Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update 3/26/2020

Municipal Court Session Cancellations:

• All Bergen County Municipal Court Sessions, including Oakland Court Sessions have been cancelled through April 27, 2020.

Electronics Recycling Cancelled:

• Our curbside electronics collections scheduled for April 1, 2020 and April 15, 2020 have been cancelled.

Marriage Licenses:

• While Borough Hall is closed to the public, we will not be accepting marriage applications or issuing marriage licenses per state statute, which requires these processes to be completed in-person.  When our building reopens to the public, we will again process marriage applications and licenses in the usual manner.  All other Registrar / Vital Statistics services remain available to the public.  Thank you for understanding.

Second Bergen County COVID-19 Testing Site:

• The second testing site at Bergen New Bridge Medical Center is built and the County expects to open it, at least on a limited basis, this weekend. This site will be for Bergen County Residents only, with a priority for first responders and healthcare providers.  Testing will be by appointment only – either through the Bergen New Bridge Telehealth platform or with a doctor’s prescription.

Bergen County Community College COVID 19 Testing Site Update:

• On March 28, 2020, testing at the BCCC site will be available for Healthcare workers and First Responders only.

Day Care Center Guidelines:

• Governor Phil Murphy signed Executive Order 110 requiring childcare centers to close by April 1st UNLESS they are solely serving children of essential workers.

Local Business Financial Assistance Programs:

The New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA) Board today approved a suite of new programs designed to support businesses and workers facing economic hardship due to the outbreak of the novel coronavirus COVID-19.  

• The suite of new initiatives includes:
  • Small Business Emergency Assistance Grant Program – A $5 million program that will provide grants up to $5,000 to small businesses in retail, arts, entertainment, recreation, accommodation, food service, and other services – such as repair, maintenance, personal, and laundry services – to stabilize their operations and reduce the need for layoffs or furloughs.
  • Small Business Emergency Assistance Loan Program – A $10 million program that will provide working capital loans of up to $100,000 to businesses with less than $5 million in revenues. Loans made through the program will have ten-year terms with zero percent for the first five years, then resetting to the EDA’s prevailing floor rate (capped at 3.00%) for the remaining five years.
  • Community Development Finance Institution (CDFI) Emergency Loan Loss Reserve Fund – A $10 million capital reserve fund to take a first loss position on CDFI loans that provide low interest working capital to micro businesses. This will allow CDFIs to withstand loan defaults due to the outbreak, which will allow them to provide more loans at lower interest rates to microbusinesses affected by the outbreak.
  • CDFI Emergency Assistance Grant Program – A $1.25 million program that will provide grants of up to $250,000 to CDFIs to scale operations or reduce interest rates for the duration of the outbreak.
  • NJ Entrepreneur Support Program – A $5 million program that will encourage continued capital flows to new companies, often in the innovation economy, and temporarily support a shaky market by providing 80 percent loan guarantees for working capital loans to entrepreneurs.  
  • Small Business Emergency Assistance Guarantee Program – A $10 million program that will provide 50 percent guarantees on working capital loans and waive fees on loans made through institutions participating in the NJEDA’s existing Premier Lender or Premier CDFI programs.
  • Emergency Technical Assistance Program – A $150,000 program that will support technical assistance to New Jersey-based companies applying for assistance through the U.S. Small Business Administration. The organizations contracted will be paid based on SBA application submissions supported by the technical assistance they provide.

Additional details on the NJEDA’s new programs, including eligibility requirements will be available here: https://cv.business.nj.gov. Comprehensive information about New Jersey’s response to the novel coronavirus outbreak is available here: https://covid19.nj.gov/.