North Bergen Housing Authority Honored with Community Impact Award for Efforts During Pandemic
NORTH BERGEN, NJ – The Township of North Bergen Housing Authority (NBHA) has been recognized for its commitment to its residents during the pandemic by the National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials (NAHRO), and is being presented with the prestigious Community Impact Award at the NAHRO National Conference & Exhibition on September 22nd in San Diego.
“I am very proud that our housing authority is the recipient of this award,” said Mayor Nick Sacco. “The pandemic hit our community very hard but thanks to the efforts of the NBHA we took the necessary steps to ensure our residents continued to receive the services they needed. Thank you to NAHRO for this award, as well as a sincere thank you to our NBHA staff for their resolute commitment to their jobs.””
The Township of North Bergen Housing Authority (NBHA) serves a largely Latino/minority community. Of the 986 public housing units they reserve 811 units for elderly and/or disabled persons. During the pandemic, the transportation services that many tenants rely on were suspended during periods of quarantine. The NBHA staff recognized a need to get vital household necessities and fresh food products to the elderly, handicapped, and less mobile tenants, so they established partnerships with local warehouse distributors who periodically donate large quantities of sundry and household items for needy persons.
“We don’t do this work for recognition, but it is encouraging when it is acknowledged,” said Gerald Sanzari, Executive Director of the NBHA. “I am very excited to send a member of my staff to attend the national conference later this month because it will provide them with a tremendous opportunity to make valuable new contacts, develop relationships, and research new housing products, technologies, and solutions.”
NAHRO was established in 1933 as a membership organization of more than 19,500 housing and community development providers and professionals administering more than 3 million homes for more than 8 million people throughout the United States. It is the leading advocate for affordable housing and strong, viable, and sustainable communities for all Americans.
NAHRO created Awards of Merit to honor their members’ successes and lift up the ways in which they’ve built better workplaces, homes, programs, and communities. While these awards honor the work of NAHRO members nationwide, they also provide a catalog of innovative local solutions from agences all over the country.
Its premier annual event will be held in late September for more than 1,000 housing and community development professionals who will gather in San Diego for educational sessions, dynamic speakers, knowledge sharing, networking, and of course, product and service shopping.
