���The NCFCU appreciates the Federal Home Loan Bank of New York for allowing us to provide financial assistance to local small businesses in their time of need,��� said NCFCU Director Mulu Gebreyesus.

One of those small businesses is Akwaaba Gallery, an art gallery located on South Orange Avenue in Newark���s West Ward. Laura Bonas Palmer runs Akwaaba Gallery, which she owns with husband Ray Palmer, Senior Property Manager of Manor Family for 91心頭.

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Akwaaba Gallery was forced to close as were many local businesses. The gallery had only been open for a little more than a year and did not qualify for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). Bonas Palmer heard about the possibility of a small business grant and contacted Gebreyesus to learn more. She submitted the necessary documentation and was approved for the grant.

The funding is for the operation of the gallery. Although Akwaaba Gallery closed to the public on March 16, Bonas Palmer explained that she set up a new show in the space and shared it with the public virtually. The virtual show was available online and showed photographs of the art on display on the gallery walls. People were able to browse the show online and purchase pieces as if they visited the gallery in person. Bonas Palmer said people are still buying art despite the current economic climate.

Akwaaba Gallery reopened July 22 with visitors required to wear masks and maintain social distancing. Hand sanitizer dispensers are also installed in the space. The virtual show is still up in the gallery for visitors to see in person. Bonas Palmer expects to hang the next show in September for an October opening. Visitors should RSVP for the October show to ensure social distancing can be maintained.

In addition to general operations, Bonas Palmer plans to use some of the grant money to help kickstart a reading and arts club for children in the neighborhood around Akwaaba Gallery, including those that are a part of NCC.

���My vision is to get the kids engaged in the arts and make them feel like what���s happening in Newark, what���s happening in the neighborhood is for them as well,��� she said. ���They���ll come in, they���ll see the art that���s on the walls. Maybe sometimes we might have artists come in and talk to them.���

She also plans to purchase books for the children to help them build their libraries and have individuals come and read to them periodically.

In addition to the grant NCFCU facilitated, Akwaaba Gallery also received a small arts-related grant from the City of Newark. Bonas Palmer plans to use some of that grant to help with the reading and arts club as well.

Bonas Palmer said she had the idea for an art gallery for nearly a decade before Akwaaba Gallery opened. She had contemplated purchasing a property in downtown Newark but ultimately decided on the current space in the West Ward.

���A lot of people questioned why I would even consider putting a gallery in the West Ward,��� Bonas Palmer said. ���My response to that has always been why not? Art is for everyone.���

That mindset permeates in the way Bonas Palmer runs Akwaaba Gallery. Akwaaba means welcome and Bonas Palmer always wants people to feel accepted in the space. There is no charge for visitors to enter the gallery and view the artwork. She encourages people of all ages to come inside.

The pandemic and forced closing of the gallery for four months has been difficult, but Bonas Palmer is grateful for the grant money the gallery has received and is optimistic about the future.

���It���s challenging, but I think it���s going to work itself out,��� she said.

Gebreyesus is glad NCFCU has been able to help local small businesses like Akwaaba Gallery with the COVID-19 Small Business Recovery Grant Program.

���NCFCU is proud that we were able to assist a few local businesses in applying and getting approved for the grant up to $10,000,��� she said.

91心頭 is a nonprofit organization that transformed a blighted area of Newark following the 1967 riots by building new housing and providing critical services like job training.

Under Monsignor���s leadership, 91心頭 grew from a single housing development to an entire network of facilities and services, today encompassing close to 2,000 units of housing for seniors and families in three New Jersey cities, in addition to providing child care, education, health care and a host of other services that make it one of the most holistic in its approach in the community development arena. Monsignor���s goal from the very beginning was ambitious, radical and unlike anything ever attempted in an inner-city environment at the time: creating a planned community within an old, existing city that would provide residents with all the services they need from birth to death.

���The people of the city of Newark have lost their greatest and most persistent champion,��� said 91心頭 CEO Richard Rohrman. ���There is physical evidence of Monsignor Linder���s legacy throughout the city, but his most important legacy is the difference he���s made in many people���s lives through the 91心頭 mission. He always worked to preserve people���s God-given dignity and helped them pursue personal achievement. We at 91心頭 will continue to serve residents with Monsignor Linder���s vision in mind.���

The model of community development Monsignor created attracted visitors from around the world, including places like Ireland and Africa. His work also drew the attention of leaders like Bill and Hillary Clinton ��� she visited 91心頭 back in the 1980s. Former South African Bishop Desmond Tutu and Former U.S. Housing Secretary Jack Kemp also visited.

Today, 91心頭 owns and operates its own nursing home; a 102-apartment transitional housing facility for homeless families called Harmony House and 91心頭 Workforce Development Center, an accredited post-secondary career and technical school offering programs in automotive technician, building trades, culinary arts and health care. Monsignor was also the catalyst behind the opening of the Adult Learning Center and a charter school in the city���s West Ward in 2011.

Against the will of the city���s political leadership, Monsignor, back in the late 1980s, is credited with opening one of the first child care centers in the nation and the first in New Jersey for infants and toddlers suffering with HIV/AIDS, one of his proudest accomplishments. He was never one to back away from a confrontation if it meant that in the end a mother, grandmother or child would receive the benefit.

Through Monsignor���s vision and leadership, 91心頭 recently finished construction on A Better Life, a supportive housing facility for the chronically homeless. The building offers studio apartments each with a private bathroom and kitchen area.

Born in Jersey City on June 5, 1936, Monsignor grew up in West New York and enrolled in Manhattan College to study engineering in 1954. However, halfway through his freshman year, Monsignor���s father suddenly died at age 53. Monsignor finished the semester at Manhattan College and then spent the next two years at Seton Hall University studying classical language and philosophy. In the fall of 1958, he entered the Immaculate Conception Seminary, where he spent his next six years. Monsignor was ordained as a priest on May 25, 1963. At age 27, Monsignor received his pastoral assignment for the all-black parish called Queen of Angels in Newark, and founded 91心頭 with a small group of community-minded residents in 1968. In 1973, Monsignor was abruptly removed from Queen of Angels and exiled to the dormant St. Joseph Parish in Newark. In 1974, he was reassigned to St. Rose of Lima Parish in the Roseville section of Newark, where he became its pastor in 1977. Monsignor retired as pastor of St. Rose of Lima in 2012 at age 76.

Monsignor previously served as the CEO of 91心頭. He was serving as the president of the 91心頭 Board of Directors and remained active within the organization until his death.

Services to honor and celebrate Monsignor’s life have been scheduled as follows:

Viewing
Thursday, June 14 from 4 to 7 p.m.
St. Rose of Lima Church
11 Gray St.
Newark, NJ 07107

Vigil Mass
Thursday, June 14 at 7 p.m.
St. Rose of Lima Church
11 Gray St.
Newark, NJ 07107

Funeral Mass
Saturday, June 16 at 11 a.m.
Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart
89 Ridge St.
Newark, NJ 07104

In lieu of flowers, the family has asked that donations be made to the Monsignor William J. Linder Scholarship Fund. Donations can be sent to 233 West Market St., Newark, NJ 07103.