$7.4M/year in CDBG funds flow through Newark — the largest direct HUD allocation in New Jersey. Four consecutive annual performance reports are missing from the federal public record.$7.4M a year in CDBG funds flows through Newark — the largest direct HUD grant in New Jersey. Four years in a row of required performance reports are missing from the federal public record.
Source: HUD CPD Public System (cpd.hud.gov/cpd-public/consolidated-plans). Every filed CAPER in HUD’s record has been late. The 2021–2024 reports are absent entirely.
| Report Period | Date Filed with HUD | Status |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 CAPER | Dec 29, 2023 | ~2 years late |
| 2019 CAPER | Apr 8, 2022 | ~1.5 years late |
| 2018 CAPER | Jul 31, 2020 | ~8 months late |
| 2017 CAPER | Jul 22, 2020 | ~1.5 years late |
| 2016 CAPER | Mar 22, 2019 | ~1.5 years late |
| 2015 CAPER | Feb 1, 2018 | ~1 year late |
| 2014 CAPER | Jul 22, 2020 | ~4.5 years late |
| 2021 CAPER | not filed | Missing from HUD record |
| 2022 CAPER | not filed | Missing from HUD record |
| 2023 CAPER | not filed | Missing from HUD record |
| 2024 CAPER | not filed | Missing from HUD record |
The CAPER’s detailed activity pages are embedded as 733 scanned images, not text. We ran them through OCR to recover the subrecipients. The result is itself a finding: Newark self-administers most CDBG — the homeless shelter, health, and lead programs are run in-house by city departments (CFWB / Health & Community Wellness), so there is no clean nonprofit pass-through table. The named nonprofit ecosystem is concentrated in homeless services (ESG) and HIV/AIDS housing (HOPWA) — a small, largely faith-based and social-service core. The CAPER's detail pages are 733 scanned images, not searchable text. We ran them through text-recognition software to recover the recipient names. What we found is itself a finding: Newark runs most CDBG programs itself — the homeless shelter, health, and lead programs are operated in-house by city departments (CFWB / Health & Community Wellness), so there is no clean list of nonprofits receiving pass-through money. The named nonprofits cluster in homeless services (ESG) and HIV/AIDS housing (HOPWA) — a small core of mostly faith-based and social-service groups.
Caveat: the CAPER does not publish a clean “nonprofit → exact dollars” table; it reports city-administered operating costs and aggregate household outcomes. These names were recovered from scattered OCR’d activity pages, so treat them as the roster of PY2020 players, not audited grant amounts. Source: Newark PY2020 CAPER (filed Dec 2023), IDIS PR03 activity pages. A caution: the CAPER (the city's annual report to HUD) does not include a simple table showing which nonprofit got exactly how much. It reports city-run program costs and overall household results. We recovered these names from scattered scanned pages, so treat them as a list of who was involved in program year 2020 — not audited grant amounts. Source: Newark PY2020 CAPER (filed Dec 2023), IDIS PR03 activity pages.
CDBG is a block grant: the city allocates funds across eligible activities each year via an Annual Action Plan, which the council votes to submit to HUD. Federal rules cap certain uses. Estimates below are illustrative; the actual breakdown is in each year’s Action Plan. CDBG (Community Development Block Grant) is federal money the city divides up. Each year the city writes an Annual Action Plan saying how it will spend the money, and the council votes to send that plan to HUD, the federal housing department. Federal rules limit how some of the money can be used. The numbers below are estimates; the exact breakdown is in each year's Action Plan.
| Category | Est. Annual (of $7.4M) | Federal Cap |
|---|---|---|
| Public Services Social services, anti-violence programs, youth, job training, health. This is the pool most nonprofits compete for. | ~$1.1M | 15% cap |
| Administration City staff costs, planning, fair housing. Cannot exceed 20% of the annual grant. | ~$1.5M | 20% cap |
| Housing Rehabilitation, lead abatement, homebuyer assistance. HUD requires 70% of total CDBG benefit low/mod income residents. | ~$2.5–3.5M | No cap |
| Economic Development Business loans, job creation, commercial revitalization. Subject to job creation documentation. | ~$0.5–1.5M | No cap |
| Infrastructure / Public Facilities Street improvements, parks, community centers — only in low/mod income areas. | ~$1–2M | No cap |
The council votes on the Annual Action Plan as a single resolution — the clerk does not read individual subrecipient names or amounts aloud. These organizations appear in grant, contract, MOU, or service agreement discussions across the 82-session transcript corpus. This is the most detailed public picture available without the CAPER documents. The council approves the whole Annual Action Plan in one vote — no one reads the names or dollar amounts of individual grant recipients out loud. The groups listed here came up in grant, contract, or service discussions across 82 recorded sessions. This is the most detailed public picture available without the CAPER documents.
