Jersey City At Large Council Candidate Dominici Says Jersey City’s Not Affordable

The news article showcases the history of this administration to ignore the importance of affordability in our city. In 2016, HUD asked Jersey City to return more than $11.5 million after an audit of a city affordable housing program found that millions of dollars “were not administered in compliance with program requirements.” Basically, this administration is saying that our life-long residents do not deserve a chance to stay in our city. The administration is not the only one to blame in this matter as most of the members of our city council have a track record of supporting the administration and making developers and donations a priority. The luxury high-rise condominiums are not built for the average Jersey City residents, who is typically priced out of affording the astronomical rents.

I know that many local residents are not opposed to responsible developers that work to include community amenities and affordable housing for low-income families and senior citizens. With that in mind, I believe that most Jersey City residents want municipal representatives who will make sure we get long-term investments in our local communities that are considerate to all residents and not looking to push people out of the city where they’ve spent their entire life and raised their own families.

If you ask any of your independent candidates running for Jersey City Council, you will hear that one of our main pillars are to ensure affordable housing is accessible to all local residents and that long-term investments are made in all communities. Don’t let the current administration and their candidates try to sugarcoat or gaslight you into thinking they are for affordable housing just to steal your vote on November 2, 2021.

Remember that this is the same administration that did not hear the voices of hundreds of residents who desperately refused the Inclusionary Zoning Ordinance (IZO), which decreased the mandatory 20% affordable housing allocations for developers building new properties and created a pathway to avoid an invest in housing for low- to middle-income families.

As Councilman Lavarro once said: “The loopholes in Mayor Fulop’s IZO include provisions allowing developers three ways to avoid including on-site affordable units as part of a mixed-income building, namely: (1) buy-out of affordable units; (2) build affordable housing off-site; or (3) create community benefits.”

It’s devastating to see our council members sell their soul to the will and pleasure of this administration. We see most of our representatives turn their back on the hardworking local residents even during a crushing pandemic, especially those struggling with poverty and other challenges. Along with this, we have one candidate embarrassing himself by being a puppet for the administration and attacking Ward E Councilman James Solomon whose been one of the only councilmembers advocating for all local residents. While the administration ignores the plights and cries of our local residents, I’ve witnessed Councilman Solomon working with local residents and grassroots organizations to address social injustice in our city.