A New Beginnings Housing Program intended to offer homeownership to eligible candidates via renovation of abandoned properties needs reconsideration or termination. Created in 2022 then launched with righteous fanfare in August 2023, a remodeling of the house for Vanessa Solivan in the 600 block of North Clinton Ave. parallels a popular movie The Money Pit. City officials appropriated $90,000 for redevelopment for a home worth about $150,000. City Council members on Tuesday, January 7 approved another $2,000 as the project droned with a completion target date set for February. This once feel-good story about Solivan, a single mother of three listing as a first-time homeowner, now trudges toward the finish line lacking enough power and energy to break a crepe paper tape. Unfinished stairs lead to upstairs challenges at 600 block of North Clinton Ave. renovation effort. (L.A. Parker/The Trentonian) Heating installation upgrade remains key part of New Beginnings Housing Program renovation on 600 block of North Clinton Ave. (L.A. Parker/The Trentonian) A kitchen renovation heads progress being made in New Beginnings Housing Program project on 600 block of North Clinton Ave. (L.A. Parker/The Trentonian) Living room shows abundance of clutter although space could be finished first at New Beginnings Housing Program project on 600 block of North Clinton Ave. (L.A. Parker/The Trentonian) A backyard fills with discarded building materials at 600 block of North Clinton Ave. redevelopment site. (L.A. Parker/The Trentonian) This window frame is one of several that needs repair at 600 block of North Clinton Ave. address. (L.A. Parker/The Trentonian) Show Caption1 of 6Unfinished stairs lead to upstairs challenges at 600 block of North Clinton Ave. renovation effort. (L.A. Parker/The Trentonian) Expand A request for $2,000 more, sounded paltry, considering all the dollars dropped into this rabbit hole of rehabilitation. Solivan, sleeping in an upstairs bedroom despite no apparent certificate of occupancy, voiced disappointment about a project that produces delusion. “I can’t say much. If I speak then people get mad and I look like the bad guy. People have started calling me a whistleblower,” Solivan said. Funding for the pilot program flows from a chest of dollars remaining from past regional contribution agreements. Solivan complained profusely about slow movement of the project and being almost abandoned by city officials. A December complaint attracted ridicule, including an Op-ed by Mayor Gusciora who offered a list of excuses for this near belly-up boondoggle. Solivan confessed the project held sentimental value with this house once owned by her grandmother. Plus, her mother owned a house next door for almost 40 years. Last year, her mother sold the family home and moved out of Trenton. Solivan offered a tour Monday morning as a lone worker laid tile on a kitchen floor. Workers have made improvements since our last visit but it’s difficult to imagine completion by February. Several City Council members have said the New Beginnings Housing Program needs tinkering, including giving less decision-making and responsibility to the prospective homeowner. Solivan walked outside to identify concerns about the property. An outside wall covered by mold buckles. Exposed window frames await repair. Discarded items pile near an outside door. Solivan hoped for a large dumpster. In fact, find a container big enough to hold a house and severely challenged program then drive this mess to the nearest dump site. L.A. Parker is a Trentonian columnist. Find him on Twitter @LAParker6 or email him at [email protected].