Latest news with #housingdiscrimination
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
‘We don't want you or your Portuguese friends.' N.J. town faces lawsuit over housing discrimination.
A federal judge has allowed a housing discrimination lawsuit against the Borough of Wanaque to proceed, ruling that a jury should decide whether town officials showed bias against Portuguese developers. The ruling from the U.S. District Court for New Jersey cited alleged comments from a former borough administrator and claims of unequal treatment as grounds to let the Fair Housing Act claim go to trial. The case was filed by J&S Group Inc., Wanaque Realty Corp. and Mountain Lakes Estates Inc., which say the borough blocked their efforts to build nearly 175 homes on land they have owned for years. The developers, who are immigrants from Portugal, claim Wanaque officials made it harder for them to complete the project and refused to let them transfer development rights to another Portuguese-owned company. The land dispute between developers and Wanaque has spanned more than two decades, beginning with development agreements signed in 2000, the court noted. According to the opinion, issued Tuesday, the developers filed suit in federal court on October 10, 2018, after years of halted construction, legal appeals, and failed settlement talks. The plaintiffs entered into a contract in February 2017 to sell the properties to J&J Builders for redevelopment under existing developer agreements, the ruling said. However, the borough allegedly refused to assign those agreements to J&J Builders, whose owner is also of Portuguese descent. That refusal, along with alleged discriminatory comments from a town official, is central to the lawsuit, which claims violations of the federal Fair Housing Act. One of the most serious allegations comes from Jacinto Rodrigues, owner of the development companies. Rodrigues testified that Thomas Carroll, who is the former Wanaque Borough Administrator, made comments suggesting the town did not want him or his associates involved in the development. 'We don't want this guy to build the project, and the town doesn't want you,' Carroll allegedly told Rodrigues, referring to the owner of J&J Builders, a prospective developer of the site. 'Sell the project. Get somebody else. We are not—we don't want you or your Portuguese friends to come and build the project in Wanaque. You're not welcome.' Carroll denied allegations that he made discriminatory remarks about Portuguese immigrants. 'Those who know me best, including my Portuguese goddaughter, and the myriad officials, employees and professionals with whom I have worked over three decades as a business administrator, know that I would never utter such a phrase,' Carroll said in a statement sent to 'For the record here and as stated in this case, I categorically deny having made that statement or anything close in kind,' Carroll added. 'The fact that I need to respond to such a question, is offensive.' The borough allegedly offered other potential buyers who were not immigrants a $1.85 million bond, but did not offer the same financial support to Rodrigues and his team, according to the ruling. U.S. District Judge Jamel K. Semper found there is enough evidence of possible discrimination for the Fair Housing Act claim to go to trial. Semper dismissed two other claims. He ruled that the developers' property rights were not violated, noting they still own the land and can sell or develop it. He also threw out a civil rights claim under a separate law, saying it applies only to racial discrimination, not national origin. The Fair Housing Act claim will now be decided by a jury, which could determine whether Wanaque officials discriminated against the developers because of their Portuguese background. Carrol also said that the 'case has been gutted,' and 'remains on life support.' Attorneys for both the developers and the Borough of Wanaque did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Requests for comment from Wanaque Mayor Daniel Mahler and the office of the Borough Administrator were not immediately returned. Colleen Murphy may be reached at cmurphy@ Solve the daily Crossword
Forbes
30-06-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Reimagining Affordable Housing To Unlock Economic Mobility For All
The relentless increase of the cost of owning or renting a home is a heavy burden on millions of households—and an economic problem we must face as a country. The more Americans are forced to spend on housing, including related costs like mortgage interest and insurance, the less money they can contribute other necessities, save for college and retirement, or generally enjoy life. That has ripple effects across the entire economy. There were 8.2 million fewer housing units than needed in 2023 to meet the needs of American families. Without decisive action, that gap could grow to 9.6 million units by 2035. This issue touches rural and urban households, young and old, and is reaching into the middle class. Research from the McKinsey Institute for Economic Mobility underscores how the lack of