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2023 Under One Roof Honorees

The Honorable Jerry Green Legacy Award,
The Honorable Mila Jasey (NJ Assembly, Legislative District 27) 

Assemblywoman Mila Jasey has been recognized by the Network in the past for her leadership and achievements. This year as she serves her final term in the NJ State Legislature, it is our honor to present Asw. Jasey with the award named after her colleague, friend and mentor, Assemblyman Jerry Green. She served alongside Asm. Green on the Assembly Housing committee for a decade, becoming the committee’s vice-chair. Asw. Jasey has remained steadfast in her commitment to the development of affordable homes and strengthening neighborhoods in her time serving the 27th legislative district. She has been a driving force behind the land bank bill, the Mortgage Stabilization and Relief Act, the Neighborhood Revitalization Tax Credit Act, and the landmark A500 Affordable Housing Act. She has also been a tireless advocate for full funding of NJ’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund. Asw. Jasey has been a friend, an ally, and a partner to NJ’s community development sector since she was first elected to the NJ Legislature in 2007. Her departure from the legislature is a tremendous loss for our state but we are grateful for all of her efforts to help HouseNJ and she will be greatly missed.

 

The Honorable Sheila Y. Oliver Community Development Champion Award,
Janel Winter, NJ Dept. of Community Affairs Assistant Commissioner and
Director of the Division Housing and Community Resources

The Network's Community Development Champion Award has traditionally been presented to allies of the community development sector who have made meaningful contributions to building strong, affordable communities. This year, we have renamed the award in honor of the late Lieutenant Governor and NJ Department of Community Affairs (DCA) Commissioner Sheila Y. Oliver who passed away last summer. We are pleased to announce that DCA Assistant Commissioner and Director of the Division Housing and Community Resources Janel Winter has been selected as the recepient of the inaugural Sheila Y. Oliver Community Development Award. Janel has been instrumental in connecting NJ’s nonprofit community development sector with resources that help build capacity and strengthen our neighborhoods. Under her leadership, DCA has been responsive to the needs of vulnerable residents especially during the pandemic, providing programs and accommodations to help people stay in their homes. The department’s relief programs have been so successful that NJ has been granted additional Federal Emergency Assistance funding on several occasions. During her tenure with DCA, Janel has lead programmatic innovations that has helped revitalize neighborhoods and keep NJ residents safely and stably housed. She is a passionate and driven leader who has been a catalyst for positive change throughout her career and a true champion for our sector.

 

Exceptional Community Partner,
Make the Road New Jersey
Make the Road New Jersey has emerged as one of the Network's leading advocates for statewide rent control, working tirelessly to keep rent increases reasonable in Elizabeth through tenant organizing. They are strong partners in the Network’s Housing Help NJ initiative to keep people safely and stably housed. Although ultimately unsuccessful, Make the Road New Jersey was among the most vocal advocates to preserve the Corporate Business Tax surcharge which could have been used to help lower income residents meet their basic needs.Their work builds the power of immigrant, working-class & Latinx communities to achieve dignity and respect through community organizing, high-quality legal services, policy innovation and transformative education. Working with Network members in Elizabeth, Perth Amboy, Passaic and Newark, Make the Road New Jersey has mobilized more than 15,000 people to take action to support and win immigrant and workers’ rights policies in New Jersey and beyond. They provide legal services, health outreach and educational programming to more than 100,000 low-income immigrants and people of color. 

Advocacy and Organizing Award,
New Brunswick Tomorrow
Countless NJ residents are finding themselves on the brink of homelessness as monthly rents spiral beyond the means of family budgets and inflation driving up the cost of many necessities. With the support of the Network’s RENT initiative, New Brunswick Tomorrow (NBT) initiated an effort to expand its community engagement and organizing model to work with tenants both individually and collectively, leading the formation and empowerment of a New Brunswick tenant association  The association achieved a major victory over the summer when the New Brunswick City Council adopted an ordinance to strengthen the city’s rent control ordinance, reducing annual maximum permitted rent increases to a scale of 1 to 4% (based on inflation), in line with ordinances like Newark’s. It also increases monitoring and consequences for landlords who violate housing ordinances. This victory is the result of efforts by NBT which rallied the tenant association to launch an advocacy campaign to limit future rent increases. Members of the tenant association developed a set of formal recommendations and launched a petition in the spring that eventually collected signatures from over 1,300 New Brunswick residents. Throughout the months of the campaign, an average of between 30 and 40 tenants attended the monthly association meetings. In July, members presented the City Council with the petition and a report on the harmful impacts of high housing costs on New Brunswick renters that drew from the National Low-Income Housing Coalition’s 2023 Out of Reach report. This is only the latest success story from NBT whose advocacy also resulted in a city ordinance prohibiting arbitrary utility fees and the launch of a dedicated housing support hotline.

