The election of the next New Jersey Governor is fast upon us with only one real issue being addressed, that of property taxes and the public education system which it currently funds.  Each of the three major candidates – and by “major” I mean that they are on the ballot and on television – has taken up a predictable strategic position on this issue.

The Democratic incumbent looks at who is inclined or might be convinced to vote for a Democratic candidate and notices that most of them rent.  They do not care about property taxes; that is their landlord’s problem and they are not exactly friends.  Even among the homeowners in the Democratic base, the bigger concern is with their local school, especially if they are depending on their high school seniors getting scholarships to pay for college based on good grades at good schools.  The appeal of the Democrat to these voters that he is “investing in our future” and “has the right priorities” is signaling that he will make sure that the schools will have a great reputation no matter what the cost.  He throws a bone to the stray non-Democrat that he will increase taxes on the “wealthy” — and by “wealthy” he means those with high incomes serving as sacrificial lambs for inherited or previously acquired wealth – rather than increase the property tax, or not too much.  Yes, he will really try this time to keep property taxes under control as he makes the tough choices of how to pay for education.

The Republican challenger looks at who is inclined or might be convinced to vote for a Republican candidate and notices that most of them own their own home, with a good number of those no longer having children in the public schools, if they ever did.  Even if they have school-age children, these voters have been long since disaffected by the incessant Democratic Party propaganda which so many of the teachers engage in, that they have opted out and enrolled their children in private or religious schools.  Overwhelmingly, the Republican base gains no benefit from the public school and sees the property taxes which pay for them as wasted money.  They hear about the “Obama hymn” in Burlington and, though disgusted, they are not surprised: “Typical!” would be their cry.  Thus, the pledge of the Republican to reduce property taxes by reducing spending is signaling that he is going to not only run a tight ship but, if necessary to reduce property taxes to bearable levels, will not be afraid to gut the schools by forcing the districts to make do with austerity budgets.  To the stray non-Republican, he throws the bone of  “charter schools” which are supposed to be an improvement over existing inner-city public schools.  He thus makes his appeal to the parents of children in truly awful high schools and, though he expects this to save a lot of money, he assures them that he is doing this to make the schools better for the kids.  Yes, he will really try not to shortchange education as he makes the tough decisions of how to balance the budget while cutting taxes.

The major independent candidate takes up a middle position of promising voters that they can have their cake and eat it, too.  In all candor, he must admit that the cake is not appetizing, nor much of a prize to hold.  Still, he is hoping that enough Democratic voters are fed up with the corruption and scandals in their party and governor that they will switch to him as a friend to education in some vague, general sense.  With more emphasis, he is pledging to reduce property taxes and even has a plan for that, appealing to Republican voters straight up.  The details show that he is targeting the blue-collar Republican voters because they would rather be taxed on income they don’t have than on the assessed value of the property they do.  The impression is thus left that the major independent is a spoiler for the Democrats, taking away more votes from the Republican than the Democratic candidate.  Insidious allegations are made that he was “entered into” the race for this express purpose.

I would agree with the former statement, but not the latter.  The major independent was, perhaps, overly confident about the number of voters willing to vote for him because he was neither Democrat nor Republican.  Most likely, he still is as he seeks to broaden his appeal beyond that base to other voters most likely to vote against the Democratic incumbent.  However, neither he nor the Republican challenger, who is also courting the disaffected Democrats, seem to recognize that they need to appeal also to the Democrats who are not disaffected in order to win the election.  If the major independent becomes a spoiler, it will because the Republican candidate let him be one by failing to go after the Democratic base.  One or both of these challengers need to advocate and highlight an explicit plan for educational reform that is fundamentally that and believably so.  I am not, however, optimistic that they can do so with about a week before the election.

You will note that I have not mentioned names in this discourse.  That is because from the popular capitalist perspective, the personalities involved in drafting policy are less important to the people than the policy itself.  I will offer up my own, Carl Peter Klapper, as the creator and most interested advocate of the policy I put forward now.  Though you will not see me on the ballot, you can write my name in for Governor of New Jersey.  Or, since we have the new, undefined, yet very public office of Lieutenant Governor, you can write me in for that and confound the parties in the game of unblemished electoral lambs they have been playing by creating this office.  So, without further ado, here is the Popular Capitalist view of and plan for property taxes and educational reform.

