FY2023 Community Project Funding Requests
Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman has submitted funding requests for community projects in New Jersey's Twelfth Congressional District to the House Appropriations Committee.
Under guidelines issued by the Appropriations Committee, each Representative may request funding for up to 15 projects in their community for fiscal year 2023. Projects are restricted to a limited number of federal funding streams, and only state and local governments and eligible non-profit entities are permitted to receive funding. Additional information on the reforms governing Community Project Funding is available here.
In compliance with House Rules and Committee requirements, Rep. Watson Coleman has certified that she, her spouse, and her immediate family have no financial interest in any of the projects she has requested.
Mobile Health Unit Initiative
Project Recipient: Henry J. Austin Health Center
Recipient Address: 321 N Warren Street, Trenton, NJ 08618
Amount Requested: $813,600
Explanation and Justification: The funding for this project will allow HJAHC to expand their services provided by the Pediatric Mobile Health Unit (MHU) to all Trenton school children. The Mobile Health Unit (MHU) services to be provided include annual dental cleanings and oral health care, in an integrated delivery along with physicals, outstanding immunizations, vision screenings, sports physicals, treatment for common illnesses, and behavioral screenings.
Honoring Manville Veterans
Project Recipient: Borough of Manville
Recipient Address: 325 North Main Street, Manville, NJ 08835
Amount Requested: $350,000
Explanation and Justification: This project will fund creation of a Veteran's Freedom Plaza in Manville, New Jersey to draw attention to the veterans who have served and to install a 911 and first responders memorial dedicated to the Manville Purple Heart designated community. In addition, parking spaces will be created to benefit the Post's limited parking and the business community in the area. An existing building owned by the Borough will be knocked down and the property converted to create the veteran's plaza with additional parking. Manville does not have such a memorial honoring our veterans or first responders. The area is in dire need of revitalization to benefit the community.
Delaware River Basin Commission
Project Recipient: Delaware River Basin Commission
Recipient Address: PO Box 7360, 25 Cosey Road, West Trenton, NJ 08628
Amount Requested: $715,000
Explanation and Justification: The basin spans 13,539 square miles, includes parts of four states, all or portions of 42 counties, 868 municipalities, multiple government entities and jurisdictions, and twenty-two congressional districts. Signatory funding will support several Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) programs that result in water security and clean water for our rivers, streams, reservoirs, groundwater. These include: DRBC leading research and monitoring on PFAS and other contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) and support for the states PFAS action plans, DRBC water quality monitoring programs, DRBC programs that provide special protection for waters of exceptional value, DRBC programs to clean up legacy pollutants (like PCB) that impact water quality, DRBC programs to control pollution from wastewater discharges, DRBC programs to make improvements to aquatic life habitat, and DRBC supports for state of the art modeling of water quality and flow.
Healthy Plainfield
Project Recipient: United Way of Greater Union County
Recipient Address: 33 West Grand Street, Elizabeth, NJ 07080
Amount Requested: $100,000
Explanation and Justification: The funding would work to address food insecurity, access to transportation and healthcare, and financial stability. The funds will support the group in building on the coalition's past work helping residents navigate across language barriers, access transportation or unemployment services, and tackle food insecurity, while efficiently driving change within the community.
Southern Middlesex County Flood Mitigation and Resilience Project
Project Recipient: County of Middlesex, New Jersey
Recipient Address: 75 Bayard Street, New Brunswick, NJ 08901
Amount Requested: $1,125,000
Explanation and Justification: The funding for this project will improve flood resilience due to flooding from extreme weather and precipitation events by identifying and addressing gaps in flood resiliency planning within the Southern Middlesex region as it relates to climate, equity, and resiliency. The proposed study region is prone to chronic flooding from headwater rainfall events impacting riparian segments of the region's stream network. The area is vulnerable to the effects of extreme weather, and geologic subsidence and faces significant unmet storm water control and drainage needs.
Community Doula Services & Training
Project Recipient: Children's Home Society of New Jersey
Recipient Address: 635 South Clinton Avenue, Trenton, NJ 08611
Amount Requested: $631,500
Explanation and Justification: The funding will be used to train low-income women for work supporting other women and families from the same community to have healthier birth and health outcomes. The project would be evaluated - expanding on current evaluation efforts with the Children's Home Society of New Jersey (CHSofNJ) community doula program, which has trained community doulas and supported mothers and babies since April 2019. The CHSofNJ Community Doula Services and Training project will allow access to doula services for more Black Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) communities, including Black, Hispanic and immigrant communities in Trenton and Mercer County, New Jersey.
Assunpink Greenway Active Recreation Corridor
Project Recipient: City of Trenton
Recipient Address: 319 East State Street, Trenton, NJ 08608
Amount Requested: $2,000,000
Explanation and Justification: This project consists of an active recreational area along the Assunpink Creek in Trenton. It consists of several properties that will constitute a linear greenway and will include recreational amenities such as a regulation soccer field, multipurpose athletic fields and courts, a skate park, a picnic area, parking, restrooms, a natural playground, a trail, an exercise weight station, team storage and maintenance equipment storage, and will include the historic Locust Hill African American cemetery.
