Hudson County Commissioner Bill O’Dea (D-2), a candidate for Jersey City mayor, revealed a proposal that calls for five to 10 percent workforce housing at new projects, in addition to 20 percent affordable housing, at a press conference this morning.
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
He began the event, which was hosted a the Jersey City Education Association (JCEA) headquarters at 1600 John F. Kennedy Blvd., by noting that teachers, police, fireman, and labor union apprentices often can’t afford to pay much more than $1,200 monthly in rent.
“So the idea is that in addition to creating affordable housing units, affordable defined as 30 to 60 percent median income, there’s a need to develop workforce housing. Now workforce housing is usually defined as 80 to 100 Area Median Income (AMI),” he explained about his “Live and Serve JC Program.”
“The area median income of Jersey City is so high that those units need to be more defined as 80 percent area median income, by that, a teacher in their second of third year would be able to afford approximately $2,000 in rent. So in addition to requiring projects to have 20 percent affordable, which is 30 to 60 AMI, I would require five to 10 percent additional, preferably 10 percent, as true workforce.”
O’Dea also mentioned the city will also prioritize using Section 8 housing vouchers (over 700 are available) for projects that meet the affordability standards and that the city will work with nonprofits that already own housing.
This will create the possibility of helping them upgrade buildings and creating additional units.
Joining him in support of his plan were IBEW Local 164 Business Agent Donald J. Heal, DC 21 Local 1976 Business Representative James Kearns, JCEA President Ron Greco, Team O’Dea Council at-Large Candidate Kristen Zadroga-Hart, 1199-J Secretary and Treasurer Daryn Martin, and IAFF Local 1066 President John “Jack” Collins.
“We’re proud to support a mayoral candidate like Bill O’Dea who has the determination to do what’s necessary to make Jersey City more affordable for everyone,” Greco said in a statement.
“As President of the Jersey City Education Association, I see the way so many of our members struggle to be able to afford to live in the same city where they teach, and that problem extends to other public service professions as well. This is a bold solution that will not only make Jersey City more affordable, but also encourage volunteerism and civic contributions.”
Responding to a question from HCV asking if he believes developers will be amenable to doing 20 percent affordable housing and 10 percent workforce housing, O’Dea said the mayor needs to lead discussions with developers who are unfamiliar with this approach.
He also reiterated that they can’t expect long-term abatements without making creating significant incentives for the city.
“Right now, you’ve got an item on this week’s agenda that has 25 percent (affordable housing), Bayfront is I think 35 percent, so Aspire, by it’s nature, is gonna require that. It’s a free market so if a developer is allowed to build x and doesn’t want anything, we can sit them down and try to negotiate with them to make their life better and easier,” O’Dea said.
“A larger project I think is relatively simple to do, going to need incentives, and parts of this city outside of maybe downtown, they’re gonna need some kind of incentive … But more importantly, I think as the mayor, you’ve gotta just sit down and tell people: This is important.”
O’Dea is currently in a five-person contest for the mayor’s seat on the November 4th.
The other candidates are former Gov. Jim McGreevey, Council President Joyce Watterman, ex-Board of Education President Mussab Ali, and Ward E Councilman James Solomon.
This workforce housing proposal sounds like a step, but what about longtime Jersey City teachers and public servants who already own homes and are getting crushed by rising property taxes? A 32% hike in 2022 and another 6% in 2023—how does this help them stay in the city they’ve served for decades?
Workforce housing at 80–100% AMI with $2,000 rents doesn’t address their needs. Where’s the tax relief for educators who bought in years ago and are now being priced out of their own neighborhoods?
We need transparency in how these units are allocated, real protections against displacement, and a plan that includes the voices of those who’ve called Jersey City home their whole lives.
Who’s looking out for them?
If a democracy is about representing the people, then focusing on the vast majority of people who rent is simply to be expected. I’m sure the vast majority of teachers and public servants are renters by extension.
Not to mention the fact that renters pay property taxes, it’s not like landlords don’t pass on the costs to us.
If you want to blame anyone for the rising property taxes, blame Trenton when they changed the school funding formula to take hundreds of millions from our state education funding.