NEWARK, NJ — New Jersey state officials have awarded $100,000 to five communities – including Newark – as part of a challenge to create local programs that will improve the lives of their residents.

On Tuesday, the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA) announced that it will award $100,000 to five communities as part of the second round of its "Innovation Challenge": Cape May County, Hoboken, Newark, Paterson and Plainfield. According to the NJEDA, the Innovation Challenge is "designed to encourage municipalities and counties to advance plans to strengthen their local innovation ecosystems in collaboration with local higher education institutions and other strategic partners."

Governor Phil Murphy first announced the Innovation Challenge last summer, which resulted in nine communities being awarded NJEDA funding to help advance their local projects. Here are the five proposals that earned awards in the latest round of funding.

City of Newark The City of Newark intends to create a plan for the expansion of its technology infrastructure and to extend existing fiber optic and wireless communication systems by providing street-level kiosks where residents can access the Internet. Newark officials believe that these projects will provide immediate quality of life benefits citywide while serving as beacons to guide local investments into the technology infrastructure. The city will partner on the plan with the New Jersey Institute of Technology, the Newark Community Economic Development Corporation, the New Jersey Innovation Institute, Public Service Electric & Gas, and iNeighborhoods.

"Our goal has been to extend the reach of our internet beyond our downtown and to all of our residents," Newark Mayor Ras J. Baraka said. "This grant from the NJEDA will help us accomplish that. I thank Governor Murphy and the NJEDA for developing this program and helping to make Newark a stronger city."

City of Hoboken

Hoboken has proposed plans to team up with Stevens Institute of Technology, the Hoboken Public Library, and Propelify, LLC to launch a planning process for the creation of a co-working innovation center that will make the vital resources of space, mentorship, capital, and community available to innovative practitioners and entrepreneurs. The city anticipates that this innovation center will support the incubation of Smart City small businesses in northern New Jersey. "I'd like to thank Governor Murphy and the NJEDA for recognizing Hoboken in this second round of funding," Hoboken Mayor Ravinder S. Bhalla said. "We are thrilled to partner with local innovation leaders and this investment by the NJEDA will help solidify and nurture the emerging tech community in North Jersey."