State budgets put $7.9M into Paterson, N.J. youth center, records show

JERSEY INTEL EXCLUSIVE

First reported by Jersey Intel. PATERSON, N.J. — Three New Jersey state budgets have set aside $7.925 million for the New Jersey Community Development Corporation’s youth center work in Paterson, N.J., the official state appropriations acts show. On Thursday, Oct. 29, the General Assembly is scheduled to vote on a bill that would hand the nonprofit whatever remains of a separate $2 million state grant that was first awarded to the city.

That is millions more in state taxpayer funding than has been publicly tied to the $14 million Great Falls Youth Center expansion at 54 Front St., which broke ground Friday, Oct. 16. When the Paterson City Council backed a memorandum of understanding for the 40,000-square-foot facility in October 2025, the announced split was $10 million from NJCDC and $2 million from the City of Paterson using funds from the state Department of Community Affairs, according to Jersey Digs, which cited TAPinto Paterson.

The money, year by year, in the official appropriations acts

A review of the enacted FY2024 through FY2027 New Jersey state budgets and Office of Legislative Services (OLS) budget scoresheets shows five separate line items under the Department of Community Affairs tied to NJCDC or recreation-center construction in Paterson:

The three enacted youth-center lines alone add up to $7.925 million. If A5287/S4455 is enacted, up to $2 million more from the city’s FY2025 recreation-center line would follow.

A separate pending bill sponsored by Assemblyman Al Abdelaziz (D-Passaic), A1915, would appropriate another $10 million from the General Fund to NJCDC for community projects in Paterson — with at least $4 million designated for the Great Falls Youth Center (which the bill lists at its existing 52 Front St. address), at least $3 million for a Great Falls Innovation Hub at 59 Spruce St., and at least $3 million for affordable housing with ground-floor retail at 98 Spruce St.

Where the first $2.25 million went

NJCDC’s FY2024 grant application to the state Department of Community Affairs (Application No. 2024-05206-0539, published by the Office of Legislative Services) shows the first $2.25 million state budget grant funded both the acquisition of the 54 Front St. expansion site and operating and renovation costs across three Paterson properties:

• $320,000 to purchase 54 Front St. in Paterson
• $40,000 to demolish the house located at 54 Front St.
• $100,000 for construction of an outdoor basketball court at 54 Front St.
• $300,000 in operating costs at the existing Great Falls Youth Center at 52 Front St.
• $370,000 in operating costs and $500,000 in renovations at 59 Spruce St.
• $300,000 in construction costs at 320 Main St.
• $320,000 in salary support for three staff positions

On the application’s “Statement of Mayor/County Official” page, NJCDC founder and CEO Robert Guarasci signed the form and wrote that municipal sign-off was “not applicable to us as we are a non-profit.”

What Thursday’s bill does

A5287, sponsored by Abdelaziz, and its Senate counterpart S4455, sponsored by Sen. Benjie Wimberly (D-Passaic), amend the FY2026 state budget (P.L.2025, c.74) so that “the unexpended balance of the amount appropriated for City of Paterson – Recreation Center Capital Improvements (PTRF) by P.L.2024, c.22, the annual State appropriations act for Fiscal Year 2025, is reassigned to the New Jersey Community Development Corporation to support a youth center project in the City of Paterson, subject to the approval of the Director of the Division of Budget and Accounting.”

The Assembly Appropriations Committee’s June 23, 2026 statement reporting the bill says the measure “does not increase appropriations in the Fiscal Year 2026 appropriations act.” That committee statement notes that the state appropriated “$5.13 million to the New Jersey Community Development Corporation for this purpose in Fiscal Year 2025,” but does not mention the $2.25 million appropriated in FY2024 or the $550,000 added in the FY2027 budget enacted days later. The bill is listed on the General Assembly’s board list for the Thursday, Oct. 29, 2026 voting session at 1 p.m.

What the public records leave unanswered

• How much of Paterson’s $2 million grant remains unspent: Neither A5287 nor its committee statement specifies the exact dollar balance left in the city’s FY2025 recreation-center line item, or whether the city spent any portion before the reassignment bill was introduced in June 2026.
• How much of NJCDC’s stated $10 million share is state money: NJCDC’s Oct. 22, 2026 release on the Oct. 16 groundbreaking credits private donors — including Marilyn Clark and Robert and Linda Daleo — and notes a College Central partnership with William Paterson University, but does not break out how much of the $14 million project is covered by the $7.925 million in FY2024, FY2025, and FY2027 state budget lines.
• How the FY2025 and FY2027 grants were allocated across sites: Unlike the FY2024 DCA application posted by OLS, the site-by-site grant agreements and disbursement records for the FY2025 ($5.125 million) and FY2027 ($550,000) appropriations have not yet been published on the Legislature’s budget portal.

Jersey Intel sent written questions on Monday, Oct. 26 to NJCDC CEO Robert Guarasci, bill sponsors Assemblyman Al Abdelaziz and Sen. Benjie Wimberly, and Mayor André Sayegh’s office and Business Administrator Daniel Golabek, and filed an Open Public Records Act request with the City of Paterson for the $2 million FY2025 recreation-center grant agreement, spending ledger, and the October 2025 memorandum of understanding for 54 Front St. This story will be updated with any responses.

How state aid and tax-exempt projects affect Paterson taxpayers

Because nonprofit community facilities are exempt from local property taxes while drawing state Property Tax Relief Fund (PTRF) and General Fund grants, Passaic County homeowners and residents tracking municipal budgets and redevelopment costs can check how state aid and local spending affect their own tax bills on GardenState.ai. Homeowners can run a free assessment and overpayment check using the NJ Property Tax Calculator or look up current market estimates and comparable sales with the Free NJ Home Value & CMA Tool.

Tip: Have a state grant agreement, DCA disbursement record, or municipal MOU for Paterson capital projects? Send documents to jerseyintel@gmail.com.

Jersey Intel asks: Should state budget grants to nonprofits like NJCDC be listed alongside a project’s total cost when groundbreakings are announced? Share your take in the comments.