Peter J. O’Connor  

Founder and Executive Director
Fair Share Housing Development

 Friday, November 16, 12:20p
School of Social Work Building, Rm. B110
Lunch will be provided

Peter O’Connor is a longtime civil rights activist and co-counsel in the historic Mount Laurel litigation, in which the New Jersey Supreme Court, in 1975 (Mount Laurel I) and 1983 (Mount Laurel II) ruled that every municipality in New Jersey must plan, zone and take affirmative measures to provide its “fair share” of the region’s need for affordable housing opportunities for low- and moderate-income families.  Mr. O’Connor founded Fair Share Housing Development (FSHD), Inc., a nonprofit corporation, in 1986 to fully implement the settlement agreement in the Mount Laurel Township litigation with housing that would reach very low-income households.  Peter’s work as a nonprofit developer dates back to the 1970s when he worked with the Carpenters Union of South Jersey on several other projects that are now owned and managed by FSHD.  In 1975 Peter founded and is the Executive Director of the Fair Share Housing Center (www.fairsharehousing.org), a public interest law firm that is New Jersey’s lead organization fighting for the rights of the low-income families to live in high-opportunity neighborhoods with decent jobs and good schools.