Evicted from the American Dream: The Redevelopment of Mount Holly Gardens
18:59
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1 year ago
This is the story of the redevelopment of Mount Holly Gardens in Mount Holly, New Jersey. In this video, residents talk about the impact that the redevelopment activities have had on their lives and their community.
Since designating the area blighted in 2002, the township of Mount Holly has purchased more than 200 of the units without resorting to condemnation. But the threat of eminent domain hung over the community for many years, and many landlords and some homeowners sold their houses under the belief that they would eventually be taken through eminent domain.
The Township has demolished more than 70 of the units it purchased, and has boarded up and left vacant many of the others. About two-thirds of the housing units in the Gardens are now empty.
The Township offered a set range of prices to every individual homeowner in the Gardens redevelopment area: $27,000 to $32,000 for a one-bedroom, $39,000 to $40,000 for a two-bedroom, and $49,000 for a three-bedroom.
New Jersey redevelopment laws need to be changed because they fail to protect or adequately compensate low-income people who are displaced by municipal redevelopment programs.
To learn more, or to read our report: Evicted from the American Dream: The Redevelopment of Mount Holly Gardens, please visit http://njpublicadvocate.gov.This is the story of the redevelopment of Mount Holly Gardens in Mount Holly, New Jersey. In this video, residents talk about the impact tha...all »This is the story of the redevelopment of Mount Holly Gardens in Mount Holly, New Jersey. In this video, residents talk about the impact that the redevelopment activities have had on their lives and their community.
Since designating the area blighted in 2002, the township of Mount Holly has purchased more than 200 of the units without resorting to condemnation. But the threat of eminent domain hung over the community for many years, and many landlords and some homeowners sold their houses under the belief that they would eventually be taken through eminent domain.
The Township has demolished more than 70 of the units it purchased, and has boarded up and left vacant many of the others. About two-thirds of the housing units in the Gardens are now empty.
The Township offered a set range of prices to every individual homeowner in the Gardens redevelopment area: $27,000 to $32,000 for a one-bedroom, $39,000 to $40,000 for a two-bedroom, and $49,000 for a three-bedroom.
New Jersey redevelopment laws need to be changed because they fail to protect or adequately compensate low-income people who are displaced by municipal redevelopment programs.
To learn more, or to read our report: Evicted from the American Dream: The Redevelopment of Mount Holly Gardens, please visit http://njpublicadvocate.gov.«
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