Does Fair Share Housing Targets Suburbs for Destruction ?
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Montvale NJ, a grassroots rebellion is sweeping across New Jersey. What started as a personal outreach by Montvale Mayor Mike Ghassali has exploded into a powerful coalition of 36 municipalities—crossing party lines and county borders—to challenge the state’s current affordable housing policies.
The message is clear: The system isn’t just broken; it’s actively hurting the communities it claims to help.
The Problem: High Density vs. Real Affordability
Mayor Ghassali and the coalition are quick to point out that they are not anti-affordable housing. Instead, they are fighting against a “cabal” in Trenton and the Fair Share Housing Center that favors high-density, market-rate development over sustainable community growth.
“When most newly constructed one-bedroom apartments rent for $4,000 a month, that is not affordability,” says Mayor Ghassali. “That is a system failing the people.”
The coalition argues that current mandates force towns into “David vs. Goliath” legal battles that ultimately enrich developers while inflating market prices and pushing families further away from the American Dream.
The Montvale Example: A Good Faith Plan Rejected
The frustration peaked when Montvale proposed a groundbreaking solution: 100% affordable housing fully funded by the borough. This plan would have met the town’s obligations responsibly without the massive, high-density market-rate buildings usually required.
Despite being a sustainable, good-faith offer, the plan was rejected by Fair Share Housing and the courts. According to Ghassali, the reason is simple: A project made entirely of affordable units doesn’t deliver the massive profits developers seek.
A “Once-in-a-Generation” Fight
The coalition is now standing on equal footing to counter the influence of Fair Share Housing. Mayor Ghassali is promising that the work to give residents and taxpayers a voice of their own is already underway.
“I’m far from finished,” Ghassali says. “Our residents deserve a voice capable of countering these mandates, and they will have one.”
The “United 36”: Towns Standing Together
These 36 municipalities, representing Bergen, Essex, Morris, Monmouth, Passaic, Salem, Somerset, and Sussex counties, have joined the fight:
| Allendale | Cedar Grove | Clark |
| Closter | Denville | East Hanover |
| Englewood | Florham Park | Franklin Lakes |
| Hillsdale | Hanover | Holmdel |
| Hawthorne | Little Falls | Mannington |
| Millburn | Mendham Borough | Montville |
| Montvale | Montgomery | New Milford |
| Norwood | Old Tappan | Oradell |
| Parsippany-Troy Hills | River Vale | Sandyston |
| Totowa | Warren | Wall |
| Washington Twp (Bergen) | West Caldwell | Westwood |
| Woodland Park | Wharton | Wyckoff |
What’s Next?
The coalition is signaling that a new phase of legal and grassroots action is imminent. For residents who have felt unheard in the face of rapid development, this coalition represents a major shift in the New Jersey political landscape.
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They lost in supreme court.
What’s the next step?
Stop whining and move to a great red state like Arkansas or Alabama.
figures out liberal mayor, council and village mgr are in cahoots with Trenton
figures our liberal mayor, council and village mgr are in cahoots with Trenton
I read just today that tenants in “Affordable” units are not paying their rent. According to a February 2026 report by the New York Housing Conference, 36% of the total eviction filings in 2024 in NYC, were for Subsidized Affordable Housing. Nothing is cheap enough when your priorities include lates and $1,800 mobile phones.