Newark not for Sale: Power to the People

Who Owns Newark - Newarkers vs Developers: Community Leaders File Lawsuit to Stop Iberia II Towers, Citing Severe Environmental and Community Harms; Media and Community Members Urged to Attend December 8 Central Planning Board Special Virtual Hearing

[Newark, NJ] - Homes For All Newark, a grassroots housing justice organization, filed a lawsuit to halt the proposed Iberia II Realty Urban Renewal LLC development, warning that the massive 26–30-story towers pose an immediate threat to the health, safety, and potential displacement of the Ironbound community. The group asserts that the project advanced with minimal transparency or community engagement from the City and urges media, allies, and the public to attend the December 8 Central Planning Board Special Virtual Hearing and voice their concern with the project.

“The City has pushed this project forward behind closed doors while the cost of living in Newark has skyrocketed. Residents deserve a planning process rooted in honesty, transparency, and environmental justice—not a rush to satisfy a developer’s timeline. We need every resident to show up, speak out, and make it clear that our homes, our health, and our stability are non-negotiable.” - Tanisha Garner, President of Homes for All Newark

The Iberia II proposal would dramatically increase density and impervious surface area in one of Newark’s most climate-vulnerable zones. With a site plan that is 98 percent impervious, residents warn it would worsen urban heat, stormwater runoff, and flooding into the already polluted Passaic River. They also note that Newark’s Master Plan clearly states that no new density should be permitted in the East Ward until a climate adaptation and resiliency plan is completed, a requirement the City is disregarding. The project relies on spot zoning—zoning amendments and redevelopment changes that appear tailored to benefit a single developer—despite widespread community pushback (see March 3, 2025 Central Planning Board recording). Residents further point to substantial failures in transparency and public engagement (see Hearing of Citizens comment on December 2, 2025), including inaccessible or late-posted documents, missing translations, and developer-run meetings replacing city-led planning. Required notices for several variances were incomplete, and the Environmental Commission never reviewed the proposal, leaving major environmental questions unanswered.

“These community features of walkable streets and family businesses make the Ironbound attractive to outside developers to come and build here. But, ironically, allowing developers to build skyscrapers and parking garages on Ferry Street will destroy the very features of the Ironbound that made it so attractive to investors in the first place: the people” - Myles Zhang, Newark Resident and Historian

The Ironbound is home to predominantly low-income, Black, and immigrant residents and is one of New Jersey’s most intensely overburdened Environmental Justice communities as deemed by the New Jersey Environmental Justice Law. The neighborhood is surrounded by major pollution sources, including three gas-fired power plants, the state’s largest garbage incinerator, and the 17-mile Passaic River Superfund site, which remains contaminated due to historic Agent Orange manufacturing. Residents face extreme heat, severe flooding, low tree cover, and some of the worst air quality and highest rates of respiratory illness in the state. Despite these cumulative hazards, Homes For All Newark argues that the City pushed the Iberia II project forward without adequate environmental review, public disclosure, or meaningful community engagement.

“The Planning Board has shut the community out of the process for approving this project. They refused to allow the public to question experts at the initial hearing in March. They won't allow in-person participation in the upcoming meeting. Robust community engagement could create a better project. Instead of encouraging public input, they have restricted it.” - John Goldstein, Newark Resident and Homes for All Newark Member

At 26–30 stories, the towers are entirely out of scale with a low-rise neighborhood where the long-standing limit has been 12 stories. Residents say the buildings would block light and air, cast damaging shadows, degrade neighborhood character, and create a wall along the riverfront.
Community members also highlight serious environmental and public-health risks. No independent stormwater study has been conducted, and no requirements for soil remediation or environmental cleanup have been attached, despite the site’s industrial history and proximity to the Superfund area. The proposal fails to meet basic standards for setbacks, green space, trees, and permeability.

