The Central Jersey Regional Equity Coalition
Following the People's Summit in July 2003, PlanSmart NJ co-founded the Central Jersey Regional Equity Coalition (CJREC) with Catholic Charities, Isles Inc., NJ Catholic Conference, NJ Community Loan fund, NJ Council of Churches, NJ Public Policy Research Institute, NJ Synod of the ECLA, SEIU 1199 and Shiloh Baptist Church, Trenton.
The CJREC is a new organizing initiative aimed at developing and advancing a regional reform agenda in Central New Jersey, through grassroots organizing, to eradicate racial and economic segregation, concentrated poverty, fiscal disparities, and the degradation of natural resources.
Central Jersey Regional Equity Coalition - Statement of Principles
- We believe that New Jersey's system of local government is fragmented and inefficient. More regional approaches to government investment, land use regulation, and service provision are needed.
- We believe that New Jersey should reinvest in existing communities to save money on infrastructure and services and to allow greater preservation of open space. The simultaneous creation of new communities and abandonment of older ones is an unnecessary waste of money and natural resources.
- We believe that New Jersey needs a fairer tax system to pay for local services, one that does not impose a disproportionate burden on those least able to pay for it and one that encourages municipal cooperation rather than competition.
- We believe that central New Jersey belongs to all of its residents, and all of its residents should have the same power to choose where they live. No municipality should be allowed to use zoning or any other means to exclude people based on income, race, age, family configuration, desired housing type, or any other socioeconomic factor.
- We believe that if municipalities can make room for commercial and industrial developments, they should also make room for housing for the people who will work in those developments.
- We believe that education should not depend on geography. Every child in central New Jersey has the right to a quality education, regardless of that child's address.
Funded By
Membership
Start Date
July 2003
Key Staff
Noelle Reeve
Dianne Brake