|
ADVOCACY TEAMS! Click here to find out when your next meeting is. |
 |
145 W. Hanover Street Trenton, NJ 08618 Phone: (609) 393-3752 Fax: (609) 393-9016 E-mail: info@hcdnnj.org |
The Housing and Community Development Network of New Jersey is a statewide association of more than 250 affordable housing and community development corporations, individuals and other organizations that support the creation of housing and economic opportunities for low- and moderate-income New Jerseyans.
What's Happening...
(click here to read the latest edition of the Network's monthly newsletter)
Victory! No extension for COAH deadline
Advocates caution that opponents will still try to gut A.500
The Housing & Community Development Network of NJ, Fair Share Housing Center, and other allies praised Department of Community Affairs Commissioner Joseph Doria’s decision to keep the December 31, 2008 deadline for towns to submit plans showing how they will comply with the Council on Affordable Housing’s (COAH) new rules.
“Commissioner Doria has correctly recognized that now is not the time for further delay,” Housing and Community Development Network Executive Director Diane Sterner said. “The Commissioner has wisely stayed the course of creating more housing opportunities New Jerseyans can afford, consistent with the Administration’s support of the landmark housing reform bill passed earlier this year.”
Commissioner Doria announced the decision December 23 in a letter responding to the New Jersey League of Municipalities’ request for an extension. Doria noted that DCA had determined after serious thought that “an across-the-board extension of the deadline would not be consistent with COAH’s statutory obligations under the Fair Housing Act.” Doria also noted that waiver provisions allow COAH to deal with individual municipalities facing unique situations on a case-by-case basis.
The Network and its allies want to thank all of our members and friends who participated in our campaign to contact the Governor and urge him to reject a blanket extension of the COAH deadline. Working together, we have secured the opportunity for municipalities to provide more homes that more people can afford. Thank you and congratulations! The Network looks forward to working with our members and other community groups, developers, and municipalities over the coming months to help implement the plans that are submitted.
However, all of the advocates warned that the parties who asked the Governor for the moratorium have publicly stated that they wanted the delay to help them launch an attack on the comprehensive housing reforms passed this summer, known as A.500. Their intent, which they have indicated they will pursue despite the decision on COAH’s deadline, is to strip A.500 of its powerful provisions before they’ve been fully implemented.
The Network calls on Governor Corzine, members of the Legislature and local elected officials to work together to implement the reforms and preserve the following major elements of A.500:
-
The State Housing Commission, to gather and track information on housing needs, and create an annual Strategic Housing Plan with public input and measurable outcomes;
-
The 2.5% Statewide Developer Fee on non-residential development which is expected to generate $60 - $80 million annually to support affordable housing development;
-
The very low income housing component, requiring state housing programs to target 13% of all affordable homes they create to very low-income households, nearly doubling NJ’s current commitment to this population;
-
The 1 for 1 replacement of deed-restricted affordable housing in redevelopment areas to help protect NJ’s scarce affordable housing stock;
-
The 20% affordable housing requirement in all Transit Oriented Development, other state-supported development and regional planning areas; and,
-
The elimination of Regional Contribution Agreements (RCAs), and dedication of $20 million to create an Urban Fund for housing production and rehabilitation.
Click here for a media release by the Network and its allies, here for Commissioner Doria’s statement, and here for a news report.
To sign a statement in support of increased housing choices for all New Jersey residents, click here. To get involved in this effort, contact Staci Berger, sberger@hcdnnj.org
Network, allies applaud passage of foreclosure legislation
Will continue to call for additional provisions
As New
Jersey leaders supporting a comprehensive response to the state's growing
subprime foreclosure crisis, and together representing more than 100,000 New
Jersey residents and over 300 member organizations, the Housing and Community
Development Network of New Jersey and New Jersey Citizen Action congratulated
the state Legislature for passing the NJ Mortgage Stabilization and Relief
Act (S.1599/A.3506) on Dec. 15, and urged Governor Corzine to sign it into law
as quickly as possible, so that New Jersey families threatened with foreclosure
can find some relief.
