Ridgewood NJ, In the paper , “The Rise of Victimhood Culture.” by Conor Friedersdorf , Friedersdorf explains, Americans previously settled conflicts within the frameworks of the “honor” and “dignity” cultures:
“In honor cultures like the Old West or the street gangs of West Side Story, they might engage in a duel or physical fight. In dignity cultures, like the ones that prevailed in Western countries during the 19th and 20th Centuries, ‘insults might provoke offense, but they no longer have the same importance as a way of establishing or destroying a reputation for bravery,’ they write. ‘When intolerable conflicts do arise, dignity cultures prescribe direct but non-violent actions.’”
But now, we have the victimhood culture. Quoting Campbell and Manning, Friedersdorf explains this as
“characterized by concern with status and sensitivity to slight combined with a heavy reliance on third parties. People are intolerant of insults, even if unintentional, and react by bringing them to the attention of authorities or to the public at large. Domination is the main form of deviance, and victimization a way of attracting sympathy, so rather than emphasize either their strength or inner worth, the aggrieved emphasize their oppression and social marginalization.
Victimhood cultures emerge in settings, like today’s college campuses, “that increasingly lack the intimacy and cultural homogeneity that once characterized towns and suburbs, but in which organized authority and public opinion remain as powerful sanctions,” they argue. “Under such conditions complaint to third parties has supplanted both toleration and negotiation. People increasingly demand help from others, and advertise their oppression as evidence that they deserve respect and assistance. Thus we might call this moral culture a culture of victimhood … the moral status of the victim, at its nadir in honor cultures, has risen to new heights.”
According to the paper, the following social conditions allow the victimhood culture to get a foothold:
Self-help in the form of dueling or fighting is not an option.
“The availability of social superiors—especially hierarchical superiors such as legal or private administrators—is conducive to reliance on third parties.”
Campaigns aimed at winning over the support of third parties are likeliest to occur in atomized environments, like college campuses, where one cannot rely on members of a family, tribe or clan to automatically take one’s side in a dispute.
Since third-parties are likeliest to intervene in disputes that they regard as relatively serious, and disputes where one group is perceived as dominating another are considered serious by virtue of their aggregate relevance to millions of people, victimhood culture is likeliest to arise in settings where there is some diversity and inequality, but whose members are almost equal, since “a morality that privileges equality and condemns oppression is most likely to arise precisely in settings that already have relatively high degrees of equality.”
In simple terms the members of the victimhood culture operate within a relatively privileged and sheltered environment and try to solve conflicts in a childish fashion by tattling to authority figures so that they may gloat over their perceived aggressors.
Wyckoff NJ, Wyckoff and Waldwick Police report that a Waldwick Police Officer interrupted a suspect committing a burglary to an unlocked vehicle in their Borough.
Wyckoff Police have also experienced this in the past and would like to remind our residents to please remove all valuable items and especially key fobs from your vehicles and to lock your car doors at all times. Locking your vehicles and removing the key fobs is a simple way to deter criminals. It only takes a second to lock the doors. We cannot stress enough the value of our residents remaining alert in their neighborhoods and reporting anything unusual or suspicious to the police, “Hear It! See It! Report It!” We encourage all residents to report any suspicious persons, vehicles, or activity occurring in their neighborhoods at any time to Wyckoff Police- County Dispatch (201)891-2121.
We harp on the massive, unsustainable, yet largely unnoticed, debt burdens of American cities, counties and states fairly regularly because, well, it’s a frightening issue if you spend just a little time to understand the math and ultimate consequences. Here is some of our recent posts on the topic:
Luckily, for those looking to escape the trauma of being taxed into oblivion by their failing cities/counties/states, JP Morgan has provided a comprehensive guide on which municipalities haven’t the slightest hope of surviving their multi-decade debt binge and lavish public pension awards.
If you live in any of the ‘red’ cities below, it just might be time to start looking for another home…
To add a little context to the map above, JP Morgan ranked every major city in the United States based on what percentage of their annual budgets are required just to fund interest payments on debt, pension contributions and other post retirement benefits.
