New Providence Planning Board Approves Massive Age Restricted Housing Development Amid Public Safety Concerns

At the January 13 New Providence Planning Board meeting a votes were cast to approve a 297-unit age-restricted housing development on 70 Ryder Way (off of Mountain Avenue, across from the current Nokia property and next to the Lantern Hill Senior Living community).  The approval helps fulfill the state mandated hosing obligations with 59 units being categorized ad affordable housing.

This approval comes on the heels of Mayor Devanney’s 2026 address, noting that the Nokia Property is currently slated to be a housing development strictly for  55+ adults and will serve to fulfill the housing obligations of Berkeley Heights.

NJ21st has fielded an increasing amount of comments and questions from residents who express concerns regarding the strain these developments put on small communities and the potential negative impact the age-restricted developments have on first responders.  Although some facilities, like Lantern Hill, contain medical staff,  many medical issues may result in the need for assistance from first responders. The presumption that these smaller community departments can fulfill the demand of the large housing developments, a vast number of them being aging residents, is being questioned.

There is an increasing likelihood that the three enormous 55+ communities will come to fruition almost exactly where Berkeley Heights and New Providence meet, but details on how first responders in Berkeley Heights and New Providence will be supported to fulfill the needs these developments represent are sparse.

New Providence Mayor Al Morgan was the only dissenting vote at the January 13 meeting. Along with residents, he cited concerns ranging from safety of residents, strain on the current first-responder structure, in addition to general walkway and pedestrian safety. 

While general traffic and safety concerns have yet to be addressed, residents express hope that Mayor Devanney plans to address how the Nokia building plans will address safety concerns not only for our community but for the students and staff of Governor Livingston High School – just around the corner from the two planned housing complex sites.

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Image of Bell Labs by Ken Lund from Reno, Nevada, USA – Bell Laboratories at New Providence, New Jersey, CC BY-SA 2.0