The City of Newark will continue to lease hundreds of rooms in a local hotel in order to provide housing for people experiencing homelessness during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The municipal government of New Jersey’s largest city was authorized by the Newark Municipal Council to lease 325 single occupancy rooms and a few other areas at the Holiday Inn Newark International Airport North on Frontage Road. A new ordinance states that the rooms are being leased “in order to stem the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on the homeless, senior population and any other vulnerable population.”
The ordinance, which was adopted on July 8 and certified on July 17, states that Newark’s purchasing agent and the company that owns the hotel previously entered into two lease agreements covering from April 6 through June 24. This ordinance will cover the lease from June 25 to September 1, allowing for up to $1,616,325 in rent payments.
A copy of the latest lease agreement that was posted by the municipal government states that this rapid rental housing service will be for “non-COVID-19 positive patients only” who need to shelter in place. It adds that three additional rooms are being provided at no cost for police officers from the Newark Department of Public Safety “for the purpose of providing them with a place to rest” and that the hotel owner will provide breakfast, lunch, and dinner each day for up to 325 people.
The hotel is situated next to Northern State Prison across Interstate 78 and Routes 1 and 9 from Newark Liberty International Airport. It was previously known as the Ramada Plaza Newark Airport before undergoing a rebranding at the end of 2019.