NJIT to Launch ‘Newark Live Local’ Incentive Program

On Apr 12, 2019

Beginning April 15, New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) will join a growing citywide initiative introduced to encourage its employees to “live local.”

NJIT President Joel S. Bloom announces that the university will provide its faculty and staff with new special incentives as part of its involvement in the “Newark Live Local” initiative — a community-based program designed to attract full-time employees from participating organizations to live in Newark. Newark Live Local includes an increasing number of major Newark-based organizations that are now incentivizing employees to become residents and live in Newark through the program, including Rutgers University-Newark, RWJ Barnabas Health, Prudential, Audible and NJPAC.

“NJIT is a part of the vibrant and growing Newark community and we intend to be fully engaged with its growth, particularly through this outstanding initiative that is a collaboration with the city and the Newark Alliance,” said President Bloom. “NJIT’s involvement in Live Local stems from our commitment to the city and our long-standing roots in the community. We believe in the goals, as well as the contributions we can all make towards the city’s positive trajectory.”

“NJIT continues their long-standing commitment to the city of Newark, our residents, and their faculty and employees with this new initiative,” said Newark Mayor Ras J. Baraka. “As a pledge to Newark’s 2020, this new program will provide an incentive for those who currently live in Newark and will ultimately be a way to attract those who may want to move and call Newark their new home. Strategic partnerships and initiatives such as this will catapult Newark’s future to one that includes economic prosperity for all residents.”

This month’s launch of NJIT’s “Newark Live Local” program will now provide eligible full-time employees working and living within the program’s designated “Program Incentive Areas” with a one-time incentive of up to $3,000 toward the cost of their housing during the program’s initial one-year pilot period. The program’s incentives will support both existing renters and new renters who live within those defined incentive areas.

NJIT’s participation in “Newark Live Local” is part of the university’s ongoing involvement with a broader, comprehensive economic development strategy for the City of Newark — “Newark 2020: Hire, Buy, Live Local.” Mayor Baraka first announced the three-pronged initiative in 2017 with the aim of employing more local residents, providing greater resources for local businesses and offering greater incentives for city employees to become active Newark citizens.

“Newark Live Local” is the last of the initiative’s three interrelated strategies to be rolled out and administered through the Newark Alliance, a leading nonprofit organization dedicated to the ongoing revitalization of Newark.

“Live Local takes corporate engagement to another level,” said Newark Alliance CEO Aisha Glover. “We’ve seen anchor institutions hire locally and contract Newark business owners. Now, we’re seeing them encourage their employees to also make an investment in Newark, to become residents of the city, not just employees.  We know if you live locally, you’re more invested in the community, you’re volunteering, shopping locally and become part of the fabric of the city.”

The “Newark Live Local” program for NJIT employees will be effective as of April 15, 2019 and enrolled participants may be reviewed for potential renewal in the program after a twelve-month period.

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