The New Jersey Department of Community Affairs (DCA) today (June 19) announced the award of $6,552,869 in Small Cities Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) to non-entitlement municipalities and counties in New Jersey. The 22 grants are going to 17 local government entities in eight counties. DCA’s Division of Housing and Community Resources receives, distributes, and administers these federal grant funds for the State of New Jersey.
Funding for the Small Cities CDBG Program is provided by the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Community Development Block Grant Program. This year, the CDBG program celebrates 50 years of supporting communities since its enactment by Congress in 1974.
“At DCA, it is our mission to improve the quality of life for residents of New Jersey,” said DCA Commissioner Jacquelyn A. Suárez. “One of the ways we’re able to do this is through the Small Cities Program. These federal grants, which DCA administers on behalf of the State, help smaller-sized towns improve public facilities, rehabilitate housing, and make much-needed infrastructure improvements. We’re happy to positively impact families of limited financial means by improving their well-being through such projects.”
Awards in this year’s application cycle provide funding for important projects that include improvements at parks, recreation facilities, and municipal buildings to make them more accessible to disabled persons in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA); upgrades to sewer mains and sewer manholes; expansion of public water and sewer utilities; and rehabilitation of housing for low- and moderate-income residents. Also, an additional $1.4 million in American Rescue Plan (ARP) funding was included for several housing rehabilitation projects in this year’s application cycle to address lead-based paint hazards.
Small Cities CDBG grants provide direct assistance to eligible municipalities and counties for housing rehabilitation, public facilities improvements, community revitalization, and economic development. Only non-entitlement local governmental entities that typically serve populations of less than 50,000 and do not receive direct funding from HUD are eligible for the Small Cities CDBG program.
Municipalities and counties receiving Small Cities grants design their own projects and funding priorities. These locally developed projects are required to meet at least one of the three federal national objectives that include:
- Activities that benefit low- and moderate-income persons;
- Assistance in the prevention or elimination of slums or blight; or
- Urgent community development needs due to existing conditions that pose a serious and immediate threat to the health or welfare of the community where other financial resources are not available to meet such needs.
A description of the grant recipients and projects are listed below:
2024 Small Cities Community Development Block Grant Awards
| Grantee Name | County | Project Description | Award Amount |
| Cape May City | Cape May | Improve access of the Cape May Tennis Center to persons with disabilities and the elderly to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). | $270,672 |
| Cumberland County | Cumberland | Provide ADA-compliant improvements at the Cumberland County Fairgrounds. | $400,000 |
| Deerfield Township | Cumberland | Rehabilitate approximately 12 low-income, owner-occupied housing units using $200,000 in Small Cities CDBG funds and $200,000 in ARP funds to address lead-based paint hazards. | $400,000 |
| Deerfield Township | Cumberland | Remove architectural barrier at the township municipal building and senior center as a Phase 1 project to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). | $385,777 |
| Dover Town | Morris | Construct new restroom facilities and other amenities at Crescent Field. | $400,000 |
| Downe Township | Cumberland | Rehabilitate approximately 12 low-income housing units using $200,000 in Small Cities CDBG funds and $200,000 in ARP funds to address lead-based paint hazards. | $400,000 |
| Egg Harbor City | Atlantic | Construct ADA-compliant infrastructure improvements at City Hall. | $400,000 |
| Fairfield Township | Cumberland | Rehabilitate approximately 12 low-income housing units using $200,000 in Small Cities CDBG funds and $200,000 in ARP funds to address lead-based paint hazards. | $400,000 |
| Fairfield Township | Cumberland | Undertake Phase 2 improvements at the township senior center to create an outdoor activity area for senior citizens including accessible gardening modules, pollinator garden, walking path, walking trail, shuffleboard court, and bocce court. | $216,420 |
| Gloucester City | Camden | Replace the water and combined sewer mains and reconstruct the roadway curb-to-curb including ADA-compliant ramps on Division Street between 7th and 8th streets. | $400,000 |
| Hopewell Township | Cumberland | Rehabilitate 12 single-family homes occupied by low- and moderate-income households using $200,000 in Small Cities CDBG funds and $200,000 in ARP funds to address lead-based paint hazards. | $400,000 |
| Lower Township | Cape May | Remove architectural barriers that hinder access by disabled persons at the municipal pool building. | $400,000 |
| Middle Township | Cape May | Rehabilitate approximately 12 low-income housing units using $200,000 in Small Cities CDBG funds and $200,000 in ARP funds to address lead-based paint hazards. | $400,000 |
| Middle Township | Cape May | Remove, via a Phase 2 project, architectural barriers that hinder access by the disabled and improve ADA accessibility at the municipal building. | $240,000 |
| Mount Holly Township | Burlington | Remove architectural barriers that limit or restrict the accessibility of seniors and residents with disabilities to the existing municipal building by replacing the existing non-functioning elevator. | $240,000 |
| Mount Holly Township | Burlington | Rehabilitate approximately 8 housing units occupied by low- and moderate-income residents. | $200,000 |
| Oldmans Township | Salem | Rehabilitate approximately 12 low- and moderate-income housing units using $200,000 in Small Cities CDBG funds and $200,000 in ARP funds to address lead-based paint hazards. | $400,000 |
| Sussex Borough | Sussex | Line sewer mains that are failing and rehabilitate sewer manholes for the municipal sewer utility. | $400,000 |
| Upper Deerfield Township | Cumberland | Rehabilitate approximately 12 low-income housing units using $200,000 in Small Cities CDBG funds and $200,000 in ARP funds to address lead-based paint hazards. | $400,000 |
| Upper Deerfield Township | Cumberland | Extend public water and sewer utilities to the Phase 1 area of the Hildreth Tract neighborhood. | $400,000 |
| Wildwood City | Cape May | Remove architectural barriers to accessibility at East Bennett Avenue and the Boardwalk through the construction of an ADA-compliant access ramp. | $400,000 |
| Wildwood Crest Borough | Cape May | Remove architectural barriers that hinder mobility for the disabled at the Crest Pier Recreation Center. | $400,000 |
More information about the Small Cities CDBG Program can be found at https://www.nj.gov/dca/dhcr/offices/cdbg.shtml.