1. Abolish property taxes.  Just off them in true Soprano State fashion.  We defer discussion of the education budget and funding until later.  Besides, property taxes have nothing to do with that.  It was always a false connection, a Gordian knot tying property taxes to school budgets.  What smart people like Alexander the Great do with a Gordian knot is to cut it.  And so do we.
2. Put the schools under the jurisdiction of the municipalities, under a municipal education department.  In some cases, schools would be administered at the county level on behalf of municipalities where the school population is too small.  This makes the schools accountable to the people in the town or county where they operate and thus far more accountable to anybody than the cross-jurisdictional school districts are.  Further, this makes all school staff and administrators municipal employees and appointed officials.
3. Standardize position descriptions, the formula for staffing levels and pay scales at the state level.  This would be a decision by the Governor and the executive branch which needs to stay within the budget authorized by the legislature for education as for all other municipal, county and state agencies and departments. The state budget for municipal and county educational staffing will pay for all mandated positions, which I will make almost entirely for teachers. The municipalities and the counties would still be able to fund additional positions through their own revenue.  This reform prevents the featherbedding abuses that are keeping money from being spent on our children.
4. Establish a New Jersey Board of Regents with a charge to create a published course-based curriculum for all public schooling through masters level, design certifying examinations for every course,  frequently administer these exams and establish course requirements for diplomas and degrees. The Board will consist of current presidents of colleges and universities in New Jersey, receiving a small stipend for their time in meetings to set policy and appoint chiefs of each curriculum subject department.  The staff of the board will be led by these chiefs, who are experts in their subjects.  This method of certification and granting diplomas and degrees will allow pupils from a variety of educational settings to proceed independently and receive their high school diplomas when they have mastered the courses required for graduation.  This will be a drastic improvement over the current “social advancement” method which moves students through the schools and graduates them for warming a chair.
5. Allow municipal education departments to offer elective courses for which they may charge a fee.  This would be the preferred way for municipalities to pay for their local educational offerings.  An education department may choose to open some courses to adults.
6. As part of my proposal for establishing municipal medical departments, a medical curriculum will be devised and staff allocated to each municipality to teach courses in medicine leading to certification as doctors and nurses.
7. Change the school calendar to an annual trimester system, with the school day expanded to 8 hours.  In transitioning from the current grade-level system, kindergarten and grades 2, 4, 6 and 8 would be taught in one trimester and grades 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12 would be taught in two trimesters.  This would not only streamline the traditional K-12 education, it would also allow college-level courses to be taught at an earlier age and, because of the independent administration of the Regents exams through masters, allow diligent students in whatever neighborhoods to earn a college or post-graduate degree without leaving their homes or having to pay to go to college.  As an aside, speaking as someone whose family could not afford vacation trips, I would have much rather accelerated through school during the summer vacation months than to try to stay cool in the sweltering heat of July and August.  I expect that this is the view of poor students throughout New Jersey.

It should be clear now why I did not immediately describe how education would be paid for in the absence of a property tax.  The educational reforms I am proposing change the nature and costs of the educational system, as any real reform must.  You can go through my points and see reduced and additional costs, but in the absence of any measure or approximation of the magnitude of those ups and down you would be at a loss to determine whether we spend less or more after the reforms.  However, if you consider which governments pay for this system and which elected body decides what will be paid, the improvement is clear.

Under the current system, property owners pay for the system in their town, even though they might not have had children, let alone children in school now.  This sets up a false conflict between property owners and parents of school-age children.  The property owners are paying through municipal governments for systems administered by separate school districts representing the parents of schoolchildren and the teachers’ union.  But even the school districts do not always determine school expenses.  The state issues unfunded mandates regularly dictating what must be paid.  But whether the state or the school districts decide the school budget, those are different governmental entities representing different constituencies from those who pay the bills.  Consequently, the people can choose neither the quality of schooling nor its expense.  Parents, like myself, who want better public education for their children and are willing to pay for it are forced into austerity budgets by homeowners who don’t, and vice versa.  The teachers’ union, an entity unto itself that controls the state, forces bad schools on the  parents and extravagant budgets on the homeowners.

