FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 13th, 2022
Contact:
Alex Staropoli, (914) 469-0060, alexstaropoli@fairsharehousing.org
Fair Share Housing Center to Honor Senator Singleton, Assemblywoman Timberlake, and Ironbound Community Corporation at Celebration Thursday Evening in New Brunswick
NEW BRUNSWICK – This evening, at The Heldrich Hotel in New Brunswick, Fair Share Housing Center will host Building an Inclusive New Jersey—a celebration of nearly 50 years of advancing housing justice in New Jersey and beyond. During the event, Fair Share Housing Center will honor influential leaders whose contributions have helped shape housing policy in New Jersey and will unveil the organization’s new logo and website.
Fair Share Housing Center was founded in 1975 after the landmark decision in Southern Burlington County NAACP v. Township of Mount Laurel, in which the New Jersey Supreme Court said that all towns have a constitutional obligation to provide their fair share of affordable housing. Since then, Fair Share Housing Center has continued to enforce the Mount Laurel Doctrine, and has built upon that work through advocacy on equitable disaster relief, access to housing, and eliminating the racial wealth gap. Fair Share Housing
Center’s most recent wins include settling more than 340 cases under the Mount Laurel Doctrine—which will lead to the development of nearly 50,000 affordable homes over the next decade, passing the Fair Chance in Housing Act, and securing a historic $305 million investment in the Fiscal Year 2023 budget to go towards the development of affordable housing.
“We are thrilled to be honoring such incredible leaders tonight,” said Adam Gordon, Executive Director of Fair Share Housing Center. “Senator Singleton, Assemblywoman Timberlake, and Ironbound Community Corporation have all worked tirelessly to make New Jersey a better place to live for low-income families and communities of color in our state. We are eternally grateful for their leadership and partnership on these incredibly important issues. We are also excited to be embarking on a new chapter in the growth of our organization. Our new website reflects our core mission to fight injustice and
oppression, and reaffirms our commitment to working towards racial, economic, and housing justice on the local, state, and federal levels.”
Senator Troy Singleton is the recipient of the Housing Justice Trailblazer award, given to an individual who has dedicated their career to housing justice. Senator Singleton serves as the Senate Majority Whip and is also the Chair of the Senate Housing and Urban Affairs Committee. He was the prime sponsor on the Fair Chance in Housing Act, and has time and time again demonstrated his commitment to ensuring that all New Jerseyans have a safe, healthy, and affordable place to call home.
“I am incredibly honored to receive the Housing Justice Trailblazer Award,” said Senator Singleton. “I firmly believe that everyone deserves to have a safe and affordable roof over their head, and that housing is a basic human necessity. Fair Share Housing Center has been a tireless advocate on so many of our mutual housing priorities, and I am thankful for
their partnership, commitment, and tenacity.”
Assemblywoman Britnee N. Timberlake is the recipient of the Champion for an Inclusive New Jersey, awarded to an individual or organization that has made a significant statewide impact on affordable housing in New Jersey. She is the Chair of the Commerce and Economic Development Committee. Since joining the Legislature, Assemblywoman Timberlake has fought tirelessly for communities with historic disinvestment to be made
whole. During the height of the pandemic, she championed the People’s Bill—critical legislation that provided much-needed relief and protection to New Jersey residents. Her leadership and tenacity in this work overcame deep opposition to pass the strongest protections in the country against eviction for tenants impacted by COVID.
“Fair Share Housing has been at the forefront of successfully winning the right of people to have access to safe and affordable quality rental and home opportunities,” said Assemblywoman Timberlake. “It is an honor and privilege to not only be recognized by Fair Share Housing, but to serve alongside them to fulfill their mission to the people of this great state.”
Ironbound Community Corporation is the recipient of the Community Changemaker award, given to an individual or organization that has made a significant impact on affordable housing in a local New Jersey community. Ironbound Community Corporation has a long history of taking on local issues impacting their community. Most recently they succeeding in advocating to strengthen Newark’s Inclusionary Zoning Ordinance and
championed the nation’s strongest statewide environmental justice law to protect overburdened communities like the Ironbound — for which Sen. Singleton also served as the prime sponsor. Ironbound residents, and by extension residents of Newark and greater New Jersey, are better because of the work they do.
“We are humbled and honored to receive the Community Changemaker award from Fair Share Housing Center, who has worked alongside us and our community for years on issues ranging from preserving public housing at Terrell Homes and ensuring just recovery from storms like Sandy and Ida to ensuring a Compassionate New Jersey with some of the strongest pandemic eviction protections in the county, as well as equitable development in Newark with a strengthened inclusionary zoning ordinance just this past summer” said Maria Lopez-Nuñez, Deputy Director of Organizing and Advocacy at Ironbound Community
Corporation. “We know that communities on the frontlines of climate change that have been preyed upon by toxic facilities are the same communities that have been grappling with the ripples of Red Lining. Our fight is one in the same. We look forward to continuing to fight together for a more just New Jersey.”
“We are excited to reflect on our past and look towards our future at tonight’s event,” said Frank Argote-Freyre, Board Chair of Fair Share Housing Center. “Fair Share Housing Center’s success wouldn’t be possible without leaders like those honored this evening and we are thankful for their unwavering support of our work.”
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Fair Share Housing Center is a nonprofit advocacy organization that uses legal, policy, and community-building strategies to dismantle decades of racial and economic discrimination in New Jersey and nationally that excludes people from the opportunity to live in safe, healthy, and affordable housing
