| When the Singer Sewing Company closed its factory in Elizabeth, New Jersey in the 1970s, the city lost an important employer, which had provided a secure livelihood to many local residents for more than a century. The loss of Singer jobs hurt Elizabeth as a whole, but it devastated the city's Elizabethport neighborhood, where the COPC at Kean University in Union, New Jersey is targeting its activities. The now-vacant sewing machine factory, which still sits in the heart of "E-Port," is a stark illustration - and a painful reminder - of the neighborhood's decline.
Other reminders of decline can be seen along E-Port's First Street. Once the center of the neighborhood's commercial life, this area is now home to mostly vacant buildings and empty lots. Elizabeth's most recent economic development successes - a newly opened IKEA store and the sprawling New Jersey Gardens Mall - are located just a stone's throw from E-Port, but are nearly inaccessible to local residents due to the physical barrier created by the Singer building and the Conrail railroad yards.
More than half (53 percent) of Elizabethport residents are Hispanic, 25 percent are White, and 21 percent are African American. Poverty is especially problematic in the neighborhood. The per-capita income of residents living in census tract 304, where E-Port's pubic housing communities are located, is only one-third that of Union County and about one half that of the City of Elizabeth.
Extensive revitalization is planned for Elizabethport, due to a Hope VI initiative that will involve demolition of two housing projects. The COPC Collaborative Team designed its work plan to ensure that community residents would be included in these revitalization efforts. Through a COPC-supported planning process facilitated by the Neighborhood Empowerment Council, the community identified and prioritized critical local issues, including jobs, economic development, public safety, neighborhood empowerment, and education. To address these issues, the COPC has established a Virtual Small Business Incubator and Youth Entrepreneurship Program, a Fast Track Permit Program, and a Family Day Care Network.
COPC partners include numerous community-based neighborhood organizations, plus the City of Elizabeth, its Housing Authority, Chamber of Commerce, Department of Neighborhood Services, and Superintendent of Schools. Also involved in the COPC projects are the Union County Department of Social Services, and the State of New Jersey's Urban Coordinating Council, Department of Youth and Family Services, Department of Community Affairs, Office of Neighborhood Empowerment, and Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency.
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