Diane Sterner, executive director of HCDNNJ, said, "The foreclosure crisis is
dire, threatening individual families and communities that have struggled to
rebound and revitalize. We are very glad that the legislature has taken this
step towards providing solutions for New Jersey's homeowners and neighborhoods.
But Sterner, and Phyllis Salowe-Kaye, executiver director of NJCA, noted that
several key provisions that were in the original version of the bill were
omitted from the bill passed by both houses of the Legislature.
"We look forward to working with state letgislators in the coming year to address elements that were not included in this bill, such as securing the right to rent by former homeowners and establishing a foreclosure impact fee on high-cost, subprime loans to be paid by the lender when they opt to foreclose." Sterner said.
The Network and its allies, New Jersey Citizen Action and the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice, worked with the Senators, Assembly Members and legislative staff in both chambers to craft the legislation. We appreciate their dedication and leadership assisting New Jersey’s threatened families and neighborhoods.
We also want to thanks all of you who joined with us in the campaign for passage by contacting your legislators and urging them to support the bill. Without people willing to make their voices heard, needed reforms cannot be accomplished.
Click here for a Joint Statement by the Network and NJCA on the bill's passage. Click here for a news story.
Go to our Foreclosure Central for more information.
Membership Meeting a Big Success
Still Building from the Ground Up
The Housing & Community Development Network of New Jersey’s Semi-Annual Membership Meeting, held December 10 at the Trenton Marriott in Trenton, titled Building from the Ground Up: 20 Years of Community Development in NJ, kicked off the Network’s 20th anniversary year. The event included a retrospective, workshops on winning community development strategies, an awards ceremony and the election of executive board members. Thank you all for making the event a pleasure and a success!
The Network also thanks the generous sponsors of the meeting: Citi, Amalgamated Bank, Sun Bank and the Bank of New York Mellon.
Click here for a press release on the event, here for milestones of 20 years of service, here for highlights of 2008 and here for policy priorities for 2008-2009.
Network responds to "seriously flawed" OLS report on fair share obligations
“A tortured and implausible reading” of the state’s housing laws and historical practice is at the root of a highly flawed and misleading analysis released last week by the Office of Legislative Services, said a nationally recognized housing expert and Board Member of the Housing and Community Development Network of New Jersey.
Alan Mallach, a Non-resident Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution, strongly objected to the OLS analysis, calling on legislative leaders and OLS to withdraw it and re-issue a corrected report. In a letter to legislative leaders who oversee OLS, Mallach identified six major flaws in the OLS analysis and raised concern about the wide circulation of a report which drastically distorts a complex and controversial issue.
Click here to see Mallach letter to lawmakers, and here for media release on the issue.
Network issues new analysis of housing reform bill and COAH rules
FAQ to counter confusion and misinformation
The Network considers the recent passage of A.500/S.1783 to be a significant step towards dealing with the state's relentless housing crisis. It is the most far-reaching housing bill enacted in New Jersey in many years, and includes a number of policy priorities that the Network has promoted to step up the production of affordable housing and ensure that more New Jerseyans can obtain decent homes. But we are greatly concerned about the recent controversy regarding the effect of this legislation on New Jersey’s local governments, and have issued a new analysis -- “Frequently Asked Questions about A.500/S.1783 and the COAH Third Round rules” -- in the hope of both dispelling these myths and providing people with strong counter-arguments to the confusion and misinformation. Click here for the FAQ sheet and here for introductory remarks by Network Executive Director Diane Sterner. Go here for more information on A500.
Information on the continuing crisis
The Network wants to ensure that all its members and any other interested people can access as much pertinent information on the foreclosure crisis as possible. We will be adding to and updating this data on a regular basis.
Click here for a list of New Jersey foreclosed properties by county. This is a list compiled through various Network resources. It is not a complete list and may contain inaccuracies. We will update the list on a monthly basis.
The Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 created the Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP), under which states, cities, and counties will receive a total of $3.92 billion to acquire, rehabilitate, demolish, and redevelop foreclosed and abandoned residential properties. To view a HUD draft notice of the implementation of the Neighborhood Stabilization Program funds, courtesy of Capital Access, click here.
Click here for a draft CHECKLIST to assist groups wishing to apply for funds from the Neighborhood Stabilization Program.
The New Jersey Department of Community Affairs has posted two documents relating to their plan for the use of the state's NSP funds. One document, here, talks about targeting funds, maximizing funds to areas with existing plans, counseling capacity, economic assistance programs and readiness to proceed. It lists the towns where foreclosure is greatest. It clarifies that they will do a RFP.
The second document, here,
is the state's action plan for comment by Nov. 19. It is 70 pages and lists the target neighborhoods in 40 towns.
Click here for a copy of the testimony given by Network Policy Coordinator Arnold Cohen to the state Housing & Mortgage Finance Agency at a hearing regarding the Neighborhood Stabilization Program.
Click here for a summary of tenant rights during foreclosure.
Click here for How to Spend $3.92 Billion: Stabilizing Neighborhoods by Addressing Foreclosed and Abandoned Properties, the Discussion Paper that Network Executive Board Member Alan Mallach recently wrote for the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia.
Click here for a recent editorial on the foreclosure crisis.
Click here for a fact sheet on foreclosures in New Jersey, and here for a year-to-date chart on foreclosures in New Jersey's counties.
For guidance on preventing, dealing with and recovering from foreclosure, go to http://www.nj.gov/njhrc/index.shtml
CRA is not the problem! Predatory lending is!
Network and CA respond to misinformation about helpful law
Repeatedly over the last several weeks — in print, on the airwaves and online — the federal Community Reinvestment Act has become a target of blame both nationally and here in New Jersey. The Housing and Community Development Network of New Jersey and New Jersey Citizen Action, who have negotiated approximately $18 billion in CRA investments in New Jersey over the next three years, will not remain silent while a good law responsible for a great deal of positive development in lower income communities is outrageously vilified.
“Certain people are trying to blame CRA for the current financial crisis,” said Paige Carlson Heim, the Network’s managing director. “That is patently false. Mortgages originating from banks under CRA are among the soundest in the nation.”
“The CRA is not only responsible for good mortgages,” said Phyllis Salowe-Kaye, executive director of New Jersey Citizen Action. “Under the law, banks have offered discounted home improvement loans, construction and permanent financing, small business loans targeting women and minorities, and other investments in community and economic development. Many of these investments would not have happened otherwise.”
Click here for a Media Release on the CRA. Click here and here for news columns on the subject, here and here for more information on the CRA and the attacks against it.
Tell Gov. Corzine to keep his promise for safe, healthy and affordable housing!
Key housing commissioner, SRAP & Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention are all at risk!
Despite public commitments to help solve the state's
housing crisis and protect our communities and children, Governor Corzine's own
hiring freeze is preventing the state from filling critically needed positions -
specifically, the Senior Deputy Commissioner for Housing, as well as key staff
needed to run the State Rental Assistance Program and the Lead Poisoning
Prevention Program. These are essential positions that must be properly staffed
for the Governor to keep his promise.
The housing reform bill, recently signed into law by the Governor, created a new
position to oversee the State Housing Commission, that of Senior Deputy
Commissioner for Housing, and required the state Department of Community Affairs
to hire someone qualified to fill it. But the hiring freeze prevents DCA from
carrying out a search for the best qualified person to fill this important
position.
The freeze also affects the State Rental Assistance Program and the Lead
Poisoning Prevention Program, keeping vital and funded
assistance from reaching many families who desperately need it, because the DCA
cannot hire the necessary staff to operate the programs. These programs do not
rely on the state budget, as they are funded by fees or from federal
allocations, but they do need staff people to implement them. The lack of
staffing for these critical programs is unconscionable, especially for lead
poisoning prevention, given that the Governor's own Public Advocate has called
upon the state and affected municipalities to do more to address this entirely
preventable, yet incurable, condition.
