As reported in the Asbury Park Press, Lowenstein Sandler is representing six Asbury Park residents in a suit against the city for alleged mismanagement of affordable housing funds.
The dispute arises from a government program, started in the mid-1990s, that implemented Regional Contribution Agreements (RCAs) for municipalities that wished to share responsibility for their constitutional obligation to provide affordable housing. The RCA program permitted landlords to apply for to the city for funds to rehabilitate their units for rental to low-income tenants.
The suit, filed in the New Jersey Superior Court in Monmouth County, claims that Asbury Park failed to monitor landlords who received funds to repair homes for low-income tenants; that the landlords ignored their obligations to maintain those homes at affordable rental rates for at least ten years; and that the ensuing rent increases resulted in tenants’ evictions, homelessness, and emotional distress.
The plaintiffs are seeking compensatory damages, punitive damages, and declaratory, injunctive, and equitable relief.
Mark S. Heinzelmann is lead attorney for the plaintiffs on this matter through the Lowenstein Center for the Public Interest.
