Mike Hayes

2 weeks ago | gothamist.com | Mike Hayes

An Episcopal church in Toms River, New Jersey could soon learn whether its proposal to build a 17-bed homeless shelter on its property can proceed, even as it's under threat of being paved over for a pickleball court.

2 weeks ago | gothamist.com | Mike Hayes

Most New Jerseyans think housing in their state is too expensive. But opinions on what to do about it vary widely among Garden State residents. According to a new poll by Rutgers University’s Eagleton Institute of Politics, just over half of New Jerseyans say their housing costs aren’t affordable. A breakdown shows 33% of those polled said their housing is “not very” affordable, while 18% said it's “not at all” affordable.

2 weeks ago | gothamist.com | Mike Hayes

Jersey City councilmembers will vote Wednesday on a law that would ban landlords from using sophisticated rent algorithm software that renters’ advocates say uses artificial intelligence to drive up apartment prices. If adopted, the measure would be the first of its kind in the Garden State. Councilmember James Solomon said he introduced the ordinance in part because a bill for a statewide ban on the use of artificial intelligence has languished in the Legislature for the past eight months.

3 weeks ago | gothamist.com | Mike Hayes

Residents of West Orange, New Jersey and other surrounding towns who have been fighting a wealthy developer are now in a battle over competing environmental reviews. The real estate company Garden Homes, run by the billionaire Wilf family, has long wanted to build housing on a 120-acre, heavily forested section of the Watchung Mountains. It's one of the largest undeveloped tracts of land in the area and the company’s latest proposal is a 496-unit multibuilding apartment complex there.

3 weeks ago | gothamist.com | Mike Hayes

Dozens of New Jersey towns are seeking to extend a June 30 deadline to adopt plans showing how they’re going to meet state requirements to generate new affordable housing in their communities. So far, the panel of judges reviewing the requests in state court has rejected the towns’ appeals for extra time. According to housing advocates, about 80 of the state’s 564 municipalities have sought 90-day extensions to finalize their plans.