Please let Governor Corzine know that you want him to keep his promises. Fax a
letter to the Governor and urge him to lift the freeze for these key positions.
Click here for a sample
letter, based on the letter the Network recently sent the Governor, whi
The Governor's address:
P.O. Box 001, State House, Trenton, NJ 08625
FAX: 609-292-3454
E-mail can be sent via the state website at www.state.nj.us
Gov. Corzine signs major housing reform
State housing plan, end of RCAs among the changes
MOUNT LAUREL - Under a tent top on a green commons at the Ethel Lawrence Homes — named for the woman whose lawsuit resulted in housing becoming a constitutional right in New Jersey — Governor Jon Corzine, surrounded by lawmakers and other stakeholders, signed the comprehensive housing reform bill into law on July 17. The Network, which has supported the reforms throughout the legislative process, expects the new law to result in not only more housing that is affordable to people of low and moderate incomes, but also that this housing will be built closer to where people work.
"As a result of this new law, many, many more people will have greater opportunities to find decent, affordable housing throughout New Jersey," said Diane Sterner, the Network's executive director, who spoke at the signing ceremony.
"This law will fulfill the intention of the Fair Housing Act, passed over 20 years ago — to give people the opportunity to find affordable housing in areas of economic growth," said Arnold Cohen, the Network’s policy coordinator.
The legislative measure, sponsored in the Assembly by Speaker Joseph Roberts and in the Senate by State Sen. Raymond Lesniak, among others, includes a number of policy priorities the Network and its members have championed for many years. The Network consulted with legislators and their staffs while the bill was being developed. It passed the Assembly on June 16, and the Senate a week later.
The core elements of the new law represent significant opportunities for New Jersey to provide safe, quality and affordable housing to all its residents. These include establishing a statewide housing planning process, creating a new statewide developer fee, encouraging housing for very low income residents, eliminating RCAs and creating replacement funding for urban housing rehabilitation. Click here for an FAQ on the new law and the Council on Affordable Housing's Third Round rules, here for Executive Director Diane Sterner's letter to members and allies. Click here to view a fact sheet on this important housing legislation, and here for additional information on cities and transit hubs.
“The housing crisis is real,” said Diane Sterner, the Network’s executive director. “It must be addressed or it will just get worse. The state Legislature has recognized these facts and taken solid, positive steps. Much still needs to be done, but it is great to see such progress.”
Click here for Sterner's remarks at the bill signing, here for a newspaper article on the signing, here for an editorial, and here for a Network response to a critic of the new law.
To get more information about the bill, please contact Arnold Cohen, Network Policy Coordinator, acohen@hcdnnj.org. To see Arnold Cohen's testimony before the Assembly committee in support of the bill, click here.
To view the bill in full, click http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/2008/Bills/A0500/500_U1.HTM
For Diane Sterner’s blog on the subject, go to. http://blog.nj.com/njv_diane_sterner/
Click here for a press release on a recent court decision on a Regional Contribution Agreement.
President signs foreclosure assistance bill
President Bush on July 30 signed the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 into law. This comprehensive legislation, passed in May by the House of Representatives and in July by the Senate, will help struggling families hit by foreclosures, stabilize the housing market, reform the oversight of government sponsored enterprises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and strengthen mortgage disclosure requirements. The bill also includes dedicated funding for the National Housing Trust Fund, $3.9 billion in Community Development Block Grant funds and an increase in the allocation formula for low-income housing tax credits.
Click here for a media release on the signing. Click here for a fact sheet on the legislation, here for an in-depth summary, here for more data on the National Housing Trust Fund, here for the new law's impact on the Low Income Housing Tax Credit program, here for its effect on the Capital Magnet Fund, here for its effect on Neighborhood Stabilization Funds, and here for a letter from the National Alliance of Community Economic Development Associations with recommendations for the use of Neighborhood Stabilization Funds.