The results are staggering. To our great ‘shock’, Chicago residents win the award of “most screwed” with over 60% of their tax dollars going to fund debt and pension payments. Meanwhile, there are a dozen municipalities where over 50% of their annual budgets are used just to fund the maintenance cost of past expenditures.
As managers of $70 billion in US municipal bonds across our asset management business (Q2 2017), we’re very focused on credit risk of US municipalities.
The chart below shows our “IPOD” ratio for US states, cities and counties. This measure represents the percentage of a municipality’s revenues that would be needed to pay interest on direct debt, and fully amortize unfunded pension and retiree healthcare obligations over 30 years, assuming a conservative return of 6% on plan assets. While there’s no hard and fast rule, municipalities with IPOD ratios over 30% may eventually face very difficult choices regarding taxation, non-pension spending, infrastructure investment, contributions to unfunded plans and bond repayment
Ridgewood NJ, today is National Voter Registration Day , it is a national holiday celebrating our democracy. It was first observed in 2012 and has been growing in popularity every year since. Held on the fourth Tuesday of September, National Voter Registration Day will be observed on Tuesday, September 26th this year.
To vote in New Jersey, one must be a United States citizen and a resident of his or her county for at least 30 days prior to the election. A voter must be at least 18 years old by the time of the next election in order to register. The registration deadline occurs 21 days prior to the election.
Voter information for Bergen County : https://www.co.bergen.nj.us/DocumentCenter/View/499
Voter registration in Bergen County New Jersey: https://www.co.bergen.nj.us/DocumentCenter/View/1224
OCTOBER 17, 2017 DEADLINE GENERAL ELECTION (9:00 PM)
Hackensack NJ, Bergen County Prosecutor Gurbir S. Grewal announced the following arrests:
ANTHONY PEGUERO (D.O.B. 2/07/1994; single; and employed as a mover) of 272 S 8th Street, Newark, New Jersey; charged with Trafficking in Stolen Identities, Check Fraud and Theft by Deception;
DALESKA DILLERVA (D.O.B. 2/21/1995; single; and unemployed) of 272 S 8th Street, Newark, New Jersey; charged with Trafficking in Stolen Identities, Check Fraud and Theft by Deception;
LEZLIE MERCEDES (D.O.B. 10/07/1997; single; and employed as a concierge) of 27 Newman Street, Hackensack, New Jersey; charged with Check Fraud and Theft by Deception;
GUILLERMO LOPEZ (D.O.B. 8/04/1987; single; and unemployed) of 92 Summit Avenue, Jersey City, New Jersey; charged with Check Fraud and Theft by Deception;
ALYSHA VIERA (D.O.B. 12/04/1997; single; and employed as store clerk) of 313 2nd Street, Carlstadt, New Jersey; charged with Check Fraud and Theft by Deception;
FRANCISCO TROCHE (D.O.B. 10/27/1991; single; employed as a cook) of 20 Hiram Place, Harrison, New Jersey; charged with Check Fraud and Theft by Deception;
CLAUDIO RODRIGUES (D.O.B. 9/14/1991; single; and employed as an automotive service manager) of 117 Rutherford Place, Kearny, New Jersey; Check Fraud and Theft by Deception.
The arrests are the result of an investigation conducted by members of the Bergen County Prosecutors Office Financial Crimes Unit under the direction of Chief Robert Anzilotti.
In August of 2017, the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office received a complaint from County of Bergen financial officers regarding the fraudulent production and deposit of checks which were made to appear as if they were issued from a Bergen County payroll account. Along with the checks, it was determined that illicit wire activity had also occurred which brought the total theft amount to over $50,000.
