Newark Homeownership Program Gets Financial Boost From NJ Devils

NEWARK, NJ —A popular program in Newark that helps local residents buy vacant and abandoned houses recently got a big financial fist bump from the New Jersey Devils hockey team.

Last week, the Devils and the Prudential Center in Newark – where the team plays its home games – announced that a $200,000 donation is being made to the city’s economic development corporation, Invest Newark.

The funds will support the Newark Land Bank’s Section 8 Homeownership Conversion Program. Through the program and other initiatives, the city’s land bank partners with community groups and developers to “acquire, maintain and repurpose” vacant, abandoned and foreclosed properties. See Related: Newark 'Land Bank' Hopes To Boost Homeownership, Beat Blight

The donation is being made as a part of the Devils’, Prudential Center’s and their parent company’s “commitment to racial equity” that was announced in August 2020.

“Newark’s Land Bank program – still the first and only one in the state – is an invaluable tool in our efforts to turn our residents from renters to homeowners,” Mayor Ras Baraka said.

“This $200,000 grant commitment from the New Jersey Devils and Prudential Center shows their continued support of their ‘home’ city as they strive to root families into homeownership,” the mayor continued. “By expanding opportunities in our neighborhoods, the Devils and Prudential Center demonstrate what being good corporate neighbors looks like, and that they truly are ‘Newark and Proud of It!’”

• See Related: Newark Families Get Keys To Their 1st Homes: 'My Dream Came True'
• See Related: 4 More Newark Families Become Homeowners Through 'Section 8' Program

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