Energy efficient light bulbs for seniors, needy families
Matthew Erickson and John Caddock, inspired by Al Gore's documentary "An Inconvenient Truth," are giving away 60,000 compact fluorescent bulbs to senior citizens and needy families, as well as educating people about their energy-saving benefits.
If any individual or member organization would like to participate in the students’ project, either sign the individual pledge form, or fill out the summary spreadsheet. The required fields are first name, zip code and email address if available.
Once the students receive this information, they will ship the bulbs to you for distribution. Each family gets a bag of 6 bulbs worth about $30 that will save them about $400 a year off their electric bill.
The government may owe you money
According to the state Department of Community Affairs, over 145,000 NJ households have not yet applied for their federal stimulus check. Click here for a flyer explaining how to apply, here for the flyer in Spanish.
TD Commerce expands financial commitment to community development
The Network, New Jersey Citizen Action and the new bank agree on plan
TD Banknorth and Commerce Bank, soon to be known as TD Commerce Bank, announced July 2 at a joint press conference with the Network and New Jersey Citizen Action, a plan to expand the banks’ existing financial commitment to low-income and moderate-income residents, small business owners, housing developers and not-for-profit agencies in New Jersey, to at least $676.5 million over the next 3 years.
The plan includes:
-
$160 million for 3 years in below market-rate mortgages for first time homebuyers
-
A minimum of $10 million in Helping Hand Home Improvement Loans for renters and homeowners.
-
$80 million in CRA qualified loans and $50 million in CRA qualified investments over the next three years for Community Development Financing
-
$24 million over the next 3 years in low-income housing tax credits
-
$175 million in small business lending to LMI and minority businesses
-
$1.5 million in grants to non-profits that provide affordable housing and/or community and economic development to LMI persons or communities.
“This agreement represents precisely the sort of private sector commitment New Jersey’s communities need to turn their fortunes around and move toward a prosperous, equitable future,” Paige Carlson-Heim, Managing Director of the Housing and Community Development Network of New Jersey. “Part of the overall agreement calls for $130 million in community development loans and investments. These monies will build affordable housing, benefit working families, restore neighborhoods and advance the entire state.”
Carlson-Heim called the agreement “welcome, needed and commendable.”
"New Jersey is a critical market for TD Commerce Bank,” said Elizabeth Warn, Executive Vice President, Community Development, TD Banknorth. “The continuation of Commerce’s agreement with New Jersey Citizen Action and the Housing and Community Development Network solidifies our collective commitment to developing underserved neighborhoods through access to financial services."
Click here for a press release on the event.
NJ's Raise the Wage Campaign is on the Web!
Lobby Day 2008 is a big success!
The Network extends a sincere thanks to everyone who participated in Lobby Day 2008 on June 5 in Trenton. The effort was big success. Over 100 people took part, and we know that, together, we spoke to scores of legislators about our issues. In addition, both of the housing bills that were before Assembly committees on June 5, and which the Network supports, advanced in the legislative process.
The foreclosure prevention bill, A2517, passed out of the Assembly Housing and Local Government Committee. It will now go to the Assembly Appropriations Committee. Donna Turner, from AHOME in Millville and Olga Montero, from Brand New Day in Elizabeth, gave moving testimony about the work they are doing in their communities and how that work can benefit from passage of the bill.
Click here for Donna Turner's testimony and here for the testimony of Staci Berger, the Network's director of advocacy..
Click here for a Gannett News story on A2517, and here for an Assembly Democrats’ press release on the bill’s advance.
The housing reform bill, A500, passed the Assembly Appropriations Committee last night and now goes before the full Assembly where a vote is expected on June 16. Many of our members were also at this committee hearing and handed in slips in favor of the bill.
See the item below for more on A500.
Making the cities work for NJ’s future
Network releases agenda for urban transformation
The Housing & Community Development Network of New Jersey released NJ and Its Cities: An Agenda for Urban Transformation at a press conference at the State House on May 7. It is the Network’s second major report on the state’s urban centers and their impact on the rest of the state, following Cities in Transition: New Jersey’s Urban Paradox, released in September 2006.
