Did You Sign 'Affordable Housing' Petition In Hoboken? Here's What It Really Was For

HOBOKEN, NJ — Housing is something most people want to afford — so signing a petition for "affordable housing" might be a no-brainer. It's especially true in a town where the median rent has risen to above $4,000.

And it's especially true in a town where the Zoning Board recently approved the demolition of three rent controlled apartment buildings where tenants currently live, meaning, they'll be looking for something comparable.

But if you signed a recent petition "to put affordable housing on the ballot in Hoboken," the petitioners might have left something out. It's really a petition to have a special election in Hoboken to allow a one-time unlimited rent increase if a tenant moves out of a rent controlled building.

Here's the deal: Last year, the city administration considered making some adjustments to rent control, a 50-year-old Hoboken ordinance that keeps rents in (mostly) older buildings relatively stable, but allows landlords to pass along certain increases to tenants.

A decontrol of up to 25 percent is allowed every three years if a tenant leaves voluntarily, as long as there's no intimidation. (Tenants have told Patch in recent stories that their landlord has indeed tried to pressure them out.)

Last year, as the city debated various rent control adjustments, several longtime tenant advocates — who have fought referenda to de-control rents for decades — worked out a compromise ordinance with a local landlord group, the Mile Square Taxpayers Association, led by Ron Simoncini. These opposite sides hammered out an idea that would help the city avoid a referendum.

The City Council voted for it, but Mayor Ravi Bhalla vetoed it.

As a result, the landlord group recently came before the City Council to argue that landlords of rent controlled buildings aren't making enough money to maintain them.

Now they plan to put a measure on the ballot that would allow landlords to pay a one-time fee of $2,500 per unit toward an affordable housing fund, in order to decontrol their units upon vacancy — provided the tenant moves out voluntarily. (The proposal says a landlord would testify that the vacancy was voluntary, but the testimony would not come from a tenant.)

Tenant advocates worry that the one-time decontrol could remove what's left of Hoboken's moderate rents, which already allow voluntary vacancy decontrols as it is (but they're capped at 25 percent, every three years).

And the measure could increase pressure on tenants to move out.

Advocates also worry that unlike past decades, new residents may be unaware of the provisions of rent control, or apathetic about the city losing its mix of incomes. Any affordable housing that might be built in the future would come after the city already lost its current teachers, artists, those who work in non-profits, or other middle-income residents.

They Don't Know

To further complicate matters, representatives for the landlord group have been on the streets of Hoboken for over a week, asking people to sign a petition "to put rent control on the ballot in Hoboken." This is actually for the rent decontrol measure.

"I do believe that they are trying to manipulate the public in their signature collection," said volunteer tenant advocate Cheryl Fallick last week. "... I wouldn't expect them to say, sign the petition to undermine rent control or tenant protections — which is what they are doing."

She added, "It's just when they cross the line into dishonesty that I take issue. For example, rent control is not affordable housing. This is a petition to make a change to our rent control laws ... the city would need to borrow money and get grants to actually build any affordable housing. Thus, it's entirely smoke and mirrors."

Ron Simoncini, of the Mile Square Taxpayers' Association, defended the measure and the signature collection.

“This Referendum will be the first time that a rent control ordinance will produce affordable housing," he said. "The signature collection process requires that the public question appears at the top of the signature page and that the full lawis available for scrutiny, and our materials are compliant. Each canvasser is educated about the ordinance and prepared to answer questions or refer them to the organizers."

He added, "We’ve heard all kinds of dog-whistle style nonsense fearmongering and character assassinations, but one thing we never hear is a tenant activist debating the merits of the proposal. We’re solving for equitable property ownership policies and the city’s historic inability to provide affordable housing. Who has a better idea?”

While most of the nine current City Council members haven't made a public statement about the proposed changes, first reported in Patch last month, Mayor Ravi Bhalla said, "The Mile Square Tax Association has been trying, unsuccessfully, for years to gut rent control in Hoboken and the latest attempt is offensive and unacceptable."

He added, "MSTA has tried referendums in the past and failed because the residents of Hoboken can’t be fooled, and fully recognize the importance of preserving fair and stabilized rents for current and future tenants."

He added, "I strongly encourage everyone to come out against this referendum which will unfairly burden future tenants, undermine the fundamental principles of social equity and economic justice, and contribute to housing insecurity for those least able to bear the burden. "

Amid Hoboken's history of gentrification and instances of alleged tenant harassment, battles over rent control in Hoboken have sometimes lasted for years.

The last time a rent control amendment came to a public vote, the matter was very narrowly defeated. The MSTA, which was pushing for vacancy decontrol, challenged the election results in court, then dropped the claim in 2014.

You can read the MSTA's proposed amendment and referendum question here.

• RELATED:Hoboken Had Highest Rent Increases Of All Cities In NY And NJ: Study
• DID YOU KNOW? New Jersey Laws About "Unconscionable" Rent Increases Are Here.