The investigation revealed that DILLERVA and PEGUERO organized the illicit activities of a group of individuals who were responsible for forging and negotiating business checks. The checks were deposited in co-conspirators’ accounts and then the illicitly obtained funds were withdrawn before the forgeries and deception were uncovered. MERCEDES, LOPEZ, VIERA, TROCHE, and RODRIGUEZ acted in concert along with DILLERVA and PEGUERO to access and use the illicit bank accounts in which the forged checks were deposited. As a result of the still ongoing investigation, other suspected victim business accounts have been identified.
As a result of the investigation:
Alysha VIERA was arrested on Friday, September 8, 2017 in Paramus, New Jersey and charged with one count of Issuing or Passing Bad Checks, with a value greater than $1,000 but less than $75,000, in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:21-5, a 3rd degree crime; and, one count of Theft by Deception, with a benefit greater than $500 but less than $75,000, in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:20-4a, a 3rd degree crime. The complaint was issued as a summons and VIERA is scheduled to appear in Central Judicial Processing Court at 8:30 a.m. on September 20, 2017.
Guillermo LOPEZ was arrested on Monday, September 11, 2017 in Jersey City, New Jersey and charged with one count of Issuing or Passing Bad Checks, with a value greater than $1,000 but less than $75,000, in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:21-5, a 3rd degree crime; and one count of Theft by Deception, with a benefit greater than $500 but less than $75,000, in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:20-4a, a 3rd degree crime. The complaint was issued as a summons and LOPEZ is scheduled to appear in Central Judicial Processing Court at 8:30 a.m. on September 27, 2017.
Anthony PEGUERO was arrested on Tuesday, September 19, 2017 in Newark, New Jersey and charged with one count of Fraudulent Use, Distribution, Manufacture, and/or Possession of Items Containing the Personal Identification Information of Another (Trafficking in Stolen Identities), ten of more items pertaining to five or more persons, in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:17.3, a 2nd degree crime, one count of Issuing or Passing Bad Checks, with a value greater than $1,000 but less than $75,000, in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:21-5, a 3rd degree crime; and one count of Theft by Deception, with a benefit greater than $500 but less than $75,000, in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:20-4a, a 3rd degree crime. The complaint was issued as a warrant and PEGUERO was detained pending a detention hearing.
Daleska DILLERVA was arrested on Tuesday, September 19, 2017 in Newark, New Jersey and charged with one count of Fraudulent Use, Distribution, Manufacture, and/or Possession of Items Containing the Personal Identification Information of Another (Trafficking in Stolen Identities), ten of more items pertaining to five or more persons, in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:17.3, a 2nd degree crime, one count of Issuing or Passing Bad Checks, with a value greater than $1,000 but less than $75,000, in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:21-5, a 3rd degree crime; and, one count of Theft by Deception, with a benefit greater than $500 but less than $75,000, in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:20-4a, a 3rd degree crime. The complaint was issued as a summons and DILLERVA is scheduled to appear in Central Judicial Processing Court at 8:30 a.m. on October 4, 2017.
Francisco TROCHE was arrested on Tuesday, September 19, 2017 in Paramus, New Jersey and charged with one count of Issuing or Passing Bad Checks, with a value greater than $200 but less than $1,000, in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:21-5, a 4th degree crime; and, one count of Theft by Deception, with a benefit greater than $500 but less than $75,000, in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:20-4a, a 3rd degree crime. The complaint was issued as a summons and TROCHE is scheduled to appear in Central Judicial Processing Court at 8:30 a.m. on October 4, 2017.
Claudio RODRIGUES was arrested on Wednesday, September 20, 2017 in Paramus, New Jersey and charged with one count of Issuing or Passing Bad Checks, with a value greater than $1,000 but less than $75,000, in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:21-5, a 3rd degree crime; and, one count of Theft by Deception, with a benefit greater than $500 but less than $75,000, in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:20-4a, a 3rd degree crime. The complaint was issued as a summons and RODRIGUES is scheduled to appear in Central Judicial Processing Court at 8:30 a.m. on October 4, 2017.
