Mission Accomplished: Phase I of Beat the Blight Campaign

Clinton Hill Community Action (CHCA) kicked off its work with the Beat the Blight Campaign, as a collaborative project called Beautify the Block. Beautify the Block includes several community organizations, such as Greater Newark LISC, South Ward Children’s Alliance (SWCA), New Jersey Community Capitol (NJCC), Community Asset Preservation Corporation (CAPC), which is rehabbing abandoned houses throughout the neighborhood. Each partner pledged to take action: NJCC is working with residents to map all of the abandoned, blighted properties throughout the neighborhood, SWCA is transforming vacant lots, and CHCA committed to clean up and secure abandoned properties throughout the neighborhood. Tish Johnson, SWCA’s Managing Director of External Affairs and Communications, said, “When it comes to making Clinton Hill a great place to live, raise and educate a family, no one organization can do it alone.” “This work is about what we can do together,” said Johnson.

The Neighborhood Foundation brought their “decorative board up” model to Newark and hired and trained a team of (6) Clinton Hill residents to work on (18) properties in phase I of the project. Overgrown weeds and trees were removed from the properties, South Ward Councilman James made arrangements for trash and illegal dumping to be removed from the sites, and the Neighborhood Foundation and its team used a technique, more durable than using plywood boards, to secure the properties. CHCA then brought in Yendor Productions, a local artist collective, founded by Rodney Gilbert, deceased local arts activist, to add murals to each property that reflected the blocks vision and history. 

The first phase was completed in December 2019, with the second phase scheduled to kick off in the Spring of 2020. CHCA, worked with the Clinton Hill Block Coalition, led by neighborhood resident, Ihsan Ali, to identify block leaders who serve as the eyes and ears to help keep the property clean and secure. CHCA has a “blight team” who periodically inspects the properties and removes trash and other debris.