Christie Administration awards 13 Urban Youth
Corps grants to community and civic organizations

Beautification projects support NJDOT Clean Up NJ campaign

(Trenton) – The Christie Administration today announced 13 Urban Youth Corps grants that will enable municipal and community organizations to provide employment opportunities to hundreds of young adults as they develop and carry out projects to improve the appearance of urban gateways along or near state highways.

The program, which was revived in 2012 under the Christie Administration, is being administered by the New Jersey Department of Transportation’s (NJDOT) Civil Rights office and is funded by the Federal Highway Administration. This year the Department was able to identify sufficient federal funding to provide 13 grants instead of 12.

“The Urban Youth Corps  program helps NJDOT keep our highways attractive and well maintained, while providing important employment opportunities to young men and women who gain valuable work experience that will help them succeed in the future,” NJDOT Commissioner James Simpson said. “The projects help promote New Jersey as a great place to live, visit or establish a business.”

The recipients were selected from among 27 applicants and each will receive a $32,000 grant to cover stipends, equipment and supplies to carry out their projects. For the third straight year, grant recipients will focus on landscaping, litter abatement, installation of signage, graffiti removal and other aesthetic improvements.

“The program offers young adults the opportunity to learn teamwork and to take pride in their work and in their communities,” Melanie L. Armstrong, Director of the NJDOT Division of Civil Rights and Affirmative Action said. 

NJDOT has reviewed proposed project locations for participants’ safety and will provide oversight during the summer.

The summer Urban Youth Corps program is an important component of the Clean Up New Jersey campaign. Since it was launched in the summer of 2010, Clean Up NJ has included dozens of concentrated highway cleanup efforts by nearly 500 NJDOT maintenance workers; has bolstered litter pick-up and grass trimming by deploying Department of Corrections inmates; has revived the Adopt-A-Highway program; and has coordinated wildflower plantings. 

Project locations and grantees