ABOUT THE TRENTON NEIGHBORHOOD RESTORATION CAMPAIGN

 

The Trenton Neighborhood Restoration Campaign (TNRC) is a group of local and regional stakeholders that have been working for the revitalization of Trenton since 2011.

 

The TNRC was convened by the Housing and Community Development Network of New Jersey, a statewide advocacy group, to bring together the agencies, activists, and policy advocates working on vacant and abandoned properties towards a coordinated approach. It is chaired by Isles, Inc., a Trenton-based non-profit that has been supporting self-reliant, sustainable communities for over 30 years.

 

In 2009, the City of Trenton worked with Isles to survey Trentonians about their environmental health concerns, under a Community Action for a Renewed Environment (CARE) grant from the EPA. This survey found that Trenton residents were more concerned about vacant and abandoned properties than about pollution, site contamination, lead paint, or any other issue on the list. 

 

Based on this mandate, the TNRC began advocating for solutions to the problem, both at the policy and project level. Building off previous efforts by the Trenton Council of Civic Associations, the TNRC created and updated the first citywide inventory of vacant and abandoned properties in 2011-12. Although this list was limited, it identified over 3,000 buidings and lots in Trenton as vacant. 

 

In 2014, under a grant received by Isles from the Rita Allen Foundation, the TNRC was able to organize this project: the first truly comprehensive, parcel-level survey of all the vacant properties in Trenton -- mapped, published, and updated on this interactive site. The TNRC also organized residents and local groups to draw attention to the problems caused by vacant and abandoned properties, making this a high-profile issue in the 2014 mayoral campaign. 

 

We continue to work closely with the City of Trenton, our research partners, and stakeholders on the ground to use this data and put in place effective policy solutions that will turn blight into opportunity for New Jersey's capital city.​