TRENTON, NJ – New Jersey's Department of Community Affairs (DCA) has released the affordable housing mandates for Sayreville, South Amboy, Perth Amboy, and other municipalities across the state.

Municipalities in New Jersey have until Jan. 31 to adopt the guidance or reply to the state with their own calculation consistent with state law and then have until June 30 to adopt specific plans on how they plan to address meeting the required number of units.

Sayreville – Present Need: 194. Capped Prospective Need: 270South Amboy – Present Need: 19. Capped Prospective Need: 49Perth Amboy – Present Need: 987. Capped Prospective Need: 0

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Earlier this year, on March 20, Gov. Phil Murphy signed a law (P.L.2024, c.2) that created a new framework for determining and enforcing municipalities’ affordable housing obligations under the NJ Supreme Court’s Mount Laurel doctrine and the State Fair Housing Act. The bill was sponsored by NJ Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin and Assemblywoman Yvonne Lopez, Democrats who represent New Jersey's 19th legislative district.

“I am grateful to the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs for their timeliness in calculating this data and their partnership in advancing our shared goal of expanding access to affordable housing,” Murphy said. “We look forward to seeing this law implemented and benefiting families across the Garden State.”

Murphy signed the legislation to build on his administration’s promise to “create a stronger, fairer, and more affordable state for all New Jerseyans.” The law established a new system for municipalities to meet their Mount Laurel affordable housing obligations, replacing the current process that exists entirely in the courts. The law empowers DCA to calculate regional affordable housing needs and municipalities' present and prospective obligations in accordance with the law.

“We have an obligation to expand opportunities and make housing more affordable in our state,” said Speaker Coughlin. “When more families are secure in homes of their own, they contribute to their communities and our economy thrives. This legislation strikes the right balance in incentivizing opportunity and providing support for municipalities.”

"A house is much more than four walls and a roof, it is a place where cherished memories are made, an asset that creates generational wealth and a structure upon which a great quality of life can be built," said Assemblywoman Lopez. “The signing of A4 will allow more hardworking families to have access to affordable housing and ahead of the 4th Round offers a pathway for municipality's to deliver on their constitutional obligations within a consistent and uniform process for decades to come. The signing of this bill will allow more New Jerseyans to move into, stay and thrive in the communities they love."

Jesus the King in Perth Amboy, New Jersey, is the state’s first Coptic Catholic church.

Sharon Delaney Nation October 15, 2024

When Msgr. Malak Saadalla processed through the doors of Jesus the King in Perth Amboy on Sept. 21, it marked a happy occasion that had been eight years in the making: the solemn opening of New Jersey’s first Coptic Catholic church.

Flanked by rows of priests, deacons and altar servers, the monsignor walked behind His Beatitude Ibrahim Isaac Sedrak, patriarch of Alexandria of Coptic Catholics; Coptic Bishop Pola Ayoub Matta Usama Shafik Akhnoukh, of Ismayliah, the apostolic visitor of Coptic Catholics in the United States and Canada; and Bishop James Checchio of the Diocese of Metuchen, New Jersey.

This day also marked the beginning of a new life for an old urban church, the former St. Mary’s of Perth Amboy. Built in 1903 by Irish immigrants, it had been shuttered for nearly 10 years. This day, the organ played again. The smoke from incense rose through the sunbeams streaming through the century-old stained-glass windows. The white-marble altar was adorned with flowers and ribbons.

Filling the pews to capacity were nearly 500 Coptic Catholics from New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and beyond. No longer would they need to move their faith community every weekend to rented spaces. This holy place was the cure for their weariness. They were finally home.

The Coptic Catholic Church is part of the Eastern Catholic Church, which is in full communion with the Bishop of Rome. Its ancient apostolic roots date back to the first century when St. Mark the Evangelist arrived in Egypt.

Founded in 1988 by Msgr. Louis Nasser and Father Hanna Farag, this Coptic Catholic community that would become the parish of Jesus the King started with just four parishioners in Bayonne, New Jersey. In the beginning, they gathered for prayer in one another’s homes.

“As the community grew, we needed more room,” said Msgr. Saadalla. “For the past eight years, we’ve rented space in churches in Bayonne and Old Bridge. It’s been difficult.”

Marina Mata, church secretary of Jesus the King, added, “Our community doesn’t live in one place. They live all over New Jersey, Pennsylvania and New York. There are even parishioners who live as far away as Long Island.”

She explained that they call their pastor Abouna, using the Egyptian word for “father.”

“He has really been our father in holding our faith family together all these years,” she explained.

“He would text Scripture readings each morning and update everyone about what was happening every day. He would communicate on social media to tell us where Mass would be. Every night at 8 p.m., he hosted a Zoom meeting where we could pray together,” she added. “We still do this.”

“In Egypt, the church is in the middle. The community grows out from this. Not having a single place to worship made it hard for the community to grow,” observed parishioner Nabiel Gurges, an Egyptian immigrant and decades-long resident of Staten Island, New York.

“We were scattered all around. I wanted my children to grow up the way we did in Egypt: religiously,” he said. “I wanted to see priests grow up from our community. We were desperate for a home.”

