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Our History
Creating Opportunities to Transform Lives Since 1994
1994
- • Bob Guarasci founds NJCDC committed to the belief “that good people can join together to make a difference in the lives of our most vulnerable neighbors.” He establishes an AmeriCorps Program in Paterson—NJCDC’s first service program.
1996
- • Our first community residence opens on Buffalo Avenue to provide supportive community living for local adults with developmental disabilities.
1997
- • Purchase of 16 and 32 Spruce Street—future Home of NJCDC’s Headquarters and Independence House.
1998
- • Thomas Street residence opens to expand supportive community living services for adults with developmental disabilities.
• NJCDC’s YouthBuild program is established, serving the first class of 25 at-risk youth with GED prep, vocational training, and life skills instruction.
1999
- • NJCDC founds Garrett Morgan Academy in partnership with Paterson Public Schools. GMA is one of the first STEM high schools in New Jersey.
2002
- • Construction on 16 & 32 Spruce (Future Home of the NJCDC headquarters and Independence House) begins. With the support of Senator Frank Lautenberg and Congressman Bill Pascrell, NJCDC launches a new era by relocating to its current 40,000 square foot headquarters in the former Rogers Locomotive Works.
2003
- • NJCDC completes $10 million rehabilitation of the Rogers Locomotive Works building at 32 Spruce Street and relocates its headquarters.
• NJCDC opens the Paterson Family Center, a preschool for 105 three- and four-year-old Paterson children.
2004
- • School Based Youth Services Program established at Passaic County Technical Institute. Expands to three sites in 2007.
2005
- • William Waldman Independence House opens its doors at 16 Spruce Street as transitional housing for youth aging out of the foster care system.
2006
- • NJCDC establishes the Paterson Youth Council, a leadership development program for Paterson teens, providing a platform for youth involvement in civic affairs.
2008
- • NJCDC launches a place-based approach to services through the Greater Spruce Street Neighborhood Plan.
• NJCDC completes Hawthorne Heights and Birch Arms Apartments, providing service-enriched housing for 27 people with disabilities.
• The Community Charter School of Paterson opens as a K-3 school serving 400 students.
• Marion Street Apartments open, offering nine apartments for homeless youth and young adults.
2010
- • NJCDC partners with Longstreet Development to open the Congdon Mill Apartments, providing 66 units of low income housing.
• NJCDC partners with Paterson Public Schools to open the city’s first Full Service Community School at School #5.
• NJCDC launches the Great Falls Youth Corps – a program made up of high school students. dedicated to the upkeep of the Great Falls National Park – in partnership with the National Park Service.
2011
- • New Jersey Governor Chris Christie launches the Great Falls Promise Neighborhood and designates NJCDC as the lead agency.
• U.S. Senators Frank Lautenberg and Bob Menendez and Congressman Bill Pascrell join Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar to dedicate the Paterson Great Falls National Historical Park as America’s 397th national park. NJCDC CEO Bob Guarasci appointed to Federal Advisory Commission to oversee planning process for new park.
2012
- • NJCDC opens Spruce Terrace Apartments, providing housing for formerly homeless individuals with mental illness.
• NJCDC adopts a new strategic business plan that sets the direction of the organization for the next five years. The plan seeks to replicate the pioneering work of the Harlem Children’s Zone to ensure the health and well-being of neighborhood children and families.
2013
- • NJCDC receives a $450,000 grant from The Nicholson Foundation to develop a pipeline of programs and services for all 5,000 children living or going to school in Paterson’s Great Falls Promise Neighborhood.
• NJCDC opens the Rosario Coscia Children’s Garden, the William Carlos Williams Community Plaza, and the Good Food Garden for use by children and schools in the Great Falls Promise Neighborhood.
• NJCDC completes $5 million rehabilitation of the Rogers Storage Building and converts it into the Rogers Meeting Center, nestled in the new national park.
• The Compete for Life College and Career Readiness Program at John F. Kennedy High School launches, creating a career- and college-bound focus among students and families.
2014
- • NJCDC opens the Neighborhood Help Center, a one-stop community space open for neighborhood residents.
• NJCDC opens the Elm Street Apartments, creating an intergenerational apartment building for youth leaving foster care and grandparents raising grandchildren with disabilities.
• NJCDC launches Parent Academy and begins educating parents of babies, toddlers, and preschoolers.
• NJCDC co-hosts the First Annual Preschool Conference for Paterson’s early learning educators and staff. The first of its kind in Paterson, the Preschool Conference provides Paterson’s early learning educators with consistent and effective training in supporting the social and emotional competency in the children they serve.