Lezlie MERCEDES was arrested on Wednesday, September 20, 2017 in Paramus, New Jersey and charged with one count of Issuing or Passing Bad Checks, with a value greater than $1,000 but less than $75,000, in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:21-5, a 3rd degree crime; and, one count of Theft by Deception, with a benefit greater than $500 but less than $75,000, in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:20-4a, a 3rd degree crime. The complaint was issued as a summons and MERCEDES is scheduled to appear in Central Judicial Processing Court at 8:30 a.m. on October 4, 2017.
Nicholas Katzban, Staff Writer, @NicholasKatzbanPublished 1:18 p.m. ET Aug. 31, 2017
In 1982 the village of Ridgewood sold a small park on Broad Street to Bergen County for $60,000. Thirty-plus years later, that sale is costing the village in state funds that are being withheld until 1.9 acres of land is purchased and maintained as public green space.
The search for replacement parkland is ongoing. Village Manager Heather Mailander would not share details of the search, as it involves negotiations with property owners, but said, “I’m expecting to brief the council on that during an executive session very soon.”
She has, she said, identified multiple locations for the council’s consideration.
The state Department of Environmental Protection discovered the sale of 308-316 South Broad Street in 2012, several decades after the county constructed affordable town houses on the land, which stand there today.
Ridgewood’s CBD has become the largest open air food court in Bergen County. We should embrace that and close Ridgewood Ave between Broad and Maple and make it a walking mall like Washington Street in Cape May, Main Street Charlottesville, Pearl Street Boulder, 4th Street Louisville, the list goes on. Sure NJ Transit bus people may complain, but fix that with a one-way (west obviously) Dayton Street. Changes like this would drive improvements on Franklin (while simplifying the intersections at Chestnut, Oak, Walnut and Cottage Place). It would push parking (or at least parking access) to the perimeter of that space and allow for a real walking village with diverse shops and restaurants to flourish. It would also make The Greek’s planters a non-issue! Who’s with me?
Lyndhurst NJ, A Lyndhurst, New Jersey, man was sentenced today to 46 months in prison for fraudulently obtaining over $1.5 million from approximately 100 victims prior to high-profile initial public offerings (IPOs), Acting U.S. Attorney William E. Fitzpatrick announced.
Omar Hafez, 25, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge William H. Walls to an information charging him one count of wire fraud. Judge Walls imposed the sentence today in Newark federal court.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
From July 2014 through December 2015, Hafez operated an investment fraud scheme in which he and others created a number of entities, including Lotus Global. Several of these entities had websites and social media pages listing Hafez as the CEO and advertising themselves as successful wealth management companies.
In order to deceive victim investors, Hafez represented that he had access to shares of various companies prior to their initial public offerings and could use that access to provide significant profits to investors. However, bank records for accounts controlled by Hafez and certain Lotus Global entities revealed that none of the money provided by victim investors was used to purchase shares or invest in any of the pre-IPO companies.
Instead, Hafez used the funds for his own benefit, including several large purchases at luxury car dealerships, including an approximately $87,000 purchase at Prestige Motors, an approximately $24,160 purchase at Signature Car Collections, and an approximately $8,690 purchase at Dream Cars National LLC. In addition, Hafez purchased numerous luxury goods, including an approximately $17,250 purchase at Tourneau Inc., an approximately $5,613 purchase at Louis Vuitton, and an approximately $3,000 purchase at Tiffany & Co., as well as airplane tickets and hotel stays for a single trip to Chicago totaling approximately $10,000.
Hafez employed numerous strategies to maintain the victims’ confidence and induce further investments. For example, bank records showed that Hafez occasionally used money from earlier victim investors in order to pay future victims “lulling” payments. In classic Ponzi scheme fashion, Hafez lied to investors and told them that these payments were returns on their investments.
As funds began to run out and investors demanded their money with increasing frequency, Hafez provided certain victim investors with checks for thousands of dollars, claiming that they represented investment returns or a refund of initial investments. When victim investors attempted to deposit or cash these checks, the checks were rejected due to insufficient funds because Hafez and others had already spent the victims’ money.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Walls sentenced Hafez to three years of supervised release. Hafez must also pay restitution of $1.5 million.