The report conveys a consistent, comprehensive and positive message: the equitable revitalization of New Jersey’s cities can help restore economic prosperity to the state as a whole. According to the report’s authors, the state’s economic vitality will not be truly restored without equitable renewal of its cities.
The report was co-authored by Diane Sterner, the Network's executive director, and Alan Mallach, a member of the Network's executive board and a former director of Housing and Community Development for Trenton.
Click here for a copy of the press release, here, here and here for news stories about the report, here for an editorial, here for an op-ed by the report's authors, and here for a list of priorities from the report.
Click here for a copy of NJ and Its Cities: An Agenda for Urban Transformation.
Click here for a copy of Cities in Transition: New Jersey’s Urban Paradox.
Network Offering Portfolio Asset Management Strategy Program
The goal of the Asset Management Portfolio Strategies (AMPS) Program is to assist CDCs in the creation of long-term strategies designed to extend the useful life of, manage and preserve critical affordable housing resources in existing portfolios as well as additional assets to be acquired or managed in the future. By the end of the program, participants will have created asset management strategies for properties in their portfolio and, where engaged in doing their own property management, create a 5-year property management business plan.
Click here to learn how to "AMP" up your rental portfolios
COAH approves revised Third Round rules
New growth share regulations will take effect June 2
At its May 6 meeting, the board of the Council on Affordable Housing approved COAH’s revised Third Round rules, first proposed on December 17, 2007. These rules will go into effect on June 2.
The board also proposed new amendments that will appear in the June 16 New Jersey State Register. All comments on the proposed amendments must be submitted by August 15. COAH will vote the amendments or their revisions into law in October. The Network urges its members to read these amendments and make your concerns known to COAH. The amendments can be viewed at http://www.state.nj.us/dca/coah/june08rules.shtml
The Network is evaluating the impact of the proposed amendments and will be making formal comments. Any ideas from members regarding what the Network should say are welcome. Please e-mail Arnold Cohen, policy coordinator, at acohen@hcdnnj.org.
All municipalities must now have their new plans to COAH by Dec. 31, 2008.
Click here to see a Network policy bulletin on the amendments.
Click here to see summary of the new Third Round rules.
Go to http://www.state.nj.us/dca/coah/dec07proposal.shtml to see the new COAH rules.
Click here for the Network position paper on the proposed new rules, and here for instructions on estimating a municipality's affordable housing obligation under the revised rules.
Click here for David Kinsey's report on COAH's origins and expectations: Smart Growth, Housing Needs, and the Future of the Mount Laurel Doctrine.
NJ 5th Most Expensive State for Rental Housing
Network releases state data from NLIHC's Out of Reach report
The release of the National Low Income Housing Coalition’s “Out of Reach 2007-2008,” the annual report documenting the need for affordable housing in every state in the nation, takes on an amplified importance for New Jersey this year, according to the Housing & Community Development Network of New Jersey.
“The NLIHC's report, which once again places New Jersey among the most difficult states in which to find affordable places to live, points up the necessity and the urgency of taking meaningful action,” said Diane Sterner, the Network’s executive director.
The Network, on April 14, released New Jersey-specific data from the national report, as well as analysis and information from its own research, clearly showing that the affordability crisis continues for the state rental market. The Network pointed, nonetheless, to some promising steps state government is taking to address the dire situation.
Click here for a press release on the event, here for a fact sheet on the New Jersey report, and here for detailed charts on the state's rental market and affordability for working families.
Click here, here here and here for media coverage of the report's release.
Go to http://www.nlihc.org/oor/oor2008/ to view the complete national report.
The Network's 2008 Membership Directory Survey
Click here to download the form
Groups Say: New Revenues, Not Budget Cuts
TRENTON -- A broad coalition of organizations announced on April 10 the launch of a new campaign to prevent the proposed state budget cuts and return the state to a path of investing in its future.
The Better Choices Budget Campaign, which includes environmental, housing, labor, education and community organizations, called on legislators and Governor Corzine to consider revenue alternatives before passing a budget that cuts deeply into health care, higher education, parks, social services, tenant protection and many other areas crucial to New Jerseyans’ quality of life and ability to advance economically.