Outstanding Municipal Partner – New Development
Monarch Housing Associates and the Borough of Upper Saddle River
The Upper Saddle River Supportive Housing project is a newly constructed 70-unit apartment complex on a previously landlocked and underutilized space. In a challenging area with a high-cost market and a severe lack of affordable housing, the project developer formed a valuable partnership with the municipality to secure the project site in a neighborhood with limited space for development. With community support and involvement at the Borough of Upper Saddle River’s public planning board hearings, several variance applications were approved to bring this development into operation. Additionally, the municipality attended meetings with the funders and neighbors to help shepherd the project through, resulting in 70 brand new affordable homes with supportive services for seniors and homeless individuals.

Outstanding Municipal Partner – New Development
Princeton Community Housing and the Municipality of Princeton
25 new affordable homes are now available to very low-, low-, and moderate-income eligible households in the Municipality of Princeton. A significant portion of the project funding, more than $2.2 million, was achieved through the financial support of the Princeton community in response to a capital campaign, launched by Princeton Community Housing. In addition, the Municipality of Princeton contributed $2.1 million in affordable housing trust funds to the development. The Municipality also supports the ongoing operations of the new apartments and the existing community through a Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) agreement. The all-electric new building is constructed to meet or exceed Enterprise Green standards, the new stormwater system is constructed to meet or exceed state and local water quality requirements, and the new building is constructed on an existing surface parking area, thereby preserving valuable woodlands and watershed areas.

Outstanding Municipal Partner – Redevelopment
Northern Ocean Habitat for Humanity and Manchester Township
The project at 1709 Highway 539, is a prime example of what is possible when the community comes together to help a family's dream of homeownership become a reality. Northern Ocean Habitat, a small but mighty organization, received a modular home donation which would become the home of a single mother and her two daughters. The project was developed on land that was donated and contained two adjacent lots. Manchester Township assisted with the lot consolidation and permitting process as well as providing safety during the move of the modular home from Normandy Beach to Manchester. The home is larger than the organization typically builds but it is a beautiful addition to the existing neighborhood while meeting the Township's fair housing obligation.

Outstanding Municipal Partner – Healthy Homes and Communities
Clinton Hill Community Action and the City of Newark
Clinton Hill Community Action works with residents and stakeholders to revitalize their neighborhood and improve the quality of life. The organization launched the Healthy Homes Campaign to support direct action identified through quarterly workshops focused on asthma, lead and weatherization, and award mini grants to support resident participation to champion change. The workshops include local ambassadors to provide education and facilitate skill development, and Clinton Hill residents are compensated for their participation in home assessments and care plans. Participants are also referred to local partners who provide specialized services. As part of the Healthy Homes Campaign, CHCA created the Healthy Homes Ambassadors Training Program that trains Clinton Hill residents to learn strategies to keep their homes, schools, and communities healthy. The organization works closely with the City of Newark Department of Health and Community Wellness which is a leading entity of Healthy Homes Programming and Prevention, assisting with testing and wellness outcomes.

LASTING ACHIEVEMENT HONOREES
A recognition of our community development members who are reaching milestone anniversaries over 25 years.

Catholic Charities, Diocese Of Trenton
Celebrating 110 Years: Founded in 1913

Urban League of Essex County
Celebrating 105 Years: Founded in 1917

         NewBridge Services, Inc.
         Celebrating 60 Years: Founded in 1963

New Community Corporation
Celebrating 55 Years: Founded in 1968

NeighborWorks America
Celebrating 45 Years: Founded in 1978

Homeless Solutions
Celebrating 40 Years: Founded in 1983

Leviticus Fund
Celebrating 40Years: Founded in 1983

Lutheran Episcopal Advocacy Ministry of NJ
Celebrating 40 Years: Founded in 1983

Mission First Housing Group
Celebrating 35 Years: Founded in 1988

Interfaith Neighbors
Celebrating 35 Years: Founded in 1988

  Bridges Outreach, Inc.
  Celebrating 35 Years: Founded in 1988

     Solutions To End Poverty Soon (STEPS)
     Celebrating 30 Years: Founded in 1993


Celebrating 25 Years: Founded in 1998

Holly City Development Corporation
Celebrating 25 Years: Founded in 1998

   Supportive Housing Association of NJ
   Celebrating 25 Years: Founded in 1998