Jersey City's Innovative New Affordable Housing Plan Might Actually Work

Jersey City proposes point system to encourage developers to build affordable housing

By Terrence T. McDonald/The Jersey Journal
November 11, 2013 at 12:05 PM

The Fulop administration is proposing a new policy it says will help spur development of affordable housing throughout the city.

The policy, up for initial approval by the City Council this week, would establish a point system that encourages affordable housing Downtown and in the Heights, while additional points would be awarded for developers whose management team includes minorities and projects geared toward families or seniors.

?Traditionally, affordable housing was something that was only built in certain areas of the city,? said Mayor Steve Fulop. ?However, we believe that all of our residents, including our working families, should have the opportunity for home ownership in all areas of our city.?

The policy would give the most ?points? to developers who build affordable units Downtown, fewer points to those building in the Heights and West Side, fewer still for Greenville and Bergen-Lafayette and the least for Journal Square. More points, more city funding.


The city has an Affordable Housing Trust Fund, which developers contribute to in exchange for receiving tax breaks.

The fund currently has $5.2 million in uncommitted dollars, the city says.

The new policy also requires any developer who receives a five-year abatement for any market-rate, commercial or industrial project must contribute to the Affordable Housing Trust Fund.

Previously, developers who received five-year breaks weren?t required to do so.

http://www.nj.com/jjournal-news/index ... y_mayor_fulop_propos.html

Affordable housing means you will have new residents in the city (it is taken from a federal list) who will not have to pay rising taxes but receive the same services. They will also vote according to how much taxes are spent on services. The law requires they pay one third of reported income. That one third must include utilities.

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Not sure what is more humiliating - not recognizing my initials (the particule is always lower case, in my case) or that Wikipedia didn't include my initials on their list.

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Your name. Abbreviated.

I kinda like http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cult_of_the_Dead_Cow

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of course. CDC?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CDC
none of the above seem appropriate

CDC - point taken, but in both cases it's choice and not social engineering.

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Alternatively, one can imagine wanting to:
walk to the PATH
be close to Shoprite and BJs to stretch the food budget
take advantage of the improved schools and benefit from efforts being made by local parents
raise their kids in a relatively safe and gang-free neighborhood
if they are foreign, perhaps hasten their own and their children's assimilation by having US-born neighbors

Is there a big demand for affordable housing in downtown and the heights? Did the city check with applicants? Given a preference, I'd imagine people probably prefer to live closer to friends, family and existing schools/services. The city should be trying to match supply with demand, and not just assuming people prefer "higher-priced" areas.

Oh please don't let this happen. I like my gentrified and priced out neighborhoods just the way they are. Those that inherit the Earth (not the meek) along with Tom Sawyer will prevail.

http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/20 ... sing_throughout_city.html

Jersey City has created a new policy that is says will help spur development of affordable housing in areas of the city that have few affordable units.

The policy, up for initial approval by the City Council next week, would establish a point system that encourages affordable housing construction Downtown and in the Heights, while additional points would be awarded for developers whose management team comprises minorities and for projects geared toward families or seniors.

Jersey City seeks to expand affordable housing throughout city

By Terrence T. McDonald/The Jersey Journal

Jersey City has created a new policy that is says will help spur development of affordable housing in areas of the city that have few affordable units.

The policy, up for initial approval by the City Council next week, would establish a point system that encourages affordable housing construction Downtown and in the Heights, while additional points would be awarded for developers whose management team comprises minorities and for projects geared toward families or seniors.

While serving for two terms on the council, Mayor Steve Fulop said the city should have policies directing affordable housing to be constructed in areas like Downtown, where lower-income residents have been squeezed out as rents have risen.

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