$876K Grant To Help Burlington County Battle Coronavirus

BURLINGTON COUNTY, NJ — Burlington County will receive more than $876,000 from the federal government to help combat the new coronavirus pandemic, U.S. Sens. Bob Menendez and Cory Booker announced.

The county will receive a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) for $876,226, the senators announced. It is part of $82,202,575 in federal funding awarded to New Jersey, its counties and municipalities from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) to combat the growing pandemic.

It is the first wave of funding for New Jersey from the $2 trillion emergency stimulus package Congress passed last week, the senators said.

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Community Development Block Grants are used to help communities pay for infrastructure, economic development projects, public facilities' installation, community centers, housing rehabilitation, public services, clearance/acquisition, microenterprise assistance, code enforcement and homeowner assistance, among other purposes.

“When we negotiated the largest ever emergency response package in our nation’s history, we demanded that it quickly deliver federal dollars to our communities on the front lines of the fight against COVID-19. Today, we are delivering on that promise and the first installment of what will be billions of dollars flowing from Washington to help our state, our hospitals, our residents and small businesses weather the storm,” Menendez said. “And we cut a whole lot of red tape in this bill so that local leaders can immediately put these dollars to work in the fight against COVID-19, whether it’s keeping our health departments fully staffed or retrofitting facilities for testing or providing grants to struggling businesses and non-profits.”

The largest single funding award in the state is going to Bergen County, which will receive more than $8.3 million. It has seen 3,494 total cases and 75 deaths during the outbreak.

“The public health crisis facing New Jersey and our nation requires a coordinated response from all levels of government,” Booker said. “When fighting to ensure New Jersey receives the necessary federal resources, our priorities are protecting the brave medical workers fighting on the front lines of this pandemic, and standing up to help workers, families, small businesses, and the most vulnerable among us. Today marks the next step down a long road of delivering federal funding to respond to this crisis, stimulate economic recovery, and strengthen our communities.”

As of Thursday, Burlington County had 299 total cases of coronavirus, with nine deaths and 15 people who had been cleared from quarantine.

See related: NJ Coronavirus Updates: Here's What You Need To Know