Fixing New Jersey’s housing crisis will hinge on local leaders turning new state and federal resources into action.
That’s the message government leaders and affordable housing advocates are delivering as they urge counties and municipalities to take advantage of new efforts to speed construction and expand funding.
At the federal level, Senator Andy Kim led legislation included in the bipartisan 21st Century Road to Housing Act, which became law in July without President Donald Trump’s signature. The act is touted as the largest and most significant housing affordability bill passed by Congress in three decades.
Governor Mikie Sherrill also has made affordability a priority. A housing plan she unveiled on Sept. 29 would accelerate housing development on state-owned land, set timelines for permit applications, expand affordable housing tax credits and support first-time homebuyers. It also targets junk fees, predatory housing practices and unfair pricing.
“No state in the country struggles with the challenges of housing quite like we do,” Kim said during an affordable housing roundtable in Jersey City last week. “We have to make sure that we are at the front end of this. And that means making sure we’re all knowledgeable about what the different tools are. I’m going to be doing these types of efforts in all 21 counties trying to make sure that we are letting people know about the different things that are available.”
Hudson County aims to be a model for New Jersey in using public land to meet housing needs. The county is the smallest in the state by land area, but is the most densely populated. About 45% of renter households there are cost‑burdened, meaning they spend at least 30% of their income on rent, Census data show.
During the Jersey City roundtable, County Executive Craig Guy detailed his plan to transform county-owned land into more than 1,000 new homes, including hundreds of affordable housing units. Part of that plan would convert acres of parking lots around the county office complex into a mixed-income neighborhood with parks, a supermarket and day care.
The Road to Housing Act expanded the use of Community Development Block Grant funds, allowing towns to use them for new construction. This can help future phases of the Hudson County project, Guy said.
The project already has received a $570,000 loan from the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation to support early planning. Officials hope to break ground next year.
“I’ve been adamant, and I remain steadfast, that our county government can do something to resolve this affordability crisis,” Guy said. “Hudson County is leading the way.”
