Blocking affordable housing segregates N.J.'s blacks and Latinos | Opinion

Blocking affordable housing segregates N.J.'s blacks and Latinos | Opinion

By Richard T. Smith and Christian Estevez

We are confronting a moral reckoning in New Jersey.

The Garden State remains one of the most segregated states in the country — where too often the color of one's skin determines a person's future.

This system of de facto segregation is undergirded by a long history of exclusionary zoning practices by suburban municipalities seeking to keep low-income residents confined to struggling inner cities, where they are unable to take steps toward achieving the American dream in the form of safe neighborhoods, good schools and access to jobs.

Thankfully, the state Supreme Court last year struck a much-needed blow on behalf of New Jersey's poor and marginalized.

In a unanimous decision, the court re-energized the strongest tool we have in the fight against segregation and exclusion. The principle, known as the Mount Laurel Doctrine, mandates that suburban municipalities across New Jersey do their fair share to provide housing opportunities for working families, seniors living on fixed incomes and those with disabilities.

Yet a core group of recalcitrant municipalities have taken a different path and decided to fall back on the same tired tactics of exclusion to delay the construction of new housing and to water down their obligations as much as possible. They would waste untold thousands of dollars in taxpayer funds in expensive and ugly litigation rather than fulfill their legal and moral mandate to build a more inclusive New Jersey.

These municipalities are arguing, incredibly, that they shouldn't have to address the demand for housing that accumulated during the 15-year period when New Jersey's housing laws are in flux. Instead, they want to be rewarded for their years of delays and are asking for permission to simply ignore the tens of thousands of families experiencing poverty during this time.

Three trial court judges — in Mercer, Middlesex and Ocean counties — have already correctly rejected such extremist arguments. Today, a three-judge panel of appellate judges was to take up the case.

While these towns are couching their arguments in complicated legal jargon, the impact of their position is clear. If successful, they will be able to effectively eliminate up to 60 percent of the state's housing need — meaning many New Jersey families will never be able to realize their dream of moving into a permanent home.

Our state's fair housing laws aren't just abstract principles. They represent real hope to tens of thousands of New Jerseyans — disproportionately African-Americans and Latinos — who have been systematically excluded from employment and educational opportunities.

The Supreme Court's strong decision cut through a mess of bureaucratic and political gridlock that had kept fair housing regulations from operating effectively for more than 15 years. The justices were clear: The constitution of the state of New Jersey required towns to step up and do more to ensure that all New Jerseyans can benefit from the prosperity so many of its communities have to offer.

As a result of this ruling, we are now finally starting to see towns make significant strides forward in increasing opportunities for New Jersey families. More than 10 municipalities across the state have agreed to permit nearly 8,000 homes to be built to meet the state's growing demand.

These settlements will provide thousands of working families, seniors and those with disabilities with homes in thriving communities for the first time. They represent a model for other towns to follow – and many more are currently involved in constructive discussions with developers and housing advocates about how they can provide additional opportunities to our families.

ZIP code matters. Where you live has a disproportionate impact on your life trajectory — including your educational prospects, your employability, your access to health care and healthy food, your likelihood of incarceration and your life expectancy.

The violence that plagues our urban communities falls disproportionately on the backs of young black and Latino men who, on account of their ZIP code, have been deprived of the opportunities they need to succeed.

We call on the courts to continue to protect the rights of these families and to continue to hold towns accountable to the letter and the spirit of New Jersey's Constitution.

Richard T. Smith is president of the NAACP New Jersey State Conference.

Christian Estevez is the president of the Latino Action Network.. 

[This Op-Ed below appeared on NJ.com on June 6, 2016. You can read the original article on their website at: http://www.nj.com/opinion/index.ssf/2016/06/nj_civil_rights_leaders_blocking_affordable_housin.html]

N.J. must stop Gov. Christie's defiance of state's Fair Housing Act: Opinion

By Frank Argote-Freyre and Richard T. Smith

Star-Ledger January 13, 2015

For the past five years, the Christie Administration has, at every turn, tried to undermine New Jersey’s Fair Housing Act, which guarantees that communities cannot use unfair land-use laws to keep out lower-income families, seniors and people with special needs. It is clear Gov. Chris Christie is opposed to this law. He called the original lawsuit that led to it, brought by two local chapters of the NAACP against Mount Laurel Township, an “abomination.” The NAACP acted, at that time, to prevent the displacement of a vibrant African-American community with a long history in the region.

It is unfortunate the Governor believes this lawsuit was inappropriate. The Christie Administration has gone so far as to obstruct and refuse to enforce laws emanating from that original civil rights decision. This is a dangerous precedent. Christie appears deeply committed to undermining the principles of the law and circumventing the legal system. First, he went to the Legislature and tried to change the law, but they refused to undercut basic civil rights protections. Then he went to the courts and tried to argue he did not have to comply with the law. The New Jersey Supreme Court ruled in September 2013 that he did. So now the Governor is attempting to defy both the Legislature and the courts by simply not acting in accordance with existing laws.

The Supreme Court heard arguments on the issue on Jan. 6. The Court thus should move forward with the only realistic option in front of it – allow the courts to directly hear fair housing challenges, instead of having them stalled in an administrative process going nowhere.

In its September 2013 decision, the Supreme Court ordered the Christie Administration to "eliminate the limbo in which municipalities, New Jersey citizens, developers, and affordable housing interest groups have lived for too long.” It required the Christie Administration to develop new rules to implement the Fair Housing Act within five months.

Christie appears deeply committed to undermining the principles of the law and circumventing the legal system.

On the last day of that five-month period, the Christie Administration asked for an indefinite extension to develop rules. The Supreme Court granted an extension, but put a time limit on it, saying that if rules were not finalized by Nov. 17, then the Court would consider taking steps to enforce the law through the court system directly.

The Christie Administration next proposed rules that were transparently ridiculous. Towns' fair housing obligations would be based on a spreadsheet that was supposedly “lost.” Land in Monmouth County was mislabeled as being in Ocean County. The State disregarded its own official growth projections to manipulate housing requirements so they were as low as possible. The state also assumed that growth would only occur and lower-income people would only live on undeveloped farms or forests, when in recent years the majority of development in New Jersey has been redevelopment of existing land in places like Montclair, Summit and Red Bank.

After public hearings drew angry responses and the Christie Administration received more than 3,000 comments, they refused to make changes to correct these flaws. But fortunately, half the members of the Council on Affordable Housing, which had ultimate authority over the proposed rules, refused to go along with such an obvious attempt to undermine the Fair Housing Act. As such, no rules were adopted by the Nov. 17 deadline, and the State failed to comply with the Supreme Court’s deadline even after the extension.

Now, the Supreme Court is considering what to do next. There must be no more extensions or delays. Tens of thousands of people waiting for a decent place to live - a number made significantly bigger after Superstorm Sandy - have waited long enough. The Christie Administration’s process is a dead end, and the regulations that were proposed were not a good faith response. It is time for the courts to ensure that their decisions are followed, and directly enforce the state’s fair housing laws since the Christie Administration apparently refuses to do so.

Frank Argote-Freyre is president of the Latino Action Network and Richard T. Smith is president of the NAACP New Jersey State Conference.

The original article can be found at:

http://www.nj.com/opinion/index.ssf/2015/01/nj_must_stop_gov_christies_defiance_states_fair_housing_act_opinion.html