Traffic and safety concerns are also significant. The area is already congested, yet the developer’s traffic study avoids peak-hour analysis, emergency access, school-zone safety, pedestrian risks, and the expected impacts of upcoming NYC congestion pricing. With only 620 parking spaces for 1,408 units, residents expect spillover parking to overwhelm local streets and create unsafe conditions.
Homes For All Newark and Ironbound residents have repeatedly advocated for community-centered alternatives: a 12-story maximum, at least 50 percent affordability with more family-sized units, permeable surfaces, green space, trees, affordable local retail, a community health center, and alignment with Newark’s Master Plan and the long-promised Riverfront Park vision, along with a binding Community Benefits Agreement to guarantee environmental safeguards, true affordability, and local hiring. However, the group asserts that a lack of transparency throughout the zoning and development process prevented the community from meaningfully engaging with developers to ensure that community needs were addressed throughout the proposals.

The Iberia II development also deepens Newark’s affordability and displacement crisis. Out of 1,408 proposed units, only 283 would be considered “affordable”—barely 20 percent—and even those rents are based on regional AMI calculations that do not reflect Newark’s far lower household incomes. The proposal fails to provide the 2- and 3-bedroom family-sized units the community needs, offers no guarantees of accepting Section 8 vouchers, and risks driving rent increases across the Ironbound as landlords capitalize on rising land values and speculation. Newark already faces a shortage of more than 16,000 deeply affordable units at around $750 per month. Rather than addressing that emergency, Iberia II widens the gap and accelerates the displacement of longtime Black, Latino, and immigrant residents from one of the city’s most historic working-class neighborhoods.

“While the administration rushes to approve 30-story luxury towers, public-housing sites across Newark are left stalled, underfunded, or pushed toward demolition—forcing out the very families who built this community. The message is clear: the City prioritizes developer profit over preserving the limited housing our low-income Black and immigrant residents depend on. They are building a city for the wealthy by approving the destruction of essential housing for our people.” - Victor Inuk Gavilanes, Organizer, Homes For All Newark

Homes For All Newark urges members of the press and all Newark residents to attend the December 8 Central Planning Board Special Virtual Hearing to ensure that environmental justice concerns, community voices, and demands for transparency are fully included in the public record before any decision is made.

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MEDIA ADVISORY

Community Leaders File Lawsuit to Stop Iberia II Towers, Urge Media and Community Members to Attend December 8 Hearing

[Newark, NJ] - Homes For All Newark is urging members of the media to attend and cover the December 8 Central Planning Board Special Virtual Hearing regarding the proposed Iberia II development in Newark’s Ironbound district. The organization has filed a lawsuit seeking to halt the development, citing severe adverse environmental, health, and community impacts.

Who:

• Homes For All Newark, a grassroots housing and environmental justice organization.
• Community Leaders and Residents of Newark’s Ironbound district.
• Representatives from the City’s Central Planning Board.

What: A special virtual hearing of the Central Planning Board to review the proposed Iberia II towers. Concerns include:

• Environmental and flooding risks.
• Lack of transparency and community engagement in the zoning and development process.
• Scale of the proposed 26–30-story towers in a low-rise neighborhood.
• Traffic, safety, and displacement impacts.
• Alignment with Newark’s Master Plan and environmental requirements.

Where: https://newarknj.zoom.us/j/87263330727

or dial any of the following numbers to join by phone and enter the meeting id followed by # when asked

(for higher quality, dial a number based on your current location):

+1 309 205 3325 US

+1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)

+1 646 558 8656 US (New York)

+1 646 931 3860 US

+1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC)

Webinar ID: 872 6333 0727

International numbers available: https://NewarkNJ.zoom.us/u/kLqpE9CNj

The public may view documents relating to this hearing by visiting the following web address:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/12IYXH0zrZ8kwzmZoV4j4ZOriJ79EhRkf

For more information and any questions on how to access virtual meetings, participate, provide public comment, and review agendas, digital plans and application materials or to schedule an in office visit please contact the Board Secretary Carrissa Evans-Person by electronic email at evans-personc@ci.newark.nj.us or by telephone at (973)-733-8466 / (973)449-8876.

Why: The proposed Iberia II towers would dramatically increase the density of one of Newark’s most climate-vulnerable areas. Residents and community organizers say the project has advanced without transparency, meaningful input from the community, or environmental review. The lawsuit filed by Homes For All Newark challenges the zoning changes and seeks to pause the project pending proper review.

Media Contact:
Tanisha Garner
President, Homes for All Newark

chozindesign6@gmail.com