Mahwah NJ, on Monday a judge vacated a temporary restraining order filed by Mahwah Township against the Ramapough Lenape Indians.
The restraining order was imposed on a 14-acre prayer ground the Ramapoughs at the edge of a housing development.
Mahwah officials claimed that the Ramapoughs are in voilation of zoning laws because of tents, teepees and other structures they erected on the site, which is within a conservation zone and flood plain.
In an opinion issued by Superior Court Judge Charles E. Powers, “the township has not demonstrated that the temporary restraints are required to prevent imminent and irreparable harm,” .
Paramus NJ, Assemblywomen Holly Schepisi hosted a meeting on June 15th at Bergen Community College to talk about OVERDEVELOPMENT, affordable housing and the biggest issues affecting Bergen County local communities.
The event was packed with legislators, mayors, engineers, planners, environmental experts, school superintendents, non-profit housing groups and others who joined Assemblywoman Holly Schepisi at the Thursday night legislative hearing to address New Jersey’s affordable housing crisis.
The hearing will provided the first significant legislative discussion addressing New Jersey’s affordable housing crisis in 5 years.
The meeting was very well attended given how little publicity from New Jersey main stream press .Senator Gerald Cardinale, Assemblymen Robert Auth and Kevin J. Rooney and the several hundred people took time to talk about overdevelopment and affordable housing.
The Speakers included Mayors and former Mayors from Closter, Haworth, Demarest, Dumont, Upper Saddle River and Montvale. Council members from Park Ridge, Ramsey and Dumont. Elected officials and representatives were also present from communities including Westwood, Mahwah, New Milford, Old Tappan, Emerson, Paramus, Allendale, Mountain Lakes, Montville, Hillsdale and Woodcliff Lake. Tom Toronto and Lynn Bartlett, the heads of non-profit affordable housing agencies United Way and the Bergen County Housing Authority, along with Bruce Young, the President of the Bergen County School Boards all provided great testimony.
Captain Bill Sheehan from Hackensack Riverkeepers for discussing environmental concerns. I was disappointed that none of our other Bergen County legislators chose to attend. This is an issue that every municipality is struggling with regardless of political party lines. We must work together to assist the communities we represent.
Joanne Minichetti, mayor of Upper Saddle River, told Assemblywoman Holly Schepisi and other state officials that the analysis leading to the obligations was “ridiculous” and “stupid.” The obligations were created by the Cherry Hill-based Fair Share Housing Center.
Derek Michalski also from Upper Saddle River recounted to the Ridgewood blog ,” in the case of USR two developers father and son “forced” rezoning Apple Ridge property on USR mayor and Council and after obtaining the “rezoning signature” re-sold the same property to Toll Brothers for $20-30milion quick gain. if the town did this deal for its own benefit(residents) we wouldn’t have to raise taxes for decades to come. Thus such chaos is creating enormous benefit to developers and leaving communities in fear.”
Schepisi has recently introduced two bills to freeze municipal affordable housing obligations through the end of the year, and establish a commission to study the issue and determine each town’s obligations. Over fifty municipalities throughout the state of New Jersey have passed a resolution urging action on Schepisi’s bills.
However NJ Housing and Development Chairman Jerry Green (D) is not going to release those two bill to the floor for vote (IMHO). They will die waiting…..in the meantime the town in fear of loosing this issue in court are marketing (horrible deals with developers). For instance in the case of USR two developers father and son “forced” rezoning Apple Ridge property on USR mayor and Council and after obtaining the “rezoning signature” re-sold the same property to Toll Brothers for $20-30milion quick gain. if the town did this deal for its own benefit(residents) we wouldn’t have to raise taxes for decades to come. Thus such chaos is creating enormous benefit to developers and leaving communities in fear.