• NJCDC launches the Youth Arts program, providing free arts education for Paterson youth.
2015
- • NJCDC expands the boundaries of the Great Falls Promise Neighborhood and offers services to many of the 8,000 children living or going to school within its boundaries.
• Community Charter School of Paterson completes its organic growth and now serves 900 students in grades K-8.
• NJCDC erects the Shohid Minar Monument at Westside Park to commemorate an event important to our neighborhood’s Bengali population.
• Paterson University Corps launches, providing college students with volunteer and internship opportunities within NJCDC’s many education and social service programs.
• First Annual Senior Sendoff awards tens of thousands of dollars in scholarships to Paterson students attending four-year colleges.
2016
- • NJCDC purchases 59 Spruce Street—Michael’s Energy Factory Preschool—saving it from bankruptcy and keeping it open for 200 students.
2017
- • Inaugural Ivy League Tour brings Paterson students to Harvard, Yale, and MIT.
• Park Corner Apartments opens, offering retail space and 11 affordable apartments.
2018
- • NJCDC opens its Great Falls Youth Center, which provides a safe place for hundreds of neighborhood teens.
• Community Charter School of Paterson celebrates its 10th Anniversary.
• NJCDC holds its 25th Holiday Toy Drive & Party for Paterson families.
2019
- • NJCDC hosts the First Annual Great Falls Neighborhood Summit, to give local residents an opportunity to engage directly with those responsible for neighborhood projects.
• NJCDC partners with St. Joseph’s Health and New Jersey Community Capital to announce the predevelopment of a new 56-unit apartment building under the state’s Healthy Housing initiative.
• NJCDC purchases the historic First Presbyterian Church on Main Street and begins planning an adaptive reuse to include a youth performing arts center.
• NJCDC partners with the school district to open Paterson’s First Full Service Community School at a high school—John F. Kennedy Educational Complex.
• NJCDC celebrates its 25th Anniversary with a series of events, including a Reception, a Concert at the Great Falls, and a Community Service Day. Governor Phil Murphy lauds NJCDC’s accomplishments at our 25th Anniversary Gala.
2020
- • NJCDC unveils plans to rehabilitate Paterson’s Lou Costello Memorial Park; Congressman Bill Pascrell and Mayor Andre Sayegh announce $1 million in City funds to fund the project and create a park that will be safer and more welcoming to families.
• NJCDC unveils plans to construct two small apartment buildings as part of a new strategy to transform vacant lots to meet affordable housing needs.
• NJCDC quickly pivots to hold all programs virtually, distribute nearly 400 Chromebooks and $20,000+ in grocery gift cards, and provide PPE to our housing residents in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
2021
- • Thanks to funding from the federal CARES Act passed through the City of Paterson, NJCDC launches an ongoing monthly FoodBox program, giving 500 boxes of nonperishable food each month to Paterson residents in need.
• NJCDC starts new initiatives to link local residents with job training programs and to directly help senior citizens lessen social isolation linked to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• NJCDC launches Bridge to Success, a four-week program designed to help students successfully transition from eighth grade to high school.
2022
- • Many new projects are in development, including the expansion of our Great Falls Youth Center.
• NJCDC helps cut the ribbon on the renovated Lou Costello Memorial Park.
• NJCDC partners with Paterson Public Schools to open a Full Service Community School at the Joseph A. Taub Middle School.
• NJCDC relaunches the City of Paterson’s Financial Empowerment Center (FEC) to provide free one-on-one financial counseling to all Paterson residents.
2023
- • NJCDC unveils the Great Falls Neighborhood Plan, created by neighborhood residents and stakeholders.
• Our Barclay Place Apartments opens, providing over 56 affordable housing units and targeted health and wellness services on-site for community members with chronic health conditions.
• NJCDC expands the Great Falls Youth Center allowing us to better serve the increasing number of students who attend our programming. The expansion includes new multipurpose space and a podcast studio.
• NJCDC celebrates the 20th anniversaries of our headquarters at 32 Spruce Street and the Paterson Family Center. We also celebrate the 15th anniversary of the Community Charter School of Paterson.
2024
- • NJCDC celebrates its 30th Anniversary on March 11th with a ceremony at the Great Falls Youth Center where a new website and podcast studio were unveiled.
92¢
of Every Dollar Donated goes directly to our Programs & Services
4K+
Children and Families Served Daily
200+
Affordable/Supportive Housing Units Built
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