affordable housing options, particularly in low-poverty neighborhoods and mixed-income developments, limits access to good schools and training programs, health care providers, green spaces, and other amenities. All this makes it more difficult for people to secure higher paying jobs, enjoy the qualities of life, and move up the economic ladder. That spells hardship for families. And when people cannot use their talents to the full, it is also a drag on the broader economy. And while high housing costs impact many segments of the population, the data suggests that it is particularly burdensome for Black Americans. The historic legacies of housing discrimination have been compounded by supply, demand, and geographic imbalances. Nearly 60 percent of Black renters and 30 percent of Black homeowners are moderately or severely cost burdened, meaning they spend at least 30 percent and 50 percent, respectively, of their income on housing – well above national averages. Though not without trade-offs, McKinsey estimates that closing the housing shortfall could help unlock as many as 1.7 million jobs and add nearly $2 trillion to gross domestic product through 2035. These gains would benefit all. Because Black Americans shoulder an outsize share of the housing burden, we would expect them to benefit greatly. How can this be achieved? No single policy is likely to work uniformly across cities, suburbs, and rural areas. But there is no shortage of promising ideas, and there are successful, albeit piecemeal, efforts all over the country. Many encouraging solutions, however, face implementation challenges, not least because so many different players need to work together to resolve this crisis. In the private sector, developers, development corporations, financial institutions, insurers, investors, and manufacturers all play crucial roles in construction and housing finance. They can explore new financing options and increase support and investments in innovative construction technology (i.e., modular construction). For the public sector - encompassing federal, state, and local governments, along with public housing authorities - is critical for funding and subsidizing housing. It can create incentives to use private capital effectively, enforce zoning and land use policies, and manage public programs. The social sector, including philanthropy and nonprofit providers, can support novel solutions and risk-taking, advocating for families, and providing direct services. With this framework in mind, and after looking at more than 80 different approaches, we identified five themes with the most promise: Taking specific action around these five themes could unlock an estimated 2.3 million housing units, including 700,000 for Black households, over the next decade. That would not close the entire affordable housing gap, but it would be a big step forward. Take number three, for example: Increasing off-site home construction by producing components in factories and assembling them on-site. This idea that has been around a long time, particularly modular construction which has both speed and cost benefits. But it has struggled to achieve scale, in large part because different cities have different code requirements. While these might have been meant well, the result is a series of bureaucratic hurdles that raise costs and delays. Streamlining codes and enhancing lender education around modular construction could add up to 190,000 affordable multifamily modular units over the next decade. There is an even bigger opportunity to unlock land by reimagining zoning. If jurisdictions allowed more single-family starts to be replaced by multi-family units and rezoned more vacant public land for higher-density development, that could add over one million housing units over the next decade. ### Having a good quality home at reasonable cost is fundamental to American opportunity. Concerted action to increase the supply of affordable housing could have benefits in terms of economic growth, investment, jobs, disinflation, and worker empowerment. And it would bring these opportunities closer to reality for millions.
Washington Post
15-06-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
A teenager with a job making burritos became a powerful Minnesota lawmaker who trained service dogs
MINNEAPOLIS — Melissa Hortman' s influence at the Minnesota Capitol and her power as a Democratic leader to shape the course of a deeply divided Legislature were a far cry from her job as a teenager making chili-cheese burritos and overshadowed her volunteer work training service dogs for veterans. She was a lifelong Minneapolis-area resident who went to college in Boston and then returned home for law school and, with degree fresh in hand, worked as a volunteer lawyer for a group fighting housing discrimination. Elected to the Minnesota House in 2004, she helped pass liberal initiatives like free lunches for pubic school students in 2023 as the chamber's speaker. With the House split 67-67 between Democrats and Republicans this year, she helped break a budget impasse threatening to shut down state government.
