Photos: Office of Mayor Ras Baraka\YouTube
New Jersey – Today, Mayor Ras J. Baraka, gubernatorial candidate, announced his transformative housing policy platform, Housing Reimagined, a comprehensive plan to address the state’s housing crisis with the most progressive approach seen in this race. Baraka’s platform aims to tackle the growing housing shortage and rising costs, with a call for a statewide, regional approach that goes beyond traditional boundaries and piecemeal solutions.
“People like to frame this as either a city problem or a suburban problem, but that’s a false divide,” said Mayor Baraka. “As the cost of living in New Jersey continues to climb, it’s clear we’re all in this together. We need a regional, holistic approach to address the root causes—anything less is just delaying the inevitable. Our current system of home rule is broken. It’s time for a new vision.”
Baraka’s platform outlines bold steps, including establishing an affordable housing task force to coordinate development, allotting half of New Jersey’s available tax credits to incentivize affordable housing projects, creating a two to one First Loss Capital Fund to be held in the New Jersey State Bank that will reduce risk on high-impact projects, and capping rent increases at cost-of-living adjustments (COLA) for two years to stabilize the market.
“New Jersey is in a housing crisis—over 200,000 units short—and the gap is widening. My plan doesn’t just aim to stop the bleeding; it sets us on a course to build a future where housing is affordable and accessible to all,” concluded Mayor Baraka.
The Housing Reimagined plan is poised to reshape the state’s housing landscape and provide solutions that touch every municipality, rural, suburban and urban.
Download full platform here.