In my administration, the people, not the parents, nor the homeowners,  nor yet the teacher’s union, would decide what will be spent on instruction and will pay for it themselves.  If the people decide through their state assembly and senators that they are willing to pay x dollars for instruction in the public schools, then x dollars will be paid for by state revenue in the state budget, and the Governor will structure the pay for teachers, principals and other school workers so that the state school budget adequately staffs the schools.  If some teachers or administrators think they can do better outside the state or teaching, nothing is keeping them from leaving and nothing is keeping the municipal education departments from replacing them.  If the pay scale is not realistic in one or more areas, then there will be a shortage which will force the Governor to either increase pay in those areas or reduce staffing requirements until the pay scale and the staffing requirements are consistent with the budget and the labor market.  If the people in a municipality want to expand offerings, they can do so and place the burden on those parents and students who wanted the new classes through course fees.  Further, the students themselves can determine how many classes they need to attend by taking and passing some Regents course exams without instruction.  Students could even earn degrees locally without the expense of college, a great boon for their parents that would more than compensate for the minor cost of the Regents exams for college courses and any state-mandated or locally offered classes their children require.  Lest we forget, this applies to medical education as well, opening up this field to children from poor families without the debilitating med school loans and with a ready opportunity in the many municipal medical departments throughout the state.

So I ask the Democratic voters, particularly, why vote for a Democratic candidate who does not offer you what I have: a public educational system that serves you and the aspirations of your children?  If you agree that I would do a better job, if you share my dream of helping our children fulfill their dreams, then help our cause by spreading the word and writing in Carl Peter Klapper for Governor of New Jersey.

And forget about old what’s his name.

Last week marked the first Gubernatorial debate for New Jersey, pitting Republican candidate Chris Christie and Independent Chris Dagget against incumbent Democratic Governor Jon Corzine. Dave was one Johnson who took part in an on campus viewing of the debate at the Eagleton Institute on Rutgers’ Douglass Campus. For this article, Dave was asked a series of questions regarding his feelings before and after the debate: 1. What was your opinion of these candidates before the debate? 2. Who, in your estimation, won the debate? 3. How, if at all, where your opinions influenced by the debate? 4. Consider some of the broader implications of what this debate shows. Please feel free to include your own comments at the bottom of the page.

Before the debate, I figured I was probably going to vote for Corzine, and not necessarily because I liked him.  It is more because I am absolutely terrified of Chris Christie and know almost nothing about Chris Dagget.

I do not really think the debate had a clear winner, but it was clear who outperformed who.  Corzine held his own pretty well and was able to point to more specific accomplishments and plans than I thought he would be able to: he has managed to balance the state budget all four years as governor and has managed to shrink the size of the state government for two years in a row now.  Dagget also was somewhat impressive.  He was also able to give concrete policies that he would enact, such as a 25% tax cut across the board and expanding the sales tax to cover it.  The obvious loser was Christie.  In an hour and a half, Christie gave no plans or proposals and instead dodged questions about how he would close New Jersey’s massive budget gap and kept repeating the same talking points over and over again.  When Christie was asked about cuts in mandated health coverage to save money, he responded with such drivel that even the moderator looked dumbfounded – the debate party we were at also broke out into open laughter.

Surprisingly, my opinion of Corzine actually improved as result of the debate.  I feel like people tend to trash on Corzine too much.  While he has not been able to live up to all of his promises and fix all of our problems, he has reduced the state budget two years in a row and has actually made the tough decisions, be they tax increases or service cuts, to balance the state budget every year.  He has also made use of President Obama’s stimulus package and enacted multiple major public works projects, such as a new tunnel under the Hudson River and a massive school building project, all to create jobs.  In that sense, Corzine has not been a total letdown; he has been a mediocre governor, not necessarily a bad one.

Given my heavy disdain for Republicans in general, my negative opinion of Christie remains unchanged.  In fact, my perceptions and suspicions about him were only confirmed in the debate.  Almost every time he finished giving an answer, my first thought was “Wow, what a jerk”, especially after a question about women’s reproductive health and family planning. When asked about what he would to do reduce teen pregnancies and women’s reproductive health in New Jersey, the best thing he could say was that we should teach our daughters that sex is bad and they should not do it – we know how these stories end.  In comparison, Corzine suggested that we should improve access to family planning services so that there are less accidental pregnancies and, by extension, abortions, and Dagget made a almost identical point on that issue. I feel like anyone looking for any kind of substance in the debate (not to suggest that there was much of it to begin with) would have grown less fond of Christie simply because he said essentially nothing in ninety minutes.  Even Corzine’s 2005 opponent Doug Forrestor had more to say in terms of concrete plans in his debates against Corzine.  Those plans may have been horrifying (a 30% across-the-board tax cut over 3 years, which most observers noted would have bankrupted the state), but at least he had a plan.