And you guessed it Green is a major fund raiser for Murphy (he told me that himself in his office) so this issue is almoeast a dead issue.
Ridgewood NJ , Recently hired Ridgewood FD Career Firefighters Dane Knudsen and Shelby Taylor were sworn in by Ridgewood Mayor Susan Knudsen during a ceremony held at Ridgewood Village Hall on Wednesday evening, 06/07.
Firefighter Taylor, a former member of the United States Marine Corps, is the first female Career Firefighter in the Department’s history, and is also believed to be the first full-time, paid female firefighter to serve a Bergen County municipality.
Tired of Being Number One in all the wrong things? Hope to see representation from all of our communities on June 15, 2017. Help be part of the solution !
June 3,2017
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
WESTWOOD NJ, Assemblywoman Holly Schepisi will initiate a series of statewide legislative hearings to address New Jersey’s affordable housing crisis. The first will be held on June 15 from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Bergen Community College’s Technology Education Center room 128.
One candidate for New Jersey Governor GOP Joseph Rudy Rullo has promised to dissolve COAH altogether while other candidates have only spoken in vague generalities or ignored the subject all together.
“The tough job of finding a solution cannot wait another day,” said Schepisi (R-Bergen). “If the state Legislature won’t hold meetings on court-forced overdevelopment, I will.”
Schepisi will be joined by other invited guests, including fellow legislators, mayors, town officials and planners, engineers, traffic experts, board of education members, environmental groups and other interested parties.
She said the hearings will examine ways to provide a better way toward affordability for the residents of this state while protecting towns from a recent state Supreme Court ruling that could force the construction of up to 1.5 million unneeded housing units to satisfy a fictitious population increase of 3.35 million in the next nine years – while Rutgers projects a population increase of only 219,000.
“We have reached a critical juncture in the State of New Jersey. We are the most costly, the most densely populated with the highest number of outmigration because people can no longer afford to live here. Instead of smart discussions regarding how to implement change to reduce living costs for all of our residents, the legislature’s inaction is forcing communities to potentially double their housing population in just the next nine years, destroying all existing housing prices while increasing property taxes,” said Schepisi. “We need to stop the court’s action and fix this issue while we still can.”
Schepisi recently introduced two bills to freeze municipal affordable housing obligations through the end of the year, and establish a commission to study the issue and determine each town’s obligations. As a result of the failure of the legislature to move any of these initiatives forward, Schepisi has decided to hold her own hearings and provide the transcripts and testimony to the NJ Legislature.
Over forty-five municipalities in Bergen, Gloucester, Morris, Essex, Union, Somerset, Mercer, Passaic and Hudson counties have passed a resolution urging action by the legislature to stop such discrepancy. The resolution also supports Schepisi’s bills to temporarily halt affordable housing litigation and create a special commission.
Paramus NJ, Under recent affordable housing rulings by the NJ Supreme Court, our communities are being forced to permit construction of up to 1.5 MILLION new units of unneeded housing in order to satisfy a fictitious population increase of 30 percent in the next 9 years.
Protect our State from ridiculous affordable housing court mandates (which may result in over 1.5 MILLION new units of housing in NJ) by supporting A-4666 and A-4667 to stop the Court actions and study the issue while we still can.
Many of our NJ residents are unaware that their communities will be forced to DOUBLE their housing population in just the next 9 years, destroying all existing housing prices.
Assemblywoman Holly Schepisi is now asking of volunteers. “I’m going to need all volunteers willing to help. I’ve received permission to host a “town hall” session on June 15th at 5:30 at Bergen Community College in Paramus. If the NJ Legislature won’t hold meetings on housing affordability and court forced overdevelopment, I will. The intent of this meeting is to host an open hearing to gain thoughts, concerns and options from members of the public, Mayors and Councils, planners, engineers, traffic experts, board of education members, environmental groups, etc. I will personally pay for transcripts of this hearing and will have them delivered to the Legislature. This will be the first of numerous hearings held throughout the entire State. I will draft a formal letter tomorrow for distribution throughout the County. Anyone willing to help out in the circulation efforts would be greatly appreciated. If you have an hour or two to spare please call my office (201) 666-0881 and ask for Doreen.”
