N. J. groups urge political leaders to consider housing problems
Diane Sterner
With the campaign for Governor that has seemed to last forever in it’s final hours, we find ourselves wondering about not which candidate has the best character but what is the future of the Garden State. Bob Braun’s column in today’s Star-Ledger – N. J. groups urge political leaders to consider housing problems – was on this topic. He profiled the efforts of the Housing and Community Development Network of NJ and it’s visionary leader Diane Sterner are making to have these issues heard not only in this campaign but year round.
To read the full article click here.
“It’s really a question of leadership, setting a vision at the top. What we need are people willing to plan and make important choices for the future of the state.” said Ms. Sterner in the article.
Bob Braun summarizes the real issues facing NJ:
Here are questions that haven’t been asked during the gubernatorial election campaign:
The Star-LedgerDiane SternerWhat kind of state should New Jersey be? How should its people live – separately, divided by race and wealth? Or together, in integrated communities, sharing its riches and its problems?
Some people, if not necessarily gubernatorial candidates, have thought about these issues. One group, this year celebrating its 20th anniversary, has been trying to get political leaders to consider how and where and in what circumstances people should live in New Jersey.
“But all we heard about is the character flaws of each of the candidates – not how they see the future of the state,’’ says Diane Sterner.
In a report marking the 20th anniversary of the network, Sterner notes New Jersey remains divided between declining cities and economically and politically powerful suburbs.
Low-income families cannot afford to live in the suburbs and adequate housing is not available in the cities.
The poor, as usual, get stuck. In good times, gentrification of some urban neighborhoods drove up housing prices, producing a market for luxury homes and making it difficult for these local organizations to provide affordable housing.
This crisis has gotten worse not better due to the lack of visionary leadership.
But Sterner wrote:
The current foreclosure and financial crises are changing these dynamics once again, destabilizing many neighborhoods. While the weight of the state’s fiscal distress is tangible, the pain caused to our lower-income communities by the current economic crisis is even more acute.
These communities are burdened by job loss, foreclosed and vacant properties, decreased funding for social services, and educational inequities, all of which contribute to an increased risk of destabilization and blight.
Sterner believes New Jersey needs a “rational and predictable housing-delivery system.” Planning, guided by strong state leadership, is needed both to smooth out the boom-and-bust development and ensure the availability of low-income housing outside cities.
That is an explosive issue New Jersey’s leadership has tried to avoid for 35 years, since the state Supreme Court ruled that a constitutional right to affordable housing cannot be abridged by zoning laws – the so-called Mt. Laurel decisions.
We could not agree more.
Perhaps the winner of tomorrow’s demolition derby should spend a week with Diane Sterner developing their vision for NJ.
With visionary leadership we could not only end homelessness but have a place at the table for all of us.
