The reuse of the Pabst brewery site, and other unused sites, should occur. Options for reuse should take into account the appropriateness of the reuse for the area and the degree to which it will provide jobs for local residents or other social benefits for the community. Several possibilities for reuse include: a wholesale warehouse that could supply local supermarkets, including those in the study area; light manufacturing; or a microbrewery that would supply New York City. Newark historically has been a center of brewing activities and should try to play to this strength. Examples of other successful contract brewers whose model may be transferable to the Pabst location include: the Minnesota Brewing Company in St. Paul, MN. a re-use of an abandoned macro-brewery; G. Heileman in Lacrosse, WI; and F. X. Matt in Utica, NY.

Two options for an interim use of some of the vacant lots that would enhance the community are a community garden or farmers market open once or twice each week. A site such as the triangular vacant lot at the corner of 12^th Street and Springfield Avenue is a possible location for a farmers market. The Newark Farmers’ Market already organizes such events elsewhere in the city. Assistance to establish a farmers market is also provided by Farmers Market Council of New Jersey.

High-activity centers, such as the 5-way intersection at Springfield and South 10^th Street, could be improved using landscaping to buffer the parking lot of the Associated Markets from the pedestrian realm. Additionally, facade renewal funding can be obtained to improve the building conditions at this vital intersection. Refurbishing the bus stops at the transit hub would also improve the character of the area. Building on this island of strength is consistent with the overall approach of these recommendations.

In the future, the use of pedestrian scale lighting, more street trees, and well-defined crosswalks, among other enhancements, would be appropriate. The pace of these transformations will depend on the pace of revitalization and fundraising efforts.

The businesses that responded to the survey are clearly rooted in, and contributing to, the community. They are the "Islands of Strength". Nearly half of the business owners live in the neighborhood or Newark, most own the buildings they operate, and approximately one-half of their labor force lives in the neighborhood. More than one-quarter of the owners have been operating in the community for longer than 20 years, demonstrating a real commitment to remain in the area despite difficult times. On a promising note, the survey revealed that more than half of the businesses on Springfield and South Orange Avenues are either stable or planning to expand within the next five years.

Access to capital is one of the greatest needs identified by local merchants. One strategy is to distribute the resource booklet generated by this research to help merchants identify existing resources. A second approach might be to establish some type of locally-based financial institution. Additionally, a merchants organization could work to provide some leverage to access funding.

A well-planned merchants organization could work on supporting existing businesses, guide future development in the community, and build a power base to make demands from City Hall for supportive policies. Developing two separate organizations, one based on South Orange and one on Springfield Avenue is advisable in the initial stages of organizing. The groups could communicate informally with each other until they have strengthened their member base and/or experienced success. Two functions such an organization could serve in the short term are:

More than half of the respondents in the survey indicated that they had difficulty finding qualified employees. When this was the case, the lack of work ethic and communication skills were the most common obstacles to employment. Job readiness training that develops these characteristics could make more local residents employable by local businesses. Furthermore, residents could utilize the informal network of business owners to find employment.

Existing bus stops have either been destroyed, or they are poorly marked. The NJ Transit Transit-Centered Development Program may provide resources to redevelop the transit stops along the two Avenues. Also the federal Department of Transportation has a Transportation Enhancement Grant program that could potentially provide funding towards this end.

Those businesses that prioritized increased parking were largely clustered on the eastern end of South Orange Avenue. Indeed, a check on parking lot location revealed that very few parking lots exist in this area. A public parking lot for use by South Orange shoppers could increase the market for local businesses. Care should be taken that the parking lot does not detract from the pedestrian experience, and that the view of cars is well screened from the street.

Nearly half of the businesses in the community reported being a victim of a crime in the last year. Seventy-five percent of the businesses we surveyed felt that more police patrols were the most important improvement for their business. The persuasiveness of crime along both corridors suggests police attention should be distributed along the entirety of the two avenues. A neighborhood watch organization could further prevent crimes from taking place. For more information about crime issues in the CHDC target area, please see Volume 4.

There is a conflict between the merchant’s need to protect their investments, and the toll these security measures have taken on the aesthetics of the community. The impervious roll down gates, barbed and concertina wire fencing and other security barriers give the streetscape a very ominous image. Potential solutions include: replacing impervious gates with grated gates that allow store lighting to reach the street, improved street lighting, window bars, a neighborhood watch association, and more policing in the neighborhood.

We strongly recommend that CHDC set priorities around the community’s islands of strength: its merchants. The West Side Park Community has a tremendous asset in the area’s merchants. Their commitment to this community is demonstrated by their tenure of operation, employment of community residents for employees, the location of their homes, and their establishment of informal networks in the neighborhood.

Central nodes of activity, such as the 5-road intersection of Springfield Avenue at 10^th Street and the intersection of Bergen Street and South Orange Avenue are the commercial corridor’s anchors. There is strength in numbers and the businesses beyond the islands of strength have suffered through no fault of their own. They are victims of Newark’s systemic problems outlined throughout this report. We believe that these surviving businesses should be rewarded for their perseverance along two of Newark’s badly declining commercial corridors. Merchants should be included in decisions regarding the revitalization of the area. They must be supported by city and nonprofit agents by increasing access to capital, technical assistance and city services. City services should also be enhanced; particularly policing, street sweeping, trash hauling, and the maintenance of infrastructure. Future development should maintain the character of the corridors, i.e. multi-story mixed use buildings with retail on the ground floor and residential units above.