NEWARK, NJ — Latoya Hardin let out a scream of delight after hearing her name called out by the CEO of Invest Newark during the Monday, Jan. 29, drawing at City Hall.
Invest Newark CEO Marcus Randolph had just reached into a spinning drum and pulled out the key to Hardin’s new home.
Hardin, 39, was one of seven new homeowners to get the keys to their new homes — vacant city-owned properties being sold for $1. The expectation is the owners will renovate the properties with assistance from a mortgage from the Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America, known as NACA.
“I’m proud to be here. I did it for my son, so he always has a place to go,” said Hardin, who attended with her 11-year-old, Corey Grant.
Hardin, a lifelong Newarker and senior account executive with Dish Satellite TV, knows she has hard work ahead of her, and that it could be almost a year before she and her family can live in the new property on Stuyvesant Avenue in the West Ward.
“Structural work. There’s mold. There’s asbestos. Everything has to be done from the ground up,” said Hardin, who said she is a first-time homeowner. “Yes, it is very exciting.”