Plainfield Mentoring Program
Project Recipient: Big Brothers Big Sisters of Essex, Hudson & Union Counties
Recipient Address: 550 Broad Street, Suite 604, Newark, NJ 07102
Amount Requested: $1,000,000
Explanation and Justification: The funding would expand in the Greater Plainfield area to exceed pre-pandemic levels of service and meet the growing demand for mentoring to address the social-emotional and academic needs of the region's youth that have grown as a result of the pandemic. This funding will support staffing the expansion and sustainability beyond the funding period by focusing on strategic partnerships, sustainable funding, community outreach, and recruitment, and establish a satellite office in the community (to be supported by leveraged funding). The project will also provide culturally competent training for staff and mentors and hold community and program events to achieve the project goals.
Roots to Recovery
Project Recipient: The Center for Great Expectations
Recipient Address: 19B Dellwood Lane, Somerset, NJ 08873
Amount Requested: $500,000
Explanation and Justification: The funding would serve men and women referred through the criminal justice system (e.g., intensive supervision probation, regular probation, parole, Intoxicated Driver Resource Center), the Division of Child Protection & Permanency, insurance companies, other treatment providers, clients discharged from residential programs requiring a continuation of care, as well as self-referrals from individuals in the community.
Van Veghten House Restoration
Project Recipient: Somerset County Historical Society
Recipient Address: 9 Van Veghten Drive, Bridgewater, NJ 08807
Amount Requested: $2,443,000
Explanation and Justification: These preservation efforts include major interior and exterior restorations of a building that dates back to the 1720s and was the wartime headquarters of a major Revolutionary War general. Funding for the project will be used to complete necessary renovations for accessibility and inclusivity including the creation and installation of signage for greater visibility and exterior renovation for ADA compliance and accessibility. As both a NJ State and a National Historic Site, it serves as a museum, library, and headquarters of the Somerset County Historical Society.
South Brunswick Signalized Intersection Improvements
Project Recipient: Township of South Brunswick
Recipient Address: 540 Ridge Road, Monmouth Junction, NJ 08852
Amount Requested: $2,600,000
Explanation and Justification: This project will fund advance intersection improvements to a signalized intersection at US Route 1 and Ridge Road in the Township of South Brunswick, Middlesex County, New Jersey at US Route 1 Milepost 14.57. Among the several aspects of the project, it will relocate a southbound near-side exit ramp, widening several lanes, make modifications of a northbound ramp to accommodate a near-side stop-controlled jug handle, and install new traffic signals. These improvements will increase vehicular safety at this heavily traveled intersection of an urban principal arterial with an urban minor arterial.
East Brunswick Public Library Building Infrastructure
Project Recipient: Township of East Brunswick
Recipient Address: 1 Jean Walling Civic Center Drive, East Brunswick, NJ 08816
Amount Requested: $1,000,000
Explanation and Justification: This project will fund improvements in ventilation and air quality at the East Brunswick Public Library. To ensure the library can continue to successfully offer its critical services to the community and in order to recover fully from the pandemic, the East Brunswick Public Library needs to make immediate infrastructure improvements. The heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems needs to be updated to ensure a comfortable working environment for staff and patrons. Replacing the HVAC system will also improve air quality and reduce the frequency of COVID transmission.
Wireworks
Project Recipient: City of Trenton
Recipient Address: 319 East State Street, Trenton, NJ 08608
Amount Requested: $2,000,000
Explanation and Justification: The Wireworks building is a historic building that was part of the Roebling Steel Company and is listed on both the State and Federal Historic Registers. It is a large building (approx. 30,000 sf) that has been home to Art all Night, Trenton Circus, the Punk Rock Flea Market, Freedom indoor skate park, and serves as community flex space. The building requires significant restoration, repairs and capital improvements to continue to be able to be used for these purposes. These include replacing broken windows and deteriorated window frames, exterior and interior painting, roof repair, provision of a commercial kitchen to accommodate large events, additional restrooms, an upgraded HVAC system, and a new egress to meet state fire code. Funding for this project will complete the construction required for the necessary repairs and improvements to realize the project and restore this historic community space.
Witherspoon Street Improvements
Project Recipient: Municipality of Princeton
Recipient Address: 400 Witherspoon Street, Princeton, NJ 08540
Amount Requested: $4,000,000
Explanation and Justification: This project will fund the reconstruction of a main thoroughfare in Princeton, Mercer County, New Jersey. The reconstruction will include enhancing both the motor vehicle and pedestrian mobility, include streetscaping to provide a more environmentally friendly experience for residents, businesses, and passersby, and sanitary and storm sewer upgrades to enhance water collection quality.
Coalport Neighborhood Revitalization Planning
Project Recipient: Kean University
Recipient Address: 1000 Morris Avenue, Union, NJ 07083
Amount Requested: $1,000,000
Explanation and Justification: Through the proposed project, the Kean University School of Public Architecture and Watson Institute will engage the residents and several community partners of the distressed Coalport neighborhood in the City of Trenton, in Mercer County, to develop a revitalization plan. The project will provide new economic and employment opportunities for 1,600 residents, new and better options for housing and increased access to improved public spaces, and connections to adjacent communities to further the access to opportunities.