Housing and Community Development Network of New Jersey

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.

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 for news story about the report, 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.

Join colleagues and fellow advocates at the Housing & Community Development Network of New Jersey's Semi-Annual Membership Meeting. Take part in discussions about the Network's proposed agenda for equitable and sustainable development of our cities, as set forth in our latest report, New Jersey and Its Cities: An Agenda for Urban Transformation.

The Housing & Community Development Network of New Jersey is proud to sponsor, along with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and other organizations, two events — in Paterson on May 28, and in Long Branch on June 17 — to inform residents and assist communities threatened by the subprime mortgage foreclosure crisis. We hope you will consider joining us at one of these events.

Please join our panel in Paterson for a discussion about the state of homeownership in New Jersey. Hear about new legislation designed to help with foreclosures. Find out more about programs that are available to assist residents. Additional sponsors include the City of Paterson, the Paterson Housing Authority and Bank of America. Join us on Wednesday, May 28, 2008 at the Christopher Hope Center, 60 Temple Street, Paterson, NJ, from 9 am until noon. Light refreshments will be served

Invited Guests: Paterson Mayor Jose Torres; Congressman William Pascrell; Sen. Frank Lautenberg; Sen. Robert Menendez; State Senator Ronald Rice; DCA Commissioner Joseph Doria; Dianne Johnson of U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development; Diane Sterner, Executive Director of HCDNNJ; Allison Badgett, Executive Director of Homes for NJ; Patrick Morrissey, Executive Director of HANDS, Inc; Gail Davis, Housing Counselor with Tri City Peoples Corp.

Forum opened to housing advocates, realtors, and lending institutions; Seating is limited, Please RSVP by May 16. For more information, contact. Gail Davis at 973 345-5351.

Click here for a registration form, here for directions. Please fax completed registrations to 973 977-9085.

If you miss the Paterson event or find the Monmouth County site more accessible, then please join our panel on June 17 for similar discussions about the state of homeownership in New Jersey, and find out about new legislation designed to help with foreclosures. The Long Branch Housing Authority is a co-sponsor for this event, which will include two forums. Join us on June 17, 2008, at Brookdale Community College, Broadway and Third Avenue, Long Branch, NJ, from 9:30 am to noon for the service providers’ forum, and from 5:30 to 7:30 pm for the homeowners and homebuyers’ forum.

For further information contact Brenda Anderson, (732) 222-3747, x108 or banderson@lbhousing.org. Please RSVP no later than June 10, 2008.

Come to Trenton on June 5 and educate your representatives about the need for foreclosure prevention, rental assistance and housing reform.

Sharpen your advocacy skills and get an insider's view of the legislative process, as well. Don't miss the opportunity to make a difference! Click here for a flyer on the event and a sign-up form.

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.

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.

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.

Use this toolkit to encourage lawmakers to protect threatened families and communities

The “New Jersey Home Ownership Preservation Act,” aimed at addressing the state’s widening foreclosure crisis, was introduced in March into both the state Senate and the Assembly. Assembly Majority Leader Bonnie Watson Coleman, D-15, and Assemblyman Jerry Green, D-22, introduced the Assembly bill, A2517, on March 13. An identical bill, sponsored by Senators Ronald Rice, D-28, and Sandra Cunningham, D-33, was introduced on March 17 as S1599.

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.

SEND a letter to the Senator(s) and Assembly Members representing your and/or your organization’s area. Click here for a sample letter that can be downloaded and customized for use, including your organizational letterhead.

GET more information. Click here to view the bill; here for a summary of the bill; here for a newspaper article on the bill. Click here for a media release on the legislation’s introduction event, and here for a fact sheet on foreclosures in New Jersey.

For more information about the Network’s Foreclosure Prevention campaign, email sberger@hcdnnj.org

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.

Assembly Speaker Joseph J. Roberts, Assembly majority leader Bonnie Watson Coleman and Assemblyman Jerry Green, who is chairman of the Assembly Housing and Local Government Committee, made public on November 13 a series of proposals aimed at dealing with the growing affordable housing crisis in the state.

The Housing & Community Development Network of New Jersey, which was consulted by the Assembly leadership while formulating their proposals, greeted the lawmakers’ announcement with optimism.

“We are extremely pleased that the Assembly — and, we hope, the state Senate — will be taking up these important housing initiatives in its next session,” said Staci Berger, director of Advocacy for the Network. “This package represents an enormous step forward in addressing New Jersey’s affordable housing crisis."

Berger noted that the Assembly package includes many elements that have been Network priorities for years, including 20 percent set-asides of affordable units in state-assisted developments; increased housing opportunities for people of very low income; one-for-one replacement of affordable units lost through redevelopment; and the creation of a comprehensive state housing plan.

“It’s encouraging that our Assembly leadership took an honest and careful look at the situation,” said Diane Sterner, the Network’s executive director. “They sought assistance in trying to understand a big and very complex issue, and they have produced a strong set of measures to begin to deal with the multi-headed problem.”

The Network congratulates its members who have advocated for these worthy proposals. We will continue to work with the Assembly leaders to improve certain areas of the package. Roberts said that hearings on the proposals will begin this year, with the first one scheduled for December 10, but legislative votes won’t take place until 2008. For more information, or to learn how to become more involved in this issue, please contact Arnold Cohen, the Network’s policy coordinator, at acohen@hcdnnj.org

On December 10, the state Assembly held its first public hearing on a proposed legislative plan aimed at addressing the current statewide housing crisis. The package of bills was outlined to the public in November by Assembly Speaker Joe Roberts, Assembly Majority Leader Bonnie Watson Coleman and Assemblyman Jerry Green, who is chairman of the Assembly Housing and Local Government Committee. The Network, in general, supports the housing package, although it believes certain parts need amendment and/or fine-tuning. The Network was consulted by the Assembly leadership on the composition of the plan, and several important recommendations made by the Network have been incorporated into it, including 20 percent affordable housing set-asides in state-development projects; a very low-income housing bill; a comprehensive housing plan; one-for-one replacement of affordable units lost through development; and the regular publication of affordable housing statistics.

“Our members are impressed with the scope of the proposals and very much appreciate the leadership’s commitment to addressing the growing housing crisis in New Jersey,” said Paige Carlson-Heim, the Network’s managing director, appearing before Green’s committee.

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.

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.

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.

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.