The Perfect Site for an EnVision Center
Editorial by Jim Gerrish - 01/30/18

If you don't believe East Orange is headed the way that Detroit was headed not too long ago, here is an example. The top photo shows 112 North Walnut today (01/29/2018) and the bottom photo from a Google Street View shows the same building as it was in June of 2012. It goes back much further than that, but that's as far as I could trace it photographically. I am sure the city has earlier photos of when it first fell into the category of being an S-Hole. Our photos span six years

Across the street, is another set of buildings just like it.

95 North Walnut Street, then (2012) and now (2018). Six years at least and probably more in the making. Through the terms of Mayors Robert Bowser and Lester Taylor, and now Ted Green (who has been on the city council since 2006, so he has no excuse). But we are not here to cast blame, but to suggest a solution.

On March 2, 2017, Dr. Benjamin Solomon Carson, Sr. was confirmed by the United States Senate as Donald Trump's Secretary of Housing and Urban Development in a 58–41 vote. He was born in Detroit, Michigan, and attended Southwestern High School, which today looks worse than anything in East Orange, so he knows about urban decay from first hand experience. On December 17 of 2017, he announced the launch of EnVision Centers, a new initiative designed to help HUD-assisted households achieve self-sufficiency. Located on or near public housing developments, EnVision Centers will be centralized hubs that serve as an incubator for the four key pillars of self-sufficiency; character and leadership, educational advancement, economic empowerment, and health and wellness. Through results-driven partnerships with federal agencies, state and local governments, non-profits, faith-based organizations, corporations, public housing authorities, and housing finance agencies, EnVision Centers will leverage public-private resources for maximum community impact. More Information HERE

The buildings on North Walnut Street could become the site of an East Orange EnVision Center. All it takes to get started is for Ted Green to send a Committment Letter, like the one shown below, to HUD.

The question is, will Ted Green or the City Council take this first step towards salvation for East Orange?

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