| Organization | Council sessions mentioned |
|---|---|
| Brick City Peace Anti-violence, community safety. Appears across 26 sessions in public safety and grant contexts. | 26 |
| New Community Corporation Housing development, social services. Founded 1968, one of Newark's largest community development orgs. Appears across housing, contract, and development discussions. | 25 |
| Urban League of Essex County Workforce development, civil rights advocacy. Referenced across 16 sessions. | 16 |
| United Community Corporation Anti-poverty programs, Head Start, emergency services. Long-standing CDBG subrecipient nationally. | 8 |
| YMCA of Newark and Vicinity Youth programs, shelter, rapid rehousing. Confirmed Essex County ESG subrecipient ($146K in 2024 county round). | 8 |
| NJPAC New Jersey Performing Arts Center. Appears in city grant and cultural funding discussions. | 7 |
| Ironbound Community Corporation Ironbound neighborhood services, immigration, housing. Appears in grant and service contexts. | 6 |
| Newark Beth Israel Medical Center Healthcare services. Referenced in service agreement and contract contexts. | 6 |
| Covenant House New Jersey Youth shelter and services. Confirmed Essex County ESG subrecipient ($25K in 2024 county round). | 4 |
| Bethany Baptist Church Community services, lease agreement authorized by council Mar 2025. | 4 |
| Ironbound Boxing Academy Youth development through boxing. MOU authorized by council Sept 2024. | 2 |
| NJ Citizen Action Education Fund Housing counseling, foreclosure prevention. Confirmed Essex County CDBG recipient ($32K). | 1 |
Source: 82 full council session transcripts (Jul 2024–Jun 2026). Mentions do not confirm CDBG subrecipient status — organizations appear in grant, contract, MOU, or service discussion contexts. Specific amounts are not available in speech transcripts; they exist in the Action Plan exhibits attached to council resolutions. Source: 82 full council meeting transcripts (Jul 2024–Jun 2026). Being mentioned does not prove a group received CDBG money — groups come up in talks about grants, contracts, and service agreements. Exact dollar amounts are not spoken aloud in meetings; they live in the Action Plan exhibits attached to council resolutions.
The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act creates several competitive grant programs Newark is well-positioned to chase. One caveat governs all of them: Section 1202 authorizes no new money — each program below exists only if Congress appropriates funds for it. Whether the city actually applies is a trackable fact this page will follow.The new federal housing law creates several grant programs Newark could compete for. But one rule hangs over all of them: the law includes no new money. Each program only happens if Congress later votes to fund it. Whether the city actually applies is a fact this page will track.
A pilot program (fiscal years 2027–2031) awarding grants of $1–$10 million to convert vacant and abandoned warehouses, factories, malls, and hotels into attainable housing (households up to 120% of area median income, with a majority of units affordable at 60% AMI). Priority goes to economically distressed communities, opportunity zones, and cities that have cut regulatory barriers to conversion — Newark, with its vacant industrial stock and extensive OZ tracts, is a textbook applicant. Funds can cover acquisition, demolition, hazard remediation, construction, and community land trusts.From 2027 to 2031, HUD can award grants of $1 million to $10 million to turn empty warehouses, factories, malls, and hotels into housing people can afford (most units reserved for households earning 60% of the area’s median income or less). Cities in economic distress, cities with opportunity zones, and cities that have cut red tape on conversions go to the front of the line — Newark checks all three boxes. The money can pay for buying property, demolition, cleaning up hazards, construction, and community land trusts.
Within a year, HUD must stand up a competitive grant program for cities and regional planning agencies to fund housing plans — increasing supply and affordability, reducing barriers, coordinating with transit — though not construction itself.Within a year, HUD must create a grant program that pays cities and regional agencies to write housing plans — plans for more supply, more affordability, fewer obstacles, and better transit connections. The grants cannot pay for construction itself.
A competitive fund open only to jurisdictions that can show an objective improvement in housing supply growth. Newark’s recent production pace could qualify it; HUD must publish both its methodology and the eligible-cities list, so eligibility will be checkable.This fund is only open to cities that can prove their housing supply actually grew. Newark’s recent building pace could qualify it. HUD has to publish both its measuring method and the list of eligible cities, so anyone will be able to check whether Newark makes the list.
HUD may give extra weight to any competitive housing-grant application located in a qualified opportunity zone — a standing advantage for most Newark applications, including the programs above.HUD can now give extra points to grant applications for projects located in “opportunity zones” — a federal designation that covers much of Newark. That is a built-in advantage for most Newark applications, including the programs above.
Source: H.R. 6644, the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act (119th Congress), enrolled text via congress.gov. Passed the Senate 85–5 (June 22, 2026) and the House 358–32 (June 23, 2026); became law July 11, 2026 without the President’s signature. Section 1202 of the Act authorizes no new appropriations — every grant program described here exists only if Congress later funds it. Statements about future effects are context, not findings.This information comes from H.R. 6644, the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act. Congress passed it by wide margins in June 2026, and it became law on July 11, 2026 without the President’s signature. One important catch: the law includes no new money. Every grant program described here only happens if Congress votes later to fund it. Statements about future effects are context, not proven facts.
Generated 2026-07-14 18:01 UTC · CAPER filing dates: HUD CPD Public System (cpd.hud.gov), verified June 2026 · CDBG allocation: HUD 2024 entitlement announcement · Organizations: 82 council session transcripts Jul 2024–Jun 2026