Displacement and Disparity: The Impact of Gentrification and Housing Policy on Black Communities in New Jersey
- Karen Brittingham-Edmond
- 1 day ago
- 6 min read
16 October 2025
Social Justice
Over the past 25 years, gentrification and the overwhelming influx of noncitizens have significantly affected long-standing Black neighborhoods, towns, and counties, including Newark, Jersey City, Asbury Park, Long Branch, Eatontown, Neptune, Freehold, Edison, Camden, Trenton, and Paterson, especially in Monmouth, Essex, and Union Counties. Isn't it time we question whose interests are truly being served by these state-wide enforcement measures, which leave citizens without both housing and job opportunities they usually have?
Imagine you have two bowls. One bowl contains 20 or more oranges, and the other bowl has five apples. When you start adding the 20 oranges to the bowl of apples, the space in the bowl becomes increasingly crowded. As you continue adding the oranges, they start to fill the bowl, pressing against the apples. Eventually, there may not be enough room for all the fruits, and the oranges, being larger and more numerous, push the apples towards the edge.
In the end, some of the apples may even fall out of the bowl due to overcrowding, showing how adding more oranges can displace the apples. This is similar to how an influx of special interest groups, plus nonprofits that pander to bigoted politicians or people with means, can impact an existing citizen population that should be protected and not defrauded, potentially pushing out discriminated Americans who were already there, minding their own business.
Now, imagine that the apples symbolize Black citizens and their families. At the same time, the oranges represent the influx of insourced and non-vetted populations being placed within the demographic of Black citizens over the last 30 years. This overcrowding is a direct consequence of housing policies that preferentially serve noncitizen populations, while systematically and unethically denying essential housing resources to long-term Black citizen taxpayers and their children once they become young adults and form a family of their own as citizens.
As a result, many Black families are losing their homes, by means of high taxes, blocked citizen affordable and project housing by means of Jim Crow Credit checks that primarily discriminate against young Black citizen families leading to devastating outcomes such as family separation and increased rates of early death among homeless American citizens and the families who witness and stress about the overt means of racist tactics being operated in New Jersey since the 90s. It is critical that we, as Black citizens, and the historical Black Institutions in New Jersey that once primarily served Black American citizens, recognize the implications of these policies and advocate for equitable solutions that prioritize the well-being of all citizens.
This report will provide examples of quantifiable evidence plus studies that address the unfair aspects of The Sanctuary Movement primarily supported by: Southern Baptist & Pentecostal Evangelicals, The Christian Coalition that controls the Republican Party, LGBTQ org., North American Man Loves Boy organization plus multiple Nonprofits in NJ for example such as Interfaith Neighbors, United Way, and Hispanic Affairs for example referred to as the New Jersey Center for Hispanic Policy, Research and Development (CHPRD) and established in 1975 whose 50th anniversary is by chance happening this year in 2025.
In a report by NorthJersey.com titled "Black residents are leaving these three NJ cities," concerns have been raised about the language used by reporter Ricardo Kaulessar. Referring to Black individuals merely as "residents" diminishes their identity and overlooks their significant contributions to the New Jersey community. This choice of words reflects deeper, systemic issues, particularly the displacement of Black citizens driven by gentrification and policies that prioritize noncitizens over long-standing Black community citizens members.
Furthermore, the report fails to address the manipulative actions of the Kushner family, linked to Donald Trump, who have been criticized for their profit-driven role in promoting gentrification across New Jersey. This not only exacerbates tensions within the community but also highlights a troubling pattern of exploitation, where Black citizens may have over the past decades funded Trump's campaigns unknowingly as a result of tax dollars provided to the state of New Jersey from their pay checks that ultimately harm Black citizens by means of bias policy makers in the past teamed up with influential Hispanic and Jewish special interest groups and organizations which can be seen as treason. In defending the rights and dignity of Black citizens, it's vital to challenge this narrative and recognize the broader implications of such language and policies that perpetuate inequality, such as Carlos's description of Black American citizens who are seriously homeless for years. Just What Were Donald Trump's Ties to the Mob? - POLITICO Magazine
Nevertheless, Kaulessar's insensitive reporting style shares that Jersey City is labeled the "Bedroom City," Newark is experiencing "Jobless Gentrification," and Paterson is deemed the "Migrant Metro." These labels come from a report released by researchers at Rutgers Law School's Center on Law, Inequality & Metropolitan Equity, titled "The Other Cities: Migration and Gentrification in Jersey City, Newark and Paterson," which outlines the growth and decline of these diverse previously Black citizen minority majority cities, before the enactment of Southern Evangelicals "Sanctuary Movement Efforts" supported by the Christian Coalition that has controlled the Republican Party since 1980 plus Democrat bipartisan leadership.
According to the report, Jersey City, the second-largest city in New Jersey, is labeled the "Bedroom City" due to its growth driven by job access to New York City. The report notes that new residents have a median income of $88,000, with rising rents making it one of the most expensive areas for renters. Around 40% of its working residents are employed in New York City.
Newark, the largest city, is experiencing "Jobless Gentrification," where market-rate housing prices have surged without corresponding job growth. From 2015 to 2023, home values increased by 92%, while rents jumped by 32%. The report suggests that Newark's gentrification differs from Jersey City's due to its privatization of amenities within housing developments, which should be acknowledged as opposed to street-level gentrification, despite Black citizens' homeless rates plus forced relocation out of Jersey City & Newark as a result of the overpopulation of insourced workers plus their families.
Paterson is identified as "Migrant Metro," reflecting affordability challenges driven by the influx of working-class immigrants competing for limited affordable housing. Despite its diverse immigrant community, home values in Paterson have nearly tripled since 2015, although rental prices have remained relatively stable. Despite Paterson's cost of living being higher than the national average, this is due to a combination of housing, utility, and transportation costs, according to a PayScale.com report.
The Rutgers University Report also highlights the decline of Black populations in these cities, with Jersey City losing nearly 3,000 Black residents and Paterson losing over 4,500 since 2013. Newark saw an influx of Hispanics, Black Caribbean, and West African people. Yet, it is implied that many Black Americans have moved out due to "displacement pressures," as a result of preferential housing plus HUD assistance being quickly allotted to new residents or Sanctuary Movement populations. At the same time, Black citizens are made to wait on the affordable housing list for five to ten years, along with Jim Crow Credit Checks for Federally Funded Affordable Housing Units that Black citizens seem to fail over petty reasons that worsen African American homelessness as designed. While noncitizen populations, especially Sanctuary Movement Encampment and their noncitizen families, seem to pass HUD Mandated Credit Checks every time. That has, as a result, contributed to the mass homelessness crisis for Black citizens for the last four decades.
Additionally, the homeless population has risen, reflecting the struggles of residents to cope with increasing housing costs. Despite these challenges, Jersey City and Newark have seen their populations grow by over 8% in the last five years, while Paterson's population increased by 7%. The report notes an increase in foreign-born residents in all three cities, which brings us back to our apples-and-oranges example at the beginning of the article.
Thanks for reading the relaunched Echo "In Concern of the Negro" since 1904.
References:
NorthJersey.com titled "Black residents are leaving these three NJ cities
"Letter to the White House: Civil Rights Groups Call for Stephen Miller's Removal" https://civilrights.org/resource/letter-to-the-white-house-civil-rights-groups-call-for-stephen-millers-removal/
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