WILDWOOD – The City of Wildwood is the recipient of a $400,000 grant that is earmarked to reconstruct ramps to the Boardwalk and bring them into compliance with ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) standards.

State officials announced Nov. 21 the city is one of 19 municipalities throughout the state benefiting from the $5.9-million Small Cities Block Grants. According to state officials, the 22 grants will benefit approximately 25,000 people across the state, including senior citizens and people with disabilities.

Wildwood’s grant will be used to reconstruct ramps to the Boardwalk at Cedar Avenue, bringing them into ADA compliance. It will also be used to provide the initial phase of connecting the Boardwalk with the Pacific Avenue commercial and entertainment district.

The grants are administered by the state’s Department of Community Affairs and are designated to benefit people of low and moderate income or to address recent local needs for which no other source of funding is available.

“It is essential that we take action to develop these viable communities by improving their housing situations, their overall quality of life and their economic opportunities,” stated DCA Commissioner Richard E. Constable III. “This funding will lead to lasting improvements for the residents of these communities and help to address local community development needs.”

Wildwood has long had the Cedar Avenue ramps in its sights for reconstruction, said Mayor Ernie Troiano. The awarding of this grant will now bring those much-needed repairs to reality.

“This grant money will go a long way in helping to make our Boardwalk, and Wildwood, ADA compliant,” the mayor said. “It’s important, too, that the state recognizes our hard work in revitalizing the Pacific Avenue corridor as an entertainment and commercial district. Connecting the Boardwalk with Pacific Avenue plays a huge part in bringing this city back to what it once was – the entertainment and shopping mecca of the Jersey shore area.”