A group of Irvington property owners has formed a non-profit, volunteer organization to enhance redevelopment efforts in the township’s east and south wards.

 

Known as POWER (Property Owners Working for Economic Development), the group was created from a security task force formed by the Irvington Redevelopment Advisory Committee. Launched in the spring of 2003, IRAC consists of municipal officials and property owners to guide potential new investors through Mayor Wayne Smith’s comprehensive plan that has attracted approximately $50 million in ongoing and future development throughout traditionally struggling but strategically-located areas.

 

The new group will assess redevelopment needs; create strategies and action plans; and research, identify and develop in-kind and grant resources, while engaging the community’s partnership and support.

 

POWER’s first public initiative, a bus tour of redevelopment projects and target areas, was held in March 2006, one month after its o fficial launch. “We wanted to start things off right by seeing the progress in action,” according to Brian J. McCarthy, the chairman of POWER and owner of BJM Construction, a veteran of property development in Irvington.

 

Attended by more than 40 property owners, developers and local officials, the tour was led by the mayor, who provided a project description for each stop and explained the municipal role in redevelopment.

 

The next step, according to McCarthy, is to develop a mailer to residents and businesses in the area to educate the public on POWER’s programs. “Revitalization is not only about shiny new buildings and facades; the community is the most important part of this effort,” McCarthy said.

 

The mayor said an alliance among township officials, property owners and the community will make a “positive difference…we’re on the right track.”

 

“We talk about good neighbors and good corporate neighbors, and POWER embodies that,” Smith stated.

 

Toward that end, McCarthy added, plans this summer call for holding neighborhood block parties and partnering with the township’s Weed & Seed program to hold a series of movie screenings at night (Weed & Seed is a federal program from which Irvington has secured funding to “weed” out social ills and “seed” in community development through various initiatives).

 

“ Irvington’s potential is unlimited, but before we can tap it, we have to change peoples’ perception of us and what we are capable of doing. The sky really is the limit,” he said. Local property owners and developers interested in attending Irvington POWER’s weekly meetings can contact McCarthy at (973) 399-1006.

 

Irvington Redevelopment Team

Mayor Wayne Smith
Wayne Bradley, Team Leader (Business Administrator)
Toni Bennett, Acting Dir., Dept. of Community Development
Judith Deinhardt, Zoning Officer
Cassandra C. Chatman, Acting Coordinator, Urban Enterprise Zone
William Long, Senior Planner
Sheldon Bross, Esq., Chair, Mayor’s Economic Development Committee

 

For information on any aspect of Irvington redevelopment, please call (973) 399-6621.

 

 

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