Baraka Issues Statement on Lawsuit Against New Affordable Housing Requirements 

“New Jersey’s housing market is short 200,000 affordable units, at least. This is a statewide issue that is driving up costs for everyone living in our state, not just in the suburbs or cities but across the board. Our children can’t afford to live in the communities they grew up in, much less raise their own families in the Garden State because our home rule history has crippled our ability to evenly plan and build the diverse housing we need to meet the demand. We’ve known this problem for 40 years and every day we delay action is a day we hurt working families already struggling to keep up with New Jersey’s cost of living.

“The Legislature was right to create this new law and demand our cities and towns to finally do their fair share for the people of this state, but we can’t continue to impose requirements without direction. We need an administrator who can execute comprehensive plans with local government housing advocates, trade unions and private contractors. We need to dedicate the majority of the tax credits used to build luxury housing towards affordable and workforce housing. We need to give the cities and towns the resources they need to identify space, build plans, subsidize starter home ownership, allow for accessory dwelling units and actually meet their affordable housing requirements.

“Most New Jerseyans understand the need for more housing because most New Jerseyans want to reduce costs, prevent homelessness and raise our standard of living. But we can’t do this by fighting each other. When we waste time fighting amongst ourselves, housing continues to go unbuilt and we all lose. This isn’t an issue isolated by zip code or street sign, this is a collective issue that must have a collective approach because equity in housing and housing development should not only be a guiding principle, it is actually the solution to New Jersey’s affordability problem.”