United Black Agenda

Hoboken residents: We urge you to vote *NO* on the anti-rent control ballot referendum. If it passes, it would likely eliminate existing rent-controlled units that many lower-income renters and seniors rely on. Learn more in this Jersey Journal editorial:

On Friday, NJ's Dept. of Community Affairs released calculations for how much affordable housing each municipality is required to allow over the next decade under the state's new law. NJ's new affordable housing law is expected to help break down barriers to racial & economic integration in one of the most diverse — but also one of the most segregated — states in the U.S. “This is an opportunity for municipalities to prioritize sensible and equitable growth, redevelopment, and infrastructure investments that will benefit their communities for generations to come," said our executive director, Adam Gordon. Learn more in our press release:

Looking forward to tomorrow night

This week, South Brunswick agreed to produce its fair share of affordable homes over the next 10 years — becoming the 1st municipality to reach an agreement on its 4th Round obligations under NJ's new fair housing law. “After many tumultuous years of litigation, South Brunswick is wisely getting ahead of the curve by planning now for the next decade,” said Josh Bauers. “Good planning means planning in advance — this allows time for municipalities to find appropriate sites and develop strong partnerships to produce these much-needed homes.” Learn more in our press release:

Join us tomorrow night in South Orange for "Unleashing the POWER of the Black Vote: A Blueprint for Progressives Everywhere" UBA President Rev. Eric Dobson will be joined by Dr. Khalil Gibran Muhammad, Dr. Mia White, and Dr. Khadijah Costley-White for an enlightening discussion. Register here: https://lnkd.in/eXnwKA-p

How is New Jersey far outpacing other U.S. states in producing affordable housing? “The thing that New Jersey has that other states haven’t been able to develop quite as nicely is a serious requirement for compliance,” says Josh Bauers, our director of exclusionary zoning litigation. Governing's Jared Brey has the story:

Today, Lieutenant Governor Way signed legislation into law prohibiting discrimination in home appraisals. “Holding appraisers accountable for discrimination is one of the ways we must address New Jersey’s racial wealth gap,” said Adam Gordon, our executive director. “For most homeowners, their house is their most valuable asset. Appraisal bias has been robbing Black and Latino families of hard-won equity for decades. We’re grateful to the bill's sponsors and Acting Governor Way for their leadership in taking this step toward repairing the multi-generational harms wreaked by appraisal bias." Special thanks to the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice, Housing and Community Development Network of New Jersey, New Jersey Citizen Action (NJCA), and all the many people who worked for years to bring this new law to fruition. Check out our press release for more info:

In this new op-ed, Taiisa Kelly of Monarch Housing Associates explains why NJ's outdated affordable housing regulations — the Uniform Housing Affordability Controls (UHAC) — must be updated to prioritize the needs of low-income &  moderate-income New Jerseyans:

Governor Murphy published a powerful new op-ed in Newsweek on New Jersey's new affordable housing law. NJ's policy — requiring municipalities to allow their fair share of affordable housing — offers a pragmatic, proven model for other states to build upon.

The US isn't just home to the world's most incarcerated people. It’s also home to the world's most *formerly* incarcerated people — who are 10 times more likely to be homeless. In other words, we can't end the housing crisis until we repair the harms of mass incarceration. The Redress Movement's Cashauna Hill spells out why homelessness & mass incarceration are deeply intertwined issues — and why limiting the use of criminal records in tenant screening is one significant step to mitigate their impact: