Fair Share Housing Center

10/13/2026

What can New Jersey learn from a century of social housing in Vienna, Austria?

A new article from The Jersey Vindicator explores how Hudson County is drawing on Vienna’s model to transform underused public land into a mixed-income community with 1,000+ homes.

With public ownership and permanently affordable homes, the proposed County Plaza development could show how social housing can create lasting affordability while bringing people across income levels into one community.

As Hudson County Executive Craig Guy put it: “What we’re doing here in Hudson County should be and will be a model for not only New Jersey but for the country.”

Read more:

County officials hope to break ground next summer on a development that would transform parking lots near Journal Square into a mixed-income neighborhood.

10/06/2026

What can states learn from one another about setting meaningful housing targets — and making sure local governments follow through?

Join us for our upcoming webinar, “The Fair Share Model: What States Are Learning About Housing Targets,” on Thursday, October 22 at 2pm ET.

We’re bringing together housing policy leaders and advocates from across the U.S. to explore how statewide housing target frameworks are evolving, what states can learn from New Jersey’s groundbreaking “fair share” model, and how these approaches can increase housing production, counter exclusionary zoning, and advance more equitable growth.

We’ll be joined by:

💠 Representative Jason Rojas, Connecticut House Majority Leader
💠 Melinda Coy, Housing Accountability Chief, California Department of Housing & Community Development
💠 Zoe Baldwin, Vice President of State Programs, Regional Plan Association
💠 Cashauna Hill, Executive Director, The Redress Movement
💠 Adam Gordon, Executive Director, Fair Share Housing Center (moderator)

*This webinar is approved for 1.5 AICP CM credits, including 1.0 Equity CM credit.*

The webinar is free, but registration is required: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_slKky8zrRmCzzCm86JWh-w #/registration

09/29/2026

Today, Governor Mikie Sherrill announced a new housing agenda focused on expanding housing opportunities and making homes more affordable for New Jersey families.

According to a new report from the administration’s Housing Governing Council, New Jersey needs to build between 350,500 and 406,500 homes over the next decade to close its housing supply gap, accommodate new households, and support economic growth.

Gov. Sherrill called for accelerating construction near transit, redeveloping vacant and underutilized properties, doubling housing production on state-owned land, increasing investment in affordable and workforce housing, and streamlining permitting.

“We’re encouraged by Governor Sherrill’s focus on addressing New Jersey’s housing needs and building on the state’s recent progress,” said Adam Gordon, our executive director. “New Jersey’s Mount Laurel framework provides a strong foundation for expanding housing opportunities in every community. Sustaining that progress means pairing efforts to build more homes with the investments and policies that make housing affordable and help residents stay in the communities they call home.”

To learn more, read our press release:

The Governor’s announcement provides a much-needed, whole-of-government approach to addressing New Jersey’s housing crisis.

09/24/2026

How are states reforming land use policy to expand housing opportunities and hold local governments accountable for meeting housing goals?

Join us on October 14 for NYU Furman Center's webinar exploring how states are using tools like Builders’ Remedies, procedural reforms, and planning requirements to increase housing production.

Fair Share Housing Center’s Katherine Payne will join experts from California, Massachusetts and Washington for a panel discussion on what states can learn from these approaches.

The webinar will draw on three new policy briefs from the Furman Center’s national Land Use Reform Tracker and examine how state-level reforms are reshaping local land use and housing policy.

Register here to join us: https://www.furmancenter.org/event/state-land-use-reforms-housing-supply-webinar/

09/22/2026

Join us on Wednesday, Oct. 7 for New Jersey Citizen Action's Financial Justice Summit at Seton Hall.

Our director of community and public engagement, Al-Tariq Witcher, will join advocates and policymakers for a conversation about the connections between housing, consumer protection, community reinvestment, and civil rights enforcement.

The summit is free, but registration is required: https://www.njcitizenaction.org/summit2026

09/17/2026

We're excited to announce our upcoming Webinar, bringing together housing policy leaders and advocates from across the country to examine a growing question: Can states set meaningful affordable housing targets — and hold local governments accountable for meeting them?