Gurges added, “Abouna Malak never looks at the ground under his feet. He is always looking ahead. He was determined to find a church for us. He said he prayed for just a small chapel, with a kitchen. And now he says, ‘God gave us a palace!’”

The long road to finding their new church ended in 2022, when Abouna Malak walked through the doors of the old St. Mary’s. Its Gothic Revival architecture boasted intricate medieval stylings, towering heights and pointed arches. Like so many immigrant churches of its time, the stained-glass windows depicted a jewel-toned narrative of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection.

That wasn’t all. Abouna Malak also saw a leaking roof. The walls were damaged. The basement was wet and filled with debris. There was no electricity.

“Yes,” he said as he sized up the work that lay ahead. “We’re home.”

The diocese sold the church at the very fair price of $750,000, but with one stipulation: Bishop Checchio wanted St. Mary’s to always remain a church. For this reason, it can never be sold.

“Having our Coptic Catholic brothers and sisters using the former St. Mary's in Perth Amboy is a blessing,” Bishop Checchio told the Register. “When I arrived in the diocese, it had been closed and not used for some years. … Now, once again, it is a spiritual home for a Catholic community. Like the Irish who came to our country as immigrants and built this parish, now this new immigrant community is proud to have their own parish.”

“The money to buy and repair the church was raised by our parishioners,” reported George Ebrahim of Staten Island, New York. “The needed repairs cost more than $1 million. We had to hire licensed professionals to replace the roof and to restore the electricity. But there are many handy people here. We did everything we could ourselves to save the church money.”

For nearly two years the community washed, polished, painted and spackled. At last, on June 2, 2024, the first Mass was celebrated.

Danny Gurges, a resident of Staten Island and the son of Nabiel Gurges, shared, “When I was growing up, people would ask me, ‘Where is your church?’ I could never answer. Now we have a place for our kids to grow up in church, celebrate their birthdays, have a meal after Mass and play outside. This is ours.”

The Eastern Rite Mass celebrated at Jesus the King is a blend of both Arabic and English, with large screens throughout the sanctuary for translation. Mass is livestreamed on Facebook and YouTube. The parish hopes to be accessible, not just to the Coptic Catholic population, but to the surrounding area, as well.

“My prayer is to keep our Coptic Catholic faith and identity, but also to grow and reach out to this city,” said Msgr. Saadalla. “There is a large Spanish community here in Perth Amboy. I pray for a Spanish-speaking priest to join me here so we can better serve our neighbors.

“This has been the building phase of our church. And now we must rebuild ourselves inside the building to be church.”

He added, “Now, it’s not just a building — it’s us. We have to live this spiritual life in the building God gave us.”

This story was updated after posting.

Sharon Delaney Sharon Delaney is a home-school mom and a freelance writer. Previously, she was an inspirational writer whose stories have appeared in Guideposts, Reader's Digest, and Writer's Digest.

Organized by Clean Ocean Action, the group selected 82 parks, walkways, creeks and beaches for clean-ups on Oct. 19. You must register:

Patch Staff

|Updated Fri, Oct 11, 2024 at 12:05 pm ET

NEW JERSEY — If you, your family, religious group, Cub Scout/Girl Scout/Boy Scout or company are looking for volunteer opportunities, Clean Ocean Action just published its annual list of all the places they will be doing beach clean-ups next weekend.

All the clean-ups will take place next Saturday, October 19, from 9:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

Most of the sites are Jersey Shore beaches, but their list of 82 locations includes parks in northern New Jersey, Englewood Cliffs on the Palisades and the Perth Amboy waterfront on Raritan Bay. Clean Ocean Action says this is their largest organized beach clean-up to date.

Go to Clean Ocean Action's website to register. They have all 82 sites listed. You must register in advance so they know how many people are expected at each beach.

A beach captain will be waiting for you at each location. You must register in advance so Clean Ocean Action can provide the supplies needed for the clean-up and to instruct volunteers.

Find out what's happening in Long Branch-Eatontownwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

If you want to become a beach captain, sign up here: https://cleanoceanaction.org/h...

Volunteers are asked to wear close-toed shoes, reusable gloves and they ask that you bring your own bucket or container to remove trash, as this will reduce the number of plastic bags.

This is the 39th year Clean Ocean Action will be doing the beach sweeps. From a jock strap to an entire bicycle, here is everything volunteers removed from New Jersey beaches last October: 2023 Beach Sweeps Report.

This is not the complete list, the full list is on their website, where you need to sign up:

ATLANTIC COUNTY

BERGEN COUNTY

BURLINGTON COUNTY

CAPE MAY COUNTY

ESSEX COUNTY

GLOUCESTER COUNTY

MIDDLESEX COUNTY

MONMOUTH COUNTY

OCEAN COUNTY

Know of a beach, riverfront or stream in need of a clean-up that is not on this list? Contact Clean Ocean Action with more information at BeachSweeps@CleanOceanAction.org.

“The Beach Sweeps is a great way for volunteers, small and tall, to give back to the ocean and beaches, which give us such joy, beauty and economic vitality all year,” said Cindy Zipf, Clean Ocean Action Executive Director.

Clean Ocean Action's headquarters are at 49 Avenel Boulevard in Long Branch. www.CleanOceanAction.org