Schepisi to hold legislative hearing on affordable housing crisis

TRENTON, N.J. – Legislators, mayors, engineers, environmental experts and others will join Assemblywoman Holly Schepisi Thursday night at a legislative hearing to address New Jersey’s affordable housing crisis.  The hearing will provide the first significant legislative discussion addressing New Jersey’s affordable housing crisis in 7 years.

Schepisi said her objective is to find a way to provide affordability for residents while protecting towns from a recent state Supreme Court ruling that could force the construction of up to 1.5 million unneeded homes by triggering costly lawsuits brought by builders.

The hearing will take place on June 15 from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Bergen Community College’s Technology Education Center room 128.

Among those expected to join experts and testify are: Senator Gerald Cardinale; Assemblymen Robert Auth and Kevin Rooney; Marc Pfeiffer, senior policy fellow at Rutgers Bloustein Local Government Research Center; Lynn Bartlett, executive director for the Bergen County Housing Authority; Thomas Toronto, president of the Bergen County United Way; and Captain Bill Sheehan, executive director of Hackensack Riverkeeper.

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.  Over fifty municipalities statewide have passed a resolution urging action on Schepisi’s bills.