Unitarian Universalist FaithAction NJ
A UU voice for justice, equity and compassion in NJ
Thank you to everyone who came out to demand an end to the New Jim Crow and to stop mass incarceration on Monday, October 27, 2014. There were 220 people at the New Jersey State House in Trenton and at least a third of those were UUs, representing 8 NJ congregations! Those in attendance were motivated and moved by the inspiring and passionate speakers.
On Friday, October 31, 2014, Fair Share Housing Center (FSHC) filed a Motion to Enforce Litigants’ Rights at the New Jersey Supreme Court in response to the Council on Affordable Housing (COAH)’s failure earlier this month to adopt new rules to implement the New Jersey Fair Housing Act. The motion, which is available here, asks the Court to find that because the Christie Administration has failed to follow the Court’s orders, trial courts rather than COAH will be responsible for implementing the Fair Housing Act.
“The Christie Administration for years has opposed any fair solution to ensure that municipalities do not unfairly exclude working families, lower-income seniors, and people with special needs,” FSHC Staff Attorney Kevin Walsh said. “Today we ask the Supreme Court to say that, after interminable delays, we need to move forward, for the sake of the many people still looking for a decent place to live whether as a result of Superstorm Sandy, the foreclosure crisis, or the broader housing shortage in the State. Our communities and economy have suffered too long from Governor Christie’s refusal to deal with how unaffordable homes in New Jersey have become.”
The motion follows COAH’s failure to meet the Supreme Court’s October 22, 2014 deadline for adopting new rules to implement the Fair Housing Act in order to publish the rules in the New Jersey Register by November 17, 2014. That deadline itself, established by a March 14, 2014 order of the Supreme Court, was a nearly nine month extension from the original February 26, 2014, deadline. The Court at that time stated that if the revised deadline were not met, it would consider a motion such as the one FSHC filed today.
The Christie Administration’s rulemaking process was plagued by wildly inaccurate data such as claiming that much of the land in Monmouth County was actually located in Ocean County, a refusal to release to the public basic information about how the rules were devised followed by a claim that key documents had been “lost”, and manipulating housing need figures based on assuming that New Jersey would never recover from the 2008 recession. As a result of these deep flaws, the COAH Board refused to adopt the rules at an October 20, 2014 meeting.
The motion asks the Court to set up an orderly process that is fair to housing advocates, non-profit and for-profit developers, and municipalities, ensuring that all interested parties have an opportunity to participate and that the public is fully notified of all such proceedings. The motion also asks that the Court designate a small number of judges to determine the fair share of homes for each municipality for working families, lower-income seniors, and people with special needs, again with full participation of all interested parties, over the next 90 days.
“We need a fair path forward to address New Jersey’s housing shortage, where everyone can participate, with full transparency,” Walsh added. “Unfortunately, the Christie Administration tried to hide what it was doing from public view, and supposedly ‘lost’ documents, instead of having a transparent process. We hope that the Supreme Court will recognize the need for a fair and public process to get homes built and our economy moving.”
Fair Share Housing Center, founded in 1975 is based in Cherry Hill. It is the only public interest organization devoted entirely to defending the housing rights of New Jersey’s poor through implementing the Mount Laurel doctrine, which requires that each municipality provides its fair share of housing affordable to low- and moderate-income people.
Visit Fair Share Housing on the web at www.fairsharehousing.org.
The Council on Affordable Housing last week rejected rules proposed by the Christie Administration to guide municipalities in meeting their affordable housing obligations. The proposed rules were criticized on the grounds that they would lead to thousands fewer affordable homes. Lorraine Wearly, chair of the UULMNJ Economic Justice Task Force testified in opposition to the proposed rules. Kudos to the work of Fair Share Housing and HCDNNJ.
This coming Monday, October 27, 2014, is our Moral Monday March to Stop Mass Incarceration. We will gather at noon in front of the Trenton State House Steps. Here is an informational flyer [tt_vector icon=”fa-file-pdf-o”] concerning important details about this Monday’s march, as well as a copy of the rally flyer [tt_vector icon=”fa-file-pdf-o”]. Please don’t miss this important event.
UULMNJ’s 2014 Fall Issues Conference, held Sept 27 at CUC (Paramus) was a huge success, with over 100 attendees representing sixteen of NJ’s UU congregations. Thank you to all who came out to help make the day a success, and a special thanks to our friends at the Paramus Congregation. ACLU-NJ executive director, Udi Ofer was the keynote speaker (watch it here). Task forces convened and set this year’s priority agenda:
Come To Trenton October 27, Noon: Moral Monday Rally to “Stop the Mass Incarceration of Our People,” New Jersey State House, 125 W. State Street at 12, noon. Join UU Congregations of NJ and other concerned citizens.
Get Out and Vote on Nov. 4: Ballot Question One: Eliminating the requirement for bail can be a good thing. A constitutional amendment must be passed to enact the NJ bail reform legislation passed and signed this past summer. Your vote will determine the fate of bail reform in New Jersey. Please get out and vote on Question 1. For more details on this important question, please read the Star Ledger column by UULMNJ Exec. Director Rev. Craig Hirshberg here.
Are you receiving UULMNJ Action Alerts? If not, send your email address to admin@uulmnj.org and we will get you on our UULMNJ list.
Monday, October 27 is the Moral Monday Rally In Trenton from 12-2 in support of Mass Incarceration Reform. This is a call to get UU’s there. Please consider joining UULMNJ and other supporters across the state for this demonstration. Please talk this up with your congregations, include notices in your bulletins and distribute with e blasts. The most recent flyer is here. This is the time to stand up with our coalition.
See you in Trenton on the 27th.
Please consider supporting First Friends in its Stamp Out Despair campaign.
The month of October is a focus for activity to protest, educate and advocate for an end to this critical racial and social justice issue of our era. There is still time to participate and join in. Here are some of the activities planned by UUs and others.
Visit www.stopmassincarceration.net to learn more about this national movement.
Climate March Continues: To stay current with UU Climate activities, the UUA is launching a new collective campaign for climate justice called Commit2Respond. Be sure to sign up.
By launching Commit2Respond, we will join all of our faithful efforts together to accelerate the shift to clean, renewable energy; grow the climate justice movement; and advance the human rights of marginalized communities in the face of climate change. The UUA is building a timeline of events from now through 2017, including a month of commitment and action in spring 2015 and a climate justice public witness event at General Assembly 2015 in Portland, OR.
And the first event is starting now. Join the UU contingent in New York, participate in a local action in your area, and/or follow and amplify this weekend’s message on social media through the hashtags #Commit2Respond and #PeoplesClimate.
Adjourned at 9:03
Minutes submitted by Laurice Grae-Hauck, UULMNJ Administrator
Next call on November 5 at 8:00pm.
We are beginning to utilize Zoom teleconferencing. Please see the info below. You may join either by phone or computer. Please use the meeting ID below when prompted.
Topic: Craig Hirshberg’s Monthly Liaison Meeting
Time: this is a recurring meeting
Join from PC, Mac, iOS or Android: https://zoom.us/j/468835613
Or join by phone:
+1 (415) 762-9988 or +1 (646) 568-7788 US Toll
Meeting ID: 468 835 613
Incomes and standards of living do not improve for all during times of economic expansion. This article [tt_vector icon=”fa-external-link”] by Neil Irwin shows that who benefits from economic expansion has changed drastically over the last fifty years.