As for Dagget, I feel guilty about this but I am still not really interested in him.  This pains me because of how much I cannot stand our false-dichotomy-embracing two-party system and how much I would rather have a multi-party system in the United States.  Unfortunately, this seems like it won’t become a reality anytime soon, so we’re all stuck with the lesser of two evils.  If anything, Dagget, since his economic policies are more similar to what I think Christie would embrace (but cannot know for sure because Christie presented no economic plan), will siphon votes from Christie and guarantee Corzine a second term as governor.

On the other hand, I think that most New Jerseyans will see this vote as a choice between the lesser of two evils, myself included to an extent.  Governor Corzine ran in 2005 on a very energetic platform with a lot of promise, but his administration stumbled almost instantly and he was rendered impotent before he could even get started.  If you don’t like Corzine, you’re presented with either an unknown with crazy economic plans or right-winger with questionable ethics and no plans.  New Jerseyans are likely to grow ever more disillusioned and jaded with Trenton, despite the fact that New Jersey is actually doing better than the overwhelming majority of the other states.  This is going to be another classic New Jersey election year – choosing between, as South Park so eloquently put it, a giant douche and a turd sandwich.

Above: Workers at the New Jersey State Labor Department on Jersey Ave. listened on as Gov. Jon S. Corzine spoke about a job incentive program.

Above: The governor shook hands with local residents after answering questions from the press.

Above: A New Brunswick resident discussed his point of view as the governor answered more questions outside the local unemployment office.

Above: Corzine’s plan will help workers who have exhausted all state and federal unemployment benefits through incentives for private sector employers.

Above: Corzine prepares to leave the rally.

Above: Governor Jon Corzine addresses the media at a state unemployment office located on Jersey Avenue in New Brunswick.  He announced the nation’s first return to work program during the press conference, aimed at helping unemployed New Jerseyans who have exhausted state and federal unemployment benefits.

Above: Governor Jon Corzine speaks with South Brunswick resident Vishakha Gandhi after his press conference held at a state unemployment office located on Jersey Avenue in New Brunswick.  Gandhi’s family currently has 3 of 5 members unemployed.  She expressed to the Governor her concerns about being able to pay her bills and the mortgage on her house.  While she is confident that the economy will turn around, she is most concerned about how the Governor’s plan will help people like her in the immediate future.

Above: Governor Jon Corzine addresses members of the press outside a New Jersey unemployment office located on Jersey Avenue in New Brunswick after a press conference where he announced his plan to help the state’s unemployed.
Above: Governor John Corzine pauses while responding to a reporter’s question after a press conference he held at a state unemployment office located on Jersey Avenue in New Brunswick.  Above: Governor Jon Corzine thanks the media and public for their questions before getting into a car and leaving after a press conference held at an unemployment office located on Jersey Avenue in new Brunswick.

As Of Yet Untitled

Corruption in New Jersey politics is not a new phenomenon. Rather, it is a part of everyday political life in New Jersey, the lard that keeps the densely packed population from grating against each other. The topic has even been touched upon in the Johnsonville Press in months past. Even so, never in my time in New Jersey have I seen the hailstorm that is Jersey politics reign down so openly and violently as it has in July, 2009. Rallies, races and arrests are converging on our tiny state, making for a near perfect political storm. The weather, at least, seems to be in agreement; is it coincidence that we’ve had two tornados in two weeks this month in the Jers, or are there dark forces at work here…

I was driving home to Johnsonville last night, lightning flashing all around me. I was enjoying a particularly relevant NPR piece on the recent arrests of five New Jersey politicians among 39 other community and religious leaders throughout New Jersey and New York. These included the Mayors of three major New Jersey metropolises: Secaucus, Hoboken, and Jersey City. The commentator, with a slightly smug tone, was discussing the implications of these arrests for upcoming gubernatorial race between incumbent Jon Corzine and Republican Chris Christie of the State Attorney General’s office. He did not fail to note that nearly all of the politicians arrested are in fact, Democratic Party members, and speculated that this would have a negative effect on Corzine’s campaign.

