Elizabeth Deegan, the founder of the community organization Project Greenville, was born and raised in Queens. But six years ago, when she was looking to move and buy a house, the lure of cheaper housing still close to transportation and Manhattan led her to Jersey City?s Greenville section.

?I remember a teacher of mine lived in Jersey City and would commute into Manhattan,? says Deegan, 32. ?I had no idea how far she drove
into the city but I do know she arrived to school on time and most of the time, early.?

Deegan?s journey began online. After what seemed like an endless house search on Craigslist, she started posting questions about Jersey City. A few people responded positively, and her interest was piqued.

?Reading what others had to say said a great deal about the people and gave me a nice insight into the community,? she says.

After several visits to Greenville, she settled into a house that was built in 1895. She liked that the house still had some of its original charm and character preserved.

One morning in 2009, she was reading the Jersey Journal and saw the headline ?Living In Fear? accompanied by a photo of a nearby street sign. The story was about a recent shooting in the neighborhood.

She disliked the choice of words and the sense of negativity about the community she felt the article conveyed. She tried to reach someone at the local paper to complain and when she didn?t succeed, decided to create Project Greenville as an organization that would highlight and support all the positive aspects of the neighborhood.

Deegan started the organization ?simply out of a love for my neighborhood and feeling frustrated as we were rarely included as part
of the city unless the reporting was about crime,? she says. While she had no prior experience in community organizing and event planning, she has learned much of it on the job; she now runs Project Greenville while working part-time.

The early stages of Project Greenville were full of challenges. ?Probably the most difficult thing I have encountered is just getting
the word out,? she recalls. ?Most shop owners are very gracious to let me hang a flier or leave postcards in stores; even the ones who say
?no? were still sweet since I think they realized it?s an ?art/community thing? and that not a ?money making thing.?

During this process, Deegan learned to be ?brave and persistent,? she says. ?Even if what you are up to seems hard to do or a little
out of the ordinary, it?s okay. If anything, it makes it that much sweeter when things go well!?

She says being flexible is something else she?s trying to understand. ?What you have in mind for an art piece or exhibit space may not
always work just the way you?d imagined it, but it?s often still very cool to see the results,? she says.

So far, Deegan has had several successful shows. She has collaborated with Jersey City artists and gallery owners, including Farah Nuradeen, who closed her home-based gallery Downtown and moved to a new space in Ward F, at 424 Ocean Avenue. Their show ?Roommates? last year featured paintings, drawings, photography, poetry and an opening with live music.

She also teamed up with Brooke Hansson and the Friends of the Lifers this past winter for the Greenville Talented Youth Art Show.

She would love to get more local businesses involved and hopes to eventually collaborate with groups like Art House Productions, Uptown
Crew and Not Yo Mama?s Craft Fair. She also likes the idea of eventually putting on a Greenville Festival.



While it can be hard to motivate people from outside Greenville to leave their neighborhoods to come out to her events, Deegan remains
positive. ?I have a handful of people here in Jersey City I?ve become close with as well as a few really encouraging friends who travel all the way from Brooklyn, Queens and Manhattan to help me promote a neighborhood that, if they didn?t know me, likely would have no
connection,? she says.

She often finds herself pleasantly surprised when she hears what people have to say about what she?s doing.

?Ed Mitchell, a neighbor of mine, was at our first event and so was a reporter from the Jersey Journal,? she recalls. ?The event was so packed, I didn?t even see my neighbor. He approached me and said, ?This is really cool. I don?t know what else to say but this is not something we?re used to here.?

She was recognized by the city as well; in March, Deegan received a Jersey City Woman of Action award from Councilman Mike Sottolano.

Today for JC Fridays Deegan will open a new exhibition, ?A Creative Salute to the Moms and Dads and Special People Who Praise Us All,? in her backyard gallery at 128 Winfield Avenue (between Ocean Avenue and Old Bergen Road). Opening hours are from 4-8 pm today and tomorrow, Saturday June 2.

A closing reception is scheduled for Saturday, June 16, the day before Father?s Day.

The show has the theme ?moms, dads and all those who helped raise us,? and includes work by a wide array of local artists.

?Whether they are a talented parent who would like to share their skills with the community or the children (or grandchildren or nieces
and nephews or even friends) of parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles who want to give them a nod and tell a little bit about how
special they are,? she says.

She incorporates all forms of art saying, ?even those who don?t necessarily think of themselves as ?artists? will participate by
sharing and old photo and a little something about their family. Or, serve a recipe passed down from an older relative.?

Project Greenville has come a long way in a short time, and Deegan isn?t done yet ? far from it. To get involved or learn more, contact her at projectgreenville[at]gmail.com.JCI