Bergen County had a life expectancy of 82.47, one of the highest in the state. It also had one of the biggest increases in the past three decades, going from 75.27 in 1980, an increase of 9.6 percent.
Updated May 19, 2017
Posted May 19, 2017
By Erin Petenko
New Jersey has seen big gains in life expectancy over the past three decades, according to research published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. But those gains have not been distributed equally.
Life expectancy in the state varies from 77 to 82 years old, depending on in which county the person was born. Every county increased in life expectancy from 1980 to 2014, but some saw impressive increases, while others had lackluster growth. Find out the life expectancy of residents born in your county.
Disclaimer: This list is roughly in order from lowest to highest life expectancy, but because of the margin of error in the data, some counties are virtually tied.
Rivervale NJ, I have been on the front lines fighting for the legislature to do its job and provide a legislative solution to recent Court opinions on affordable housing in the State. Even the NJ Supreme Court agrees that the legislature should do something, anything, on this issue.
As a result of recent court opinions, I drafted bills to stop the costly litigations currently taking place in every municipality so that all interested parties, including the NJ League of Municipalities, the Executive Director of the NJ Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency, the Executive Director of Fair Share Housing, professional planners and members of the legislature can sit together and develop a better way to ensure affordability in this State for all people regardless of race, religion, sexual orientation or gender. The current plan to have over 280,000 new affordable units or 1.5 million additional total units in a state that is already the most densely populated with a population growth rate of less than 0.3 percent, along with being one of the States that most people are fleeing, is irrational at best.
My bills have received support from Democratic mayors and councils, Republican mayors and councils and communities that are split between political parties. This is not a Republican or Democratic issue, this is one of the most important issues affecting every community in the State and if we, as legislators refuse to address it, we do not deserve to be legislators.
Unfortunately, many times elected officials are unwilling to step up to the plate to address the more difficult issues for fear of the backlash. It is exceptionally unfortunate that in today’s political climate, the immediate “go to” for those who disagree on an issue is to insinuate the other person is a racist or a bigot or a whole host of other items. Today I found myself just in that place. As a result of my trying to bring all parties to the table to properly address an incredibly complicated and difficult topic, the head of the Bergen County NAACP, provided a letter to the Bergen Record today accusing me of “fear mongering”, “trying to advance my political profile” and alleging that I am affirmatively trying to keep minorities out of our communities. Anyone who knows me knows how totally off base his letter is with respect to how I operate or what I believe. I have reached out to the State NAACP President to request a sit down to openly discuss this issue. If we want our State to succeed we better start having the tough conversations now, while we still can. Wanting to figure out a better way to govern this State is a quality we want in everyone who represents us.
Please call your Mayors and your legislators and ask them to protect our State from ridiculous affordable housing court mandates (which may result in over 1.5 MILLION new units of housing in NJ) by supporting A-4666 and A-4667 to stop the Court actions and study the issue while we still can. If you don’t see your town below ask your elected officials why they aren’t fighting for your community.
Here is a current list of towns that have passed resolutions in support of my legislation to provide relief to our communities in the fight against the threat of over 1.5 MILLION new units of housing in NJ. If you don’t see your town on here ASK WHY. Many of our NJ residents are unaware that their communities will be forced to DOUBLE their housing population in just the next 9 years, destroying all existing housing prices.
Closter
Demarest
Dumont
Emerson
Franklin Lakes
Harrington Park
Haworth
Hillsdale
Mahwah
Montvale
Norwood
Old Tappan
Park Ridge
River Vale
Upper Saddle River
Westwood
Woodcliff Lake
Bloomingdale
Wanaque
Wayne
Saddle Brook
Fair Lawn
Oradell
Rochelle Park
Hackensack
Lincoln Park