This question is gaining new urgency as states across the country are increasingly incorporating elements of New Jersey’s groundbreaking “fair share” affordable housing framework.

We'll be joined by an all-star lineup to explore how these approaches are evolving, what states are learning from one another, and how statewide requirements can increase housing production, counter exclusionary zoning, and advance more equitable growth:

🏠 Zoe Baldwin, Vice President of State Programs, Regional Plan Association
🏢Melinda Coy, Housing Accountability Chief, California Department of Housing & Community Development
🏘️ Adam Gordon, Executive Director, Fair Share Housing Center (moderator)
🏬 Cashauna Hill, Executive Director, The Redress Movement
🏡 Representative Jason Rojas, Connecticut House Majority Leader

𝗢𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟮𝟮 | 𝟮𝗽𝗺 𝗘𝗧

Register now: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_slKky8zrRmCzzCm86JWh-w

09/14/2026

Job Alert: We're hiring a Managing Director of Policy and Advocacy to help lead our work to advance housing justice and expand access to affordable homes across New Jersey.

We’re looking for a seasoned policy leader who can develop ambitious ideas, build broad coalitions, and turn advocacy into real policy change.

If you’re an experienced advocate and policy leader ready to take on a big challenge, we’d love to hear from you. Learn more and apply:

ABOUT FAIR SHARE HOUSING CENTER Fair Share Housing Center (FSHC) is a nonprofit advocacy organization that uses legal, policy, and community-building strategies to dismantle decades of racial and economic discrimination in New Jersey and nationally that excludes people from the opportunity to live i...

09/10/2026

“This is an important reminder to other towns that they cannot keep affordable housing sites off the table by clowning around with the Mount Laurel process,” said Fair Share Housing Center's Ariela Rutbeck-Goldman.

After years of fighting to create affordable housing at the long-abandoned Circus Liquors property, we’re glad to see the town finally moving in the right direction. The case is now headed to a fairness hearing, bringing the site one step closer to becoming desperately-needed affordable homes.

Middletown's attempt to use condemnation to take an affordable housing site off the table was one of the most brazen acts we have ever seen from a town — which is saying a lot!

Learn more:

Middletown is nearing a settlement that would allow a developer to build up to 450 housing units on the site of the former Circus Liquors.

09/02/2026

Montvale’s largest redevelopment site should be used to help address the housing crisis — not for a massive data center.

A new commentary in the Pascack Press shines a light on how Montvale — the same town that led a series of failed lawsuits trying to overturn NJ's affordable housing law — is now attempting to make a data center a foundational part of its so-called "housing plan".

The former KPMG campus is not only Montvale’s largest redevelopment opportunity — it is among the largest in Bergen County. Decisions about this site will shape the region for decades.

At a time when over 400 New Jersey municipalities — the vast majority statewide — are moving forward with plans to create affordable homes under the state’s new law, Montvale is pursuing a profoundly harmful workaround.

Read this new piece by Barbara Dunn to learn more about what's at stake:

Editor’s note: The views expressed in this reader commentary are the author’s alone; publication does not constitute endorsement by Pascack Press. In seeking to illuminate our vibrant Pascack Valley from [...]

08/31/2026

A new Philadelphia Inquirer article about how to improve the Jersey Shore highlights an approach we’re seeing more of across New Jersey: using redevelopment to create much-needed affordable housing.

As Ariela Rutbeck-Goldman of Fair Share Housing Center told the Inquirer, Belmar is repurposing dilapidated motels and other underutilized properties to increase its housing supply.

That’s a smart approach — not just for housing, but for the environment.

Repurposing an already-developed property means we can add homes without paving over forests, farms, and other limited open space. It can make better use of existing roads and utilities while putting people closer to jobs, businesses, and services.

Done well, redevelopment can help address two challenges at once: our shortage of affordable homes and the environmental costs of sprawl.

The Jersey Shore needs more homes that teachers, nurses, service workers, young families, seniors, and others who make these communities work can afford — and redevelopment can help us build them in smarter, more sustainable ways.

Read the full article to see what else the Inquirer thinks could make the Jersey Shore better: https://www.inquirer.com/news/new-jersey/ways-to-improve-jersey-shore-20260830.html