“Thanks, tell me something I don’t know, you smug bastard”, I said to my radio, as I am prone to do. To date, Chris Christie still leads in the polls, demonstrating New Jersey’s skepticism with Jon Corzine, and their willingness to support a new candidate, even (gasp!) a republican! But what I find really interesting is not so much that New Jersey is fed up with Corzine (he’s so easy to hate) but that his strategy for reclaiming office has seemed so impotent. He came out in the primary days with the decision not to involve himself in Republican infighting that would inevitably occur in the grab for the nomination. This gave Christie the chance to get his face and name out there as an alternative to the norm (that is, to corruption) uncontested and unchallenged by the Dems. And now, Corzine finds himself in the awkward position of trying to reinstate himself at the top of the polls with a late start.

Perhaps the most surprising piece of the puzzle is that Corzine’s trump card, President Barack Obama’s visit to PNC Arts Center to rally for Corzine, has had little effect on the voting population. In fact, the forty minute unorganized rally in the sweltering heat seemed more to concern health care reform than Corzine’s reelection. It’s as if the Corzine people just figured that bringing Barack to Jersey would spell an automatic win, reenergizing the grassroots and solidifying the association between Corzine and Obama. Forget the fact that Corzine was an early supporter of Hillary Clinton for President; for all we should care, these two are longtime buddies.

Of course, that is not the case; but what fascinates me is that this sort of standard political hypocrisy failed to have the desired effect on this occasion. Perhaps it’s the fact that Corzine is one of the most disingenuous public speakers I’ve ever had the distaste to listen to. Perhaps it’s that Celebrity in Chief’s slipping popularity just doesn’t have the same pull it did six months ago. Perhaps it’s the fact that Obama chose to talk more forcefully about Healthcare reform than about Corzine’s positive characteristics (are there any?). Or perhaps it is simply that this new corruption scandal has drowned out any excitement over seeing the President step onto Jersey soil. One question I have: in light of this new scandal, shouldn’t Obama keep Jersey at arm’s length? Truly, he can hardly afford further attachment to the state. One thing is for sure, demonstrated by his very visit to an old rival: Democrats are loath to give up New Jersey, an old stronghold of the Democratic Party.

About halfway home to New Brunswick, it started to rain enormous drops on my windshield, just a few massive splashes here and there. The sky was bright with sun AND lightning, and other drivers were beginning to nervously slow down. At that moment, my radio switched over to the obnoxious cascade of static and beeps that is the Emergency Broadcast Station. Steven Hawking’s computer interrupted the beeping to inform me that I was driving directly into a tornado area and that for my safety I should proceed to the nearest basement. My third story attic-apartment would have to do.

As the AM kicked back on, I was drawn sharply away from my weather-worries at the mention of a landmark I’ve known well for the past several years: Robert Wood Johnson Hospital. Among those arrested in the NJ-FBI sting were some Rabbis who had been using the black market sale of organs to facilitate their money laundering ring. Apparently, some of these transplants had been taking place in New Brunswick! To date, we do not know anymore about how this was allowed, and so speculation as to who if anyone was involved will have to wait. But, for me at least, it came as a shock to find out that this massive piece of national news was unfolding, in part, just blocks from my residence. What effect, if any, this will have on the upcoming Mayoral race in New Brunswick in 2010 remains to be seen. But we can rest assured that the FBI will push the probe as far as it will reach.

Rounding a turn in the road, my mind was violently forced back to the weather. Before me, about 50 yards down the road, I faced a massive wall of water. It was as if the cloud had very specific boundaries; I could have stood one foot in the rain one foot out…had it not been for the hail the size of grapes pounding along with the rain. I smashed into the wall at 60 miles per hour and immediately began to skid. Pumping my breaks and slowing to 15, I corrected the slip and turned on my hazards. On the other side of the wall, seeing more than 10 feet in front of me was impossible, causing most cars to pull over to the side of the road, next to bikers hiding under bridges. Not being most drivers, I continued, though in serious fear that I would soon hit some nervous driver in front of me, or perhaps that a well placed tree would take me out from above. The carnage was brutal and frightening….and short-lived. Minutes later, I was on the other side of the storm, speeding onwards towards my goal at a revived 70 mph. Having weathered the storm, I was rewarded with a clean and empty road, all for the taking.

