Everything’s up to date in Jersey City

NEW YORK — For his workshop as part of the “Connection to Transformation” conference put on last week by the Synod of the Northeast, the Rev. Jon Brown began his presentation on the organization Jersey City Together with a reading from the prophet Jeremiah that includes these hopeful words for modern-day community organizers: “Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat what they produce. … But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.”

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“There was a lot [those in exile] could not control in the big picture of superpowers,” said Brown, pastor of Old Bergen Church in Jersey City. “I’m determined to pray for the city in which God has placed me and to seek its welfare.”

Frank McMillen, the lead organizer for Jersey City Together, spent the first two years on the job getting to know clergy and others before the organization had its initial public launch, “which happened to be at my church,” Brown noted. “We had identified a problem in Jersey City, property taxes,” which hadn’t been reassessed in 30 years.

For the city and county officials who’d gathered that day, organizers presented data including a neighborhood map depicting how much of their income residents were spending on property taxes. Jersey City Together had crafted three questions for the elected officials to answer, and gave them 10 minutes for their responses. “When you are building relational power in the community,” Brown said, “it should be through the voice of the community.”

The point they pressed was this one: “How can you justify putting the biggest burden for your city on the most vulnerable?”

The mayor “was mad at us” initially, Brown said, “but then decided, this is not the legacy I want to leave in Jersey City.” The very next year, properties were reassessed, and Jersey City Together held workshops to explain to people how to appeal their new assessment if they felt it was unfair.

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“We listened, we listened, and we listened some more,” Brown said of the process over which issue to address. “We surveyed and we had conversations with 3,000 people” about what they’re passionate about changing in their community.

The top three answers were affordable housing, public safety and police relations and education. Jersey City Together’s strategy team chose to address the property tax assessment as part of the affordable housing problem “because it was a winnable issue.”

The second issue, education funding, has been “a little bit harder,” since rising property tax revenue meant fewer school support dollars from the state. But since 2020 — after Jersey City Together and its supporters showed up at many, many school board meetings — the local school budget is now fully funded, Brown said.

“The biggest step is relationship-building,” Brown said, and Jersey City Together recommends a three-step process:

• Preparation before a relational meeting includes making a brief initial contact and learning what you can about the person before meeting them. “Reflect upon your own story,” the organization suggests, “and what you would like to share about your own formation, self-interests, priorities, institution and relationships.”
• During a meeting, focus on engaging the person. “Listen actively and ask follow-up questions that are focused on them,” Jersey City Together recommends. “Be creative and take risks. Look for opportunities to probe and ask questions you wouldn’t always ask in small talk. Think about next steps that meet the person’s self-interest.”
• Reflect and follow up after the meeting. This step includes reflecting on questions you were left with and “opportunities to teach, probe or agitate that you didn’t take advantage of.” Those could be good starts to a second meeting.

Read other Presbyterian News Service reports on the Connection to Transformation conference here, here, here and here.