This Is My New Jersey

Ever since I started writing this blog, I have made it my mission to share all that is wonderful about my beloved state. I’ve worked hard to avoid the negatives and the politics (which are often one and the same) in order to stay a bastion against the stereotypes and assumptions made by outsiders. We stay in New Jersey because we love it. We wear it like an suit of armor.

Then there are moments like this.

New Jersey Bill A4/S50

For quite some time, we have been under assault in our state. We have been completely cut out from important decisions about the future of New Jersey. Instead of listening to the will and wants of the people, we have been sold out by politicians to the highest bidder. And these days, the highest bidders are real estate developers.

Last year, Governor Murphy signed A4/S50 into law, which added new low-income housing mandates for every town in the state. Municipalities now have to meet requirements for the next 10 years. As hard as some towns have tried to resist, it hasn’t worked very well. There have been lawsuits, protests, and concerns shared in Trenton by residents.

It hasn’t made much of a difference.

I will say up front I do not like our current governor one bit. I did not vote for him and I will certainly throw a party when he’s no longer in office. He only moved to New Jersey 25 years ago. Yes, my beloved state elected a carpetbagger – twice. Personally, I would like to see a requirement enacted similar to the president. In order to run for the presidency, you need to have been born in the United States. If you want to run for governor in New Jersey, you should be required to show proof of birth in New Jersey.

Yet I digress…

The High Density Housing State

Since 1876, New Jersey has been known as The Garden State. The phrase was coined by Abraham Browning of Camden. Mr. Browning used the term during a speech at the Philadelphia Centennial exhibition on New Jersey Day, describing New Jersey as “an immense barrel, filled with good things to eat.”

In the 1980s, those unhappy with the quick development of malls began to refer to New Jersey as The Mall State. Over the last 20 years, many of those malls have shuttered and now lay dormant, waiting for the bulldozer.

Today, we face an even bigger issue due to the forced low-income housing requirement from Trenton. Every day I watch more and more green spaces bulldozed.I fear we will soon be known as The High Density Housing State. Cranbury recently made national news due to their attempt to use eminent domain to seize a 175-year-old family farm in order to develop their required low-income housing demand from Trenton.

I recently saw a video from The Garden State, a gang of true Jersey guys who like me, are obsessed with all that is Jersey. They showed the development (or actually overdevelopment) that is taking place in Scotch Plains. I’d like to say it was shocking, but sadly, all you need to do is look around your hometown to see the exact same thing. Towns are enacting any change possible to claw back privately owned properties and bulldozing open spaces anywhere and everywhere. One town even had a developer purchase a five acre property with plans to bulldoze the mansion currently on the property to meet the current round of their housing requirement. The mayor of my beloved hometown of Belleville has shared his vision for the town’s future as turning it into “the Hoboken of the Passaic.” Sorry, but I don’t consider that a compliment.

This. Is. Insane.

Auntie Em! Auntie Em!

Growing up, I would see stories of tornadoes in places like Oklahoma, Iowa, and Kansas. Now we have tornadoes in New Jersey.

Does anyone wonder why?

When we have open green space, there are opportunities for the ground to absorb rain and snow. Trees help keep ground temperatures cooler and slow down wind speed. Tree roots help bind soil and reduce erosion.

Guess what concrete does? Yeah, exactly.

A developer in Denville recently cleared 20 acres of mature trees for their latest housing project; 20% of which will help meet the town’s low-income housing requirement.

It goes on, and on, and on. And there’s no end in sight.

So what can we do?

I’ll admit, I feel hopeless. I feel frustrated. I feel sad that my beloved state is being sold right out from under us to the highest bidder by politicians in Trenton and a carpetbagger of a governor.

I urge you to write your representatives. Attend local planning meetings and ask plenty of questions. Become informed on what is being done right under your nose without your consent. Find out what groups are working together in your area and make your voice heard. Work like the future of our state’s open spaces depends on it.

Because it does.