More Affordable Housing Needed Near Mass Transit, Sen. Menendez Says

NEW JERSEY — A U.S. senator from New Jersey is renewing his call to build more affordable housing near mass transit as the cost of renting a home reportedly soars across the nation – including the city his office is located in.

On Tuesday, Sen. Bob Menendez argued that affordable housing and mass transit are linked together, a position he’s taken in the past (watch the video below).

Speaking during a Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee hearing, Menendez referenced a report from the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC), which said New Jersey has the seventh-highest rent in the United States. Read More: NJ Rent Among Most Expensive In Nation As Prices Skyrocket, Report Says

According to the report, a New Jerseyan working minimum wage — $13 in the state — would need to work 80 hours per week to afford a "modest" one-bedroom apartment.

The report named Jersey City – where Menendez recently relocated his office – as the city with the priciest rent in the entire nation.

“The National Low Income Housing Coalition’s Out of Reach Report shows in stark detail just how hard it is for low-income renters to afford even modest housing,” Menendez said.

One possible solution? Create a federal grant program to incentivize the development of new affordable housing near existing mass transit, he argued.

“We need to address the affordable housing crisis in a way that doesn’t exacerbate renters’ other costs,” Menendez said.

According to a 2014 report from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, low-income families who lived away from employment centers spent 40 percent of their income on transportation costs.

As an example of potential legislation, the senator pointed to the Livable Communities Act of 2021, which he introduced last year.

“As the nation faces an affordable housing crisis, we don’t want to see teachers, first responders, grocery store clerks, restaurant staff and other essential workers be priced out of the neighborhood,” Menendez said at the time. “Creating ‘livable communities’ is all about connecting workers to good-paying jobs through expanded affordable housing options and access to good public transportation by inextricably and strategically linking the two in a community’s broader redevelopment plans.”

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