About NJ Appleseed

NJ Appleseed Public Interest Law Center, located in Newark, is part of a multi-state network of public interest justice centers founded by consumer advocate Ralph Nader that respond to local needs and opportunities for positive change.

For more than 20 years, the NJ Appleseed has been working to meet the unmet legal needs of New Jersey residents in a variety of areas. Through litigation and policy reform in partnership with other advocacy groups including NJ Citizen Action, AARP-NJ, the Pinelands Preservation Alliance, Food & Water Watch of NJ and PLANewark, NJ Appleseed has championed the right to vote, access to health care, government transparency and accountability and the right to citizen-backed initiative and referendum and has opposed the privatization of public infrastructure and the building of pipelines through protected areas, among other endeavors.

Through its Common Interest Association Advocacy Project, NJ Appleseed has taken a leading role in standing up for the rights of New Jerseyans who live in planned real estate developments throughout the state, protecting their right to a participate in the governance of their communities and other rights. Some of the communities it has represented are Radburn in Fair Lawn, Carlton Towers in Passaic, Alexandria at Hillsborough and Fox Chase II in Tinton Falls. It has also provided legal assistance to the NJ Common Interest Homeowners Association Coalition.

In early 2020, NJ Appleseed agreed to represent Homeowners at Cranberry State Lake United in its fight against an attempt by the Cranberry Lake Community Club to impose membership fees based on a misinterpretation of the 2017 amendments to the Planned Real Estate Development Financial Disclosure Act.