Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Marcia Fudge joined state and local officials on Monday to formally open Jennings Village, Trenton’s new 100% affordable housing development. It took more than 15 years to launch and was inspired by a Trenton civil rights icon who stood for taking care of the most vulnerable families in our state. “The lack of affordable and low-income housing is a crisis in this country. Every single thing like this, every single development like this makes a difference. No matter how big, no matter how small, because we know that right now, this country is short about four million housing units. We need every single community to be doing this,” said Fudge.
Between rising rents and fewer homes for sale, housing advocates say life in New Jersey is more unaffordable than ever for many people. Adam Gordon, executive director of the Fair Share Housing Center, a nonprofit that lobbies for more affordable housing, says over the past decade not enough homes have been built in the state to keep up with population growth. “We haven’t been funding enough, either at the federal or state level, homes being built. But also, there’s a lot of towns, particularly affluent, suburban towns, that have stopped new homes from being built,” Gordon said.
