N.J. adds $5 million to lease assistance grant program

The Small Business Lease – Emergency Assistance Grant Program — which is providing grants of up to $10,000 to small businesses in selected municipalities — received an additional $5 million in funding from the state, Gov. Phil Murphy announced Tuesday.

(A list of the 64 eligible municipalities is below.)

The SBL-EAGP is targeted to businesses with 5,000 square feet of leased space or less — and requires standard debarment and legal qualifications from applying businesses. Applications can be found online, and funds are distributed on a first-come, first-served basis. The application opens at 9 a.m. Feb. 22 and will remain open until the funds are exhausted.

Click here for guidelines on the program.

Through the SBL-EAGP, small businesses located in the 64 legislatively designated municipalities that have been adversely impacted by COVID-19 can apply for up to $10,000 to assist with lease payments. Eligible applicants include:

• Tenants leasing commercial space in mixed-use buildings;
• Tenants leasing space in commercial buildings;
• Tenants leasing space to operate a storefront business.

The program, managed by the New Jersey Redevelopment Authority, is one component of a broader Main Street Commercial Corridors Relief Package paid for with federal CARES Act funding. The NJRA’s CEO, Leslie Anderson, said she is hopeful the program can make a difference.

Lt. Gov. Sheila Oliver, who serves as commissioner of the Department of Community Affairs and board chair of the NJRA, said she was thrilled the state could find additional funding for the program.

“The Small Business Lease – Emergency Assistance Grant program has proven to be a successful lifeline to small businesses in New Jersey during the COVID-19 crisis, and we’re thrilled to announce this additional funding,” she said. “As we’ve seen from the success stories, these grants can mean the difference between a small business having to shutter its doors and lay off employees versus being able to stay open and serve their community through the pandemic. We value our small businesses and must do everything we can to help sustain them through this crisis.”

Anderson agreed.

“While I am optimistic about 2021 and our state’s recovery, the small business community in New Jersey is still reeling from the impact of the ongoing public health emergency,” she said. “It is crucial that we remain aggressive and continue to prioritize small businesses in our recovery efforts, particularly those in communities most severely affected by the crisis.

“At NJRA, impact and outcomes are our primary objectives, and, in Phase 1 of our Small Business Lease – Emergency Assistance Grant Program, we focused heavily on reaching small and microbusinesses that had not received any other funding. We’re immensely proud that we achieved that goal with over 70% of our grant recipients. Nonetheless, I know from the overwhelming response to Phase 1 of our program that many businesses are still struggling, and I am so grateful for Gov. Murphy and Lt. Gov. Sheila Oliver’s leadership and for this critical funding to help meet this urgent need.”

Here is the list of the 64 eligible municipalities:

1. Asbury Park City
2. Atlantic City
3. Bayonne City
4. Belleville Township
5. Bergenfield Borough
6. Bloomfield Township
7. Brick Township
8. Bridgeton City
9. Burlington City
10. Camden City
11. Carteret Borough
12. Clifton City
13. East Orange City
14. Elizabeth City
15. Garfield City
16. Glassboro Borough
17. Gloucester City
18. Gloucester Township
19. Hackensack City
20. Harrison Town
21. Hillside Township
22. Hoboken City
23. Irvington Township
24. Jersey City
25. Keansburg Borough
26. Kearny Town
27. Lakewood Township
28. Lindenwold Borough
29. Lodi Borough
30. Long Branch City
31. Millville City
32. Monroe Township (Gloucester)
33. Montclair Township
34. Mount Holly Township
35. Neptune City Borough
36. Neptune Township
37. New Brunswick City
38. Newark City
39. North Bergen Township
40. Nutley Township
41. Old Bridge Township
42. Orange City
43. Passaic City
44. Paterson City
45. Pemberton Township
46. Penns Grove Borough
47. Pennsauken Township
48. Perth Amboy City
49. Phillipsburg Town
50. Plainfield City
51. Pleasantville City
52. Rahway City
53. Roselle Borough
54. Salem City
55. Sussex Borough
56. Trenton City
57. Union City
58. Vineland City
59. Weehawken Township
60. West New York Town
61. Willingboro Township
62. Winslow Township
63. Woodbridge Township
64. Woodbury City