LESNIAK-BUONO FORECLOSURE-AFFORDABLE HOUSING LEGISLATION INTRODUCED

Measure Would Address Foreclosure Crisis in New Jersey, Provide Credit to Municipalities Which Transition Foreclosed Property to Affordable Housing

TRENTON – At a news conference at the Statehouse today, Senator Raymond J. Lesniak announced the introduction of legislation sponsored by himself and Senator Barbara Buono which would begin to address the foreclosure and affordable housing crises facing New Jersey.

“Vacant and boarded up homes are a blight on neighborhoods, an invitation to vandalism and crime and a drag on property values and our economic recovery,” said Senator Lesniak, D-Union. “Families evicted from these homes still need affordable places to live. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke stated the overhang of foreclosed properties is contributing to the slow rate of expansion of our economy, places downward pressure on housing prices and exacerbates the loss in housing wealth. S-1566 is designed to address these problems in New Jersey.”

“What this bill does is it ensures that we’re using our State’s affordable housing investment to help clean up our blighted communities and put foreclosed properties back to good use,” said Senator Buono, D-Middlesex. “It’s a novel approach to not only boost the affordable housing stock available to low- and moderate-income families, but also to reclaim abandoned, dilapidated homes which are a strain on our neighborhoods. I’m proud to work with Senator Lesniak on this issue so that we can give our local officials the support they need to redevelop blighted communities and ensure that they’re meeting their affordable housing obligations.”

Click here to read the rest of Senator Lesniak's and Senator Buono's news release.

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