Blog

We Don’t Need More Luxury Rentals — We Need Housing for People

By The Waterfront Project, Inc. Hudson County is booming—but who is this boom really for? From Journal Square to the waterfront, Jersey City is exploding with new development. Sleek high-rises promise rooftop pools, concierge services, and rent prices that could fund a mortgage—anywhere but here. As cranes stretch across the skyline, low-income families, seniors, and essential workers are being squeezed out of the neighborhoods they’ve long called home. This isn’t unique to…

Protecting Seniors from Foreclosure

By Patricia Ellams While many Seniors enjoy the financial freedom of owning their homes outright or possessing substantial equity, they often find themselves caught in a precarious balancing act. Their fixed incomes become tightropes they must walk daily, with unexpected financial storms, costly home repairs, skyrocketing property taxes, and mounting utility bills threatening to topple their carefully constructed budgets at any moment. This financial tug-of-war can transform what should be…

Is New Jersey Taking the Right Approach to Affordable Housing? A Reflection from The Waterfront Project

By Carol M. Sainthilaire The recent NJ Spotlight News article, “Is New Jersey Taking the Right Approach to Affordable Housing Issues?”, offers a timely exploration of the state’s evolving housing landscape. At The Waterfront Project, Inc. (WFP), we welcome this critical conversation, as it aligns with our mission to provide free civil legal representation, assistance, and advocacy to New Jersey residents who are asset-limited, income-constrained, homeless, or disenfranchised. Progress in…

Weekly Housing News Roundup

Top Stories As economic headwinds continue across the U.S., housing access and affordability remain pressing concerns. This week’s top stories reflect both systemic challenges and promising policy responses, from slowing new construction to protective legislation and public health investments in housing. Housing Starts Decline Amid Economic Uncertainty Recent data shows a nationwide slowdown in new housing starts, driven by rising interest rates, labor shortages, and inflationary pressures. This cooling effect…

Women’s History Month

To honor Women’s History Month, we would like to highlight some of our incredible Women Leaders within our organization. Introducing Kayla Zimmer, the Deputy Director of The Waterfront Project “I love working for The Waterfront Project because it is a women-led organization that leads with their hearts and have lived experience allowing us to connect with our clients on a more personal level. I started at The Waterfront Project in…

Important News for Local Homeowners

By William Paige, Foreclosure Specialist at The Waterfront Project The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is under threat of closing, and as a HUD-Approved Housing Counseling Agency, we cannot stress enough how devastating this would be for Americans. The CFPB was created after the 2008 financial crisis to protect consumers from predatory practices in the financial and mortgage market. Its absence would leave millions of people vulnerable to abuse by…

Client Success Stories – Settlement Agreements

By Barry L. Dayton, Staff Attorney at The Waterfront Project Ms. B came to us with a complaint for non-payment of rent dating back to May 2024. The landlord claimed to have received nothing from her since May, which meant that their claim was for $16,445 at the time of trial. However, after reviewing Ms. B’s documents, including a settlement a Staff Attorney had previously negotiated for the client back…

HUD Disaster Recovery Cuts: A Looming Crisis for Housing Stability

By Carol M. Sainthilaire, Executive Director of The Waterfront Project The Latest Blow to Affordable Housing & Disaster Recovery The federal government’s latest move to slash 84% of HUD’s Community Planning and Development (CPD) budget is nothing short of a disaster for communities across the country. These cuts threaten critical disaster recovery and housing stability programs that thousands of families rely on, including right here in New Jersey. At The Waterfront Project (WFP),…

Addressing a Heartbreaking Story: Family of kids who froze to death reached out at least three times to Detroit’s homeless response team

By Elizabeth Hurley, Legal Director at The Waterfront Project On Monday, February 10, 2025, two homeless children froze to death in Detroit, sleeping in a van with their family, despite their mother’s repeated efforts to get assistance. This, in America. As a housing attorney with The Waterfront Project defending low-income tenants from eviction, I have met with so many mothers on the brink of homelessness, the terror in their eyes…

Client Success Story: Final Restraining Order Granted

By Elizabeth Hurley, Legal Director at The Waterfront Project In this domestic violence case, we successfully obtained a Final Restraining Order protecting our client from her former partner, whom the court found had assaulted her on multiple occasions, resulting in “horrific injuries.” The order prohibits our client’s abuser from having any contact with her, bars him from visiting her home and place of employment, as well as the home of…