Brick to Extend No-Cost Lease at Civic Plaza to ‘Community Threads’ Nonprofit

Civic Plaza (Photo: Daniel Nee)

Brick officials are planning to extend a no-cost lease at the Civic Plaza property to a nonprofit organization that has proposed using the space as a distribution point for clothing and other items that they say will help prevent “child maltreatment” allegations.

The council introduced an ordinance that would provide for a one-year lease to “Choose Love Celebrate Life,” known by its acronym “CLCL,” an organization that would operate a storefront called “Community Threads” at the location at 270 Chambers Bridge Road. The organization as a whole exists with the goal of donating clothing and other items to children so that they can avoid becoming the subject to parental neglect complaints if they are found to be lacking appropriate clothing for the season, or other items in their home, such as hygiene products. These items would be distributed at the storefront, and eventually, could also be delivered.

“The overarching goal of the program is to reduce poverty-based child maltreatment allegations,” said Tiffany M. deSousa, the chairwoman of the organization’s board of directors, who explained the nonprofit’s cause to council members last week. “If your next-door neighbor’s kids are outside without coats and it’s freezing, your only option is to call a hotline and report them. But all you saw is the lack of a tangible item.”

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The CLCL organization has already started a hotline that provides an alternative to calling a state agency, and will use the Brick site to physically distribute clothing and other items. According to the ordinance authorizing the lease, the storefront would be open from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday, until 9 p.m. on Fridays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays, and closed Sunday.

“The purpose of all of this is reducing family crisis, runaway homeless youth and negative outcomes,” said deSousa, primarily by “reducing parental stress.”

The lease would run from Sept. 1, 2025 and Aug. 30, 2026, with the option for four additional lease years at no cost or a “nominal” cost. The organization would be required to submit an annual report to the township about its activities, ongoing mission, the value of the tenancy and confirmation of its status as a nonprofit organization.

The ordinance is subject to a public hearing and second vote before adoption, which is scheduled for the Dec. 9, 2025 council meeting.