff and mothers of Babyland successfully lobbied the state to establish regulations and funding for infant care facilities. This effort resulted in the creation of a state agency to address the day care needs of working mothers throughout New Jersey, using Babyland as its model.
Within a few years of operation, Babyland was growing rapidly. Although it had expanded into a former medical office building, it needed a new, permanent facility. NCC was able to help by developing a $1.9 million building for the program, using the participatory planning process it pioneered in its housing development projects. Over a period of fourteen days, sixty people representing various interests in the community worked with architects to design the new building. The project enhanced NCC's reputation as an innovative developer, and built equity to enable the organization to leverage loans for future projects. Babyland now operates six day care centers and employs over 180 people.
A Comprehensive Vision of Community
One of NCC's trademarks is a comprehensive vision of the community building process. In order to create a decent living environment for its tenants, NCC provides an array of support services and security patrols in each of its housing complexes. By keeping all management, maintenance and other services in-house, the organization also provides vital jobs for local residents. For instance, its security force not only reduces crime in the area, but has created over 120 jobs for local residents. Its domestic support program, which helps elderly residents with cooking and cleaning, also provides 120 jobs. Another 200 jobs have been created by a full-service nursing home sponsored by NCC. In order to make it possible for seniors to remain independent and active in the community as long as possible, and to avoid the high cost of nursing homes, NCC also staffs and operates a home health care program.
In an effort to address the growing crisis of homelessness, NCC built Harmony House in 1989. This transitional housing facility for previously homeless families operates with state funds for job training and placement. Residents of Harmony House are given job experience as aids in NCC's medical facilities and senior programs, as child care workers in Babyland's programs, and as food service workers in NCC-owned restaurants. Residents also receive health care, emergency food, and child care, which are all delivered through NCC with government funding. This model promotes economic development in the area, while integrating formerly homeless people into the community.
A Commercial Anchor for the Community
NCC's most successful economic development project to date has been the Pathmark supermarket and neighborhood shopping center. Within two years of its opening in 1990, NCC's Pathmark had become one of the chain's most profitable East Coast stores. With a two-thirds share in the venture, NCC is able to use its profits to support other programs. Most important, however, the supermarket provides a local alternative to the high-priced convenience stores that were previously the only source of goods in the Central Ward. The surrounding shopping facility also functions as an inter-generational social center that brings together youth and senior citizens.
Community Control and Stability
One of NCC's long-standing principles has been community control of its board. All board members are community leaders who are people of color. Based on NCC's belief that it takes a whole generation for substantive community change to take place, they are asked to make a 20-year commitment to the job. One of NCC's longtime board members is Mary Smith, who organized and presided over Newark's largest public housing tenants association over two decades ago, and is presently the executive director of the Babyland nursery network. The stability of NCC's board has been cited as the key reason that the organization was able to weather the fiscally turbulent decade of the '80s.
The fact that NCC has refused to include any corporate or business interests on its board has helped build its reputation for being responsive and accountable to Central Ward residents. In order to maintain the integrity of its mission, NCC has used the New Community Foundation as a separate vehicle for soliciting the technical and financial support of the private sector. Tenant associations and program-specific advisory boards serve as vehicles for community participation in the planning and management of NCC's projects. This approach to development is based on a belief that, if given the opportunity, people will demonstrate their ability and commitment to solving community problems. Resident associations in NCC managed housing complexes have, for instance, developed creative programs to deal with homelessness, AIDS, illiteracy, and domestic violence.
Struggling with Demand
A quarter of a century after its creation, New Community has become a major, visible force in the economic, social and physical revitalization of Newark's Central Ward. It employs over 1,200 people, and owns and manages over 2,500 units of housing. NCC continues to struggle with the challenges of urban decay, however. Despite advances, NCC has not been able to keep up with the demand for its services. Currently, NCC estimates that close to 10,000 families are waiting for affordable housing units in the area.
Strengthened by the restructuring of the board of the New Community Foundation in 1992, NCC has been able to enter into partnership with New Jersey businesses to build its fundraising capabilities and expand its job programs. NCC's future goals include opening a new Babyland facility and creating 200 new jobs each year. The organization has also begun working with communities outside Newark. In Jersey City, NCC has already built 33 units of low-income housing, and has secured federal funds for another 80 units of senior housing. It is also helping to replicate Harmony House's homeless reintegration program in central New Jersey. As NCC continues to grow and share its vision and success with groups in other parts of the country, it promises to serve as a model for building new communities.
New Community Corporation (NCC)
233 West Market Street
Newark, NJ 07103
(201) 623-2800
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