New Jersey’s Affordability Crisis Demands Urgent Partnership—Jersey City Cannot Carry It Alone

By Rev. Dr. Joshua Rodriguez – Founding Pastor & Bishop – The Cityline Church

New Jersey is confronting a defining challenge: affordability. Nowhere is this more evident than in Jersey City, where the pressures on working families are no longer gradual—they are acute.

As a pastor serving this community for more than 35 years, I do not experience this crisis in reports. I see it in conversations after service, in prayer requests, and at food distributions. Families who have done everything right are being stretched beyond what is sustainable.

Jersey City has long been a gateway for opportunity. For generations—well before Ellis Island symbolized arrival—people from around the world came here to build a life through hard work and perseverance. That legacy remains, but the conditions that once made it possible are eroding.

Today, Jersey City’s poverty rate stands at 17.1%, significantly higher than the state’s 9.2%. At the same time, property taxes have risen by more than 50% over the past five years, contributing to increased rents and compounding financial strain across the city. The impact is visible: between 2013 and 2023, roughly 3,000 Black residents left Jersey City—an indicator of displacement that should concern all of us.

These are not abstract figures. They represent families, congregants, and neighbors whose stability is increasingly uncertain.

The policy decisions ahead will determine whether this pressure eases or intensifies. For that reason, the State must support Jersey City through this fiscal crisis with the resources, flexibility, and partnership necessary to protect residents, preserve essential services, and prevent further instability. If state-level constraints lead to reduced support or limited services, the consequences will fall most heavily on those already navigating the narrowest margins.

At the same time, the broader risk is clear. New Jersey cannot sustain long-term affordability if cities like Jersey City—central to its workforce, culture, and economic vitality—become inaccessible to the very people who keep them running. Rising costs, increasing displacement, and growing homelessness are not isolated trends; they are signals of a system under strain.

An affordable New Jersey requires a fiscally stable and functioning Jersey City.

If we fail to act now, residents will not gradually drift away—they will be pushed out. We risk losing the backbone of our city: the working families, the faithful, the committed who have helped Jersey City grow into what it is today. At the Cityline Church, we are already feeling this loss—and we cannot continue to lose more of the very people who anchor our communities, those who have faithfully invested their lives here.

The recent executive order signed by Mikie Sherrill—focused on expanding affordable housing, improving agency coordination, and cutting bureaucratic barriers—signals a clear understanding of the urgency. The task now is to translate that commitment into swift, measurable action, particularly by partnering with Jersey City to address its approximately $250 million budget shortfall so it can continue advancing the very affordability goals the state is championing.

Jersey City presents a clear opportunity to do just that.

At Bayfront, nearly 3,000 housing units have already been approved, making it one of New Jersey’s most important opportunities to deliver affordable and workforce housing at scale.

This is more than a development project. It is a generational opportunity to transform formerly industrial land into a thriving community for working families in one of the state’s most important urban centers.

Given its environmental, infrastructure, flood mitigation, prevailing wage, and urban construction realities, Bayfront will require financing solutions that are appropriately aligned with the scale and complexity of the project.

For that reason, we respectfully urge the Governor’s Office and HMFA to continue working with all partners to identify the funding capacity and flexible financing structure needed to move Bayfront forward with urgency.

This is not about preferential treatment for one city. It is about recognizing where readiness meets urgency—and responding accordingly.

Jersey City has consistently taken steps to lead on affordability. But leadership at the municipal level must be met with partnership at the state level. Without that alignment, even the most well-intentioned local efforts will struggle to keep pace with the scale of the challenge.

The stakes are practical and immediate. Continued cost increases risk pushing more working families out of the state. Those unable to relocate face the prospect of housing insecurity or homelessness. Over time, this weakens not only individual communities, but the economic and social fabric of New Jersey as a whole.

This is not a routine policy moment. For working families, this is an emergency.

This moment calls for coordinated action.

Supporting Jersey City—especially at Bayfront—is not an isolated investment. It is a strategic step toward a more affordable and stable New Jersey. It reinforces the state’s broader housing goals and demonstrates that urgency is matched by execution.

The path forward is clear. The need is established. The opportunity is ready.

What remains is the decision to act—with precision, partnership, and the urgency this moment demands. Jersey City is ready. The question is whether the state will meet this moment with the action it requires.