The perfect storm of New Jersey politics is forming now. As the economy continues to falter, the bacon fat that has always greased the gears of power in the most densely populated state in the country will start to burn up. I expect to see much more political reorganization in the near future. The question is, after the storm is over, who will step up to grab the reigns? Certainly not those with connections to the old, defamed guard…Young blossoming politicians should be at the ready; weather the storm, and you may well meet an open road in front of you. It will be entertaining to watch the changing of the guard in NJ over the next few years.

]]> http://johnsonvillepress.com/2009/07/27/politics-as-usual-alex-giannattasio/feed/ 17 http://johnsonvillepress.com/2009/07/27/the-wizard-of-wall-street-c-p-klapper/ http://johnsonvillepress.com/2009/07/27/the-wizard-of-wall-street-c-p-klapper/#comments Mon, 27 Jul 2009 18:14:28 +0000 agino http://johnsonvillepress.com/?p=435

“The Wizard of Wall Street”
Is what he said he was
And so we donned the rose-colored glasses
And entered a ruby state of mind
Thinking ourselves rich
Or was it:
That was rich!
But he was a shy guy
That was what he said he was
So we paid no attention
To his doings behind the curtain

His “wizardry” on Wall Street
Hidden by terminology
His wealth from junk bonds
Making junk from CMOs –
How many of us know or care
What those are?
Swapping default risk for sales –
He would never tell you
What that is!

His “wizardry” in D. C.
Hidden behind closed doors
Swapping Senate seats for sweetheart deals
For his buddies on The Street
Making junk out of Congress
Then swapping his Senate seat for a Governor’s house
Making junk out of the State of New Jersey
At a safe distance
From where the house of cards
Would come tumbling down
From where the fingers
Would be pointed at

And he, the Wizard,
Self-righteously points his finger, too
As he tells us
Only at the end of the story
“I can’t bring the economy back;
I don’t know how it works!”
While we are left without the Good Witch
And, I guess, the emerald slippers
Not even greenbacks
Not even a dime
For the fare home.

Copyright © 2009 by C. P. Klapper

New Brunswick Is 12th Municipality to Partner with Agencies on Program

NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ – New Brunswick Mayor Jim Cahill today joined Department of Community Affairs (DCA) Commissioner Joseph Doria and New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency (HMFA) Executive Director Marge Della Vecchia at Fulton Square, a new residential development at Remsen Avenue and Hickory Drive, to announce that New Brunswick is the newest member of the Live Where You Work Program. The city is the 12^th municipality to partner with HMFA on the program.

“Live Where You Work is an important component in meeting Governor Corzine’s goal of providing hardworking New Jersey residents with quality housing in good neighborhoods,” said Commissioner Doria. “This program supports the American Dream of home ownership. I thank Mayor Cahill and New Brunswick for their commitment to the city’s residents and I encourage more municipalities to join the effort.”

The Live Where You Work Program is a workforce housing initiative that provides low-interest, fixed rate mortgage loans to homebuyers purchasing homes in towns where they are employed. Other benefits include down payment and closing cost assistance for the purchase of a home within Smart Growth Areas and flexible underwriting criteria for the loan qualification process. Homes must be located in a municipality that has become a Live Where You Work partner with HMFA. The Live Where You Work initiative strives to revitalize and build sustainable communities that will provide a greener environment, access to alternative transportation and affordable housing opportunities for residents.

“We are pleased to have New Brunswick as one of our LWYW communities,” said HMFA Executive Director Marge Della Vecchia. “With its central location and proximity to employment centers located here, it is a real opportunity for local residents to become homeowners at a time when we want to support homeownership.”

As a result of this partnership, people working in New Brunswick who are interested in buying a home in the city will be able to take advantage of the Live Where You Work program incentives. Live Where You Work is administered by the HMFA, a DCA affiliate. Trenton, Jersey City, Woodbridge, Elizabeth, Atlantic City, Rahway, Morristown, Evesham, Neptune Township, Bayonne and Carteret are all taking part in the program.

“New Brunswick residents enjoy a wide assortment of parks, stores, and restaurants, our Cultural District that is home to three theatres, new public schools, unparallel cultural diversity and access to multiple forms of public transportation,” Mayor Cahill said. “This program will make it easier for the growing number of people who are already choosing to work in our great city to free themselves from their daily commute and live in New Brunswick.”

To learn about how to get a Live Where You Work mortgage, please call 1-800-NJHOUSE. For more information about how municipalities can join Live Where You Work, please call 609-278-7478. Or, you can visit the Live Where You Work website at www.livewhereyouwork.nj.gov.