The Network is a part of the campaign. For more information, click here, or go to the campaign's website, here.
HUD offers affordable housing design advice
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, in cooperation with non-profit and for-profit organizations, has made available the Affordable Housing Design Advisor -- A tool, resource, idea bank and step-by step guide to design in affordable housing, including the latest ideas regarding green building.
To access the advisor, go to http://www.designadvisor.org/.
Network to Governor: Keep your housing promise
The Housing and Community Development network of new Jersey has written a letter to Governor Jon Corzine, in response to recent statements by the governor that suggest he is backing away from his oft-repeated promise to provide 100,000 affordable housing units in New Jersey by 2014. The Network urges the governor to keep his word and find a way to provide the housing so desperately needed. Click here to read the letter.
For newspaper reports, go to:
http://www.nj.com/ap/stories/index.ssf?/base/news-27/1189786697112810.xml&storylist=topstories
and
http://www.nj.com/starledger/stories/index.ssf?/base/news-8/1189917375313570.xml&coll=1
and
http://www.nj.com/printer/printer.ssf?/base/news-8/119009059345370.xml&coll=1
YOU CAN HELP! Contact Governor Corzine and urge him not to go back on his promise, but come forward with his overdue plan on how we will build the necessary affordable housing. The Governor needs to hear from all of us that affordable housing in New Jersey is a critical need. The latest census data shows that in New Jersey over 17 percent of homeowners with a mortgage and nearly 25 percent of renters pay over half their income for housing. Please use this sample letter to compose your own letter to the Governor and send a copy to your local newspaper
Contact the Governor by going to www.state.nj.us and following the Contact the Governor prompts. By phone: 609 292-6000. By fax: 609 292-3454. By mail: P.O. Box 001, State House, Trenton, NJ 08625-0001.
Let the Network know (send an e-mail to jpicard@hcdnnj.org ) when you have sent your letter, so we can gauge the impact we are making. Let Gov. Corzine know you are serious about affordable housing and that he should be, too.
Network's Executive Director in the Blogosphere
Comments and Discussion Welcome
Diane Sterner, the Network's founder and Executive Director, is now a regular blogger at NJVoices.com, the new blogging site operated by the Star Ledger and located at http://www.nj.com/njvoices/. Diane was one of a handful of prominent New Jerseyans selected by the newspaper to transcribe opinions and initiate discussion on a wide range of significant issues. Diane concentrates on topics related to housing and community development, writing on eminent domain, urban revitalization, the need for a statewide housing policy and other pertinent topics. Her entries can be viewed at http://blog.nj.com/njv_diane_sterner/. Please visit the site and participate in these worthwhile discussions by adding your comments.
Communities Can Create Local Plans to Build Sustainable Neighborhoods, Advocates Say;
Residents at the Center: A Guide to Community-Based Planning
for Distressed Neighborhoods
Click here to read the full media release about the Network's latest project in association with Rutgers University.
Help make affordable housing a priority for Governor Jon Corzine. Click here to learn about the Homes for New Jersey campaign and find out what you can do!
Restoring Problem Properties: A Guide to New Jersey's Abandoned Property Tools, authored by Alan Mallach, is now available! Click here to download a copy of the book.
The Housing and Community Development Network's mission is to help our members create and preserve long-term affordable housing and build strong communities in New Jersey through capacity building and resource development; education and public policy advocacy; and networking and support services.
Individuals or families looking for affordable housing, click here.
About The Network || Network Members & Activities || Networking/Support Services
Technical Assistance/Training || Education & Public Policy || Pressroom || Affordable Housing Funding
Other Organizations & Links || Job Openings || Events
| Housing and
Community
Development
Network of New Jersey
145 W. Hanover Street Trenton, NJ 08618 (609) 393-3752 Fax (609) 393-9016 info@hcdnnj.org |
HOME |
Page copyright © 1999, HCDNNJ
|