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State Sen. Ayesha Wahab outlines housing, homelessness and immigration measures and presents $1 million for Ash Street Park
Summary
State Sen. Ayesha Wahab delivered a legislative update to the Newark City Council on Oct. 23, highlighting state measures for housing affordability, renter protections, and immigrant legal services. She announced programs now in law and presented the city a $1 million funding check for Ash Street Park improvements.
State Sen. Ayesha Wahab (D) briefed the Newark City Council on Oct. 23 about a package of housing and social-service measures she helped advance and presented the city with a $1 million state allocation for Ash Street Park improvements.
Wahab told the council her priorities this year focused on housing affordability and protections for residents. “Housing is the one stabilizer in a household,” Wahab said. She described a new down‑payment assistance program that the state put into the budget, saying it created “$300,000,000 available to California residents who are first time homebuyers” to help with down payments and to be recycled to the next eligible buyer.
Wahab also discussed SB 681 (referred to in her remarks as SB 6 81), a longer bill she described as part of an “affordability package” that includes protections for people hit by so‑called “zombie mortgages” and caps on homeowners association fines for non‑safety issues. “If a fine and a fault has nothing to do with emergency or health or safety, the fine is capped at $100,” she said.
On homelessness and supportive housing, Wahab credited lobbying that restored funding to the Homeless Housing Assistance and Prevention program and said the state put money back into local aid this year. Newark Mayor Michael Hannon told the council the city had already used state HomeKey funding to secure nearly $40 million to convert an underutilized hotel into about 125 supportive housing units.
Wahab highlighted other measures and initiatives in the district: an increase in the renter tax credit, incentives tied to the Low Income Housing Tax Credit to spur affordable development, a $10 million appropriation for the Children’s Holistic Immigration Representation Project to provide counsel and social work support for unaccompanied children in immigration proceedings, and a state cap on insulin co‑pays of $35 per month.
Wahab described outreach her office has done on immigration issues and said her district office provides community assistance, including pro bono legal referrals and multilingual town halls. She noted the district’s diversity and an allocation of funds she said targeted senior services, parks and infrastructure: “We put in a million dollars for improvements for the Ash Street Park facilities,” Wahab said while presenting the check.
Mayor Hannon and city staff thanked the senator for the allocation and for working with the city on housing and homelessness matters. Hannon said city staff responded quickly when the state requested a project list to meet budget deadlines and that the council expects to use the state funding on the park improvements recommended by city staff.
The session was ceremonial as well as informational: Wahab also described statewide efforts including protections removed from law (she referenced eliminating an outdated spousal exemption), and she encouraged residents to use state services and the senator’s office for casework. No formal council action was required on the senator’s presentation; the $1 million allocation will be processed through the city’s capital project procedures and returned to council as needed for appropriation and contracting.
