Housing Commissioners To Meet With Police Chief To Discuss Residents' Concerns

Residents of the Hoboken Housing Authority complained about a lack of police surveillance, broken locks and trespassers in the buildings, during the Authority's monthly meeting last Thursday. 

In response to those complaints several members of the Housing Board will be meeting with Hoboken Police Chief Anthony Falco Tuesday, to discuss the police contract that was signed last month. 

The Housing Authority pays roughly $500,000 to the City of Hoboken for police under its newest contract. The contract dictates that there need to be four men, for eight hours every day (from 8 p.m. to 4 a.m.) working the housing authority, said legal counsel Charles Daglian. The way the police choose to make that happen, is up to them. Currently, officers can sign up for the shift and be paid overtime. 

"Why did we not insist on mandatory coverage?" asked Housing Board member and Councilman Michael Russo. "Let's fight to have a bureau, a specific housing authority bureau." Adding, "I will fight until the day I die to get that accomplished."  

If a tenant of the Housing Authority calls the police department during the day, it's the responsibility of the Hoboken Police Department to respond, just as it is when anybody else in town calls the police. Between the hours of 8 p.m. and 4 a.m., however, four designated officers are assigned to patrol the Housing Authority. 

Not all members of the housing board see a private bureau, or security guards, as a viable option, though. Vice Chairman Dominic Lisa, who is also the chairman of the board's Public Safety subcommittee, said he is hesitant about hiring security officers through a private agency.

"To me it's not an option," Lisa said, because those security guards have no police power. In case of an emergency, all they can do is call the police and stand by, Lisa said.    

Housing commissioners said that they would ask police officers to come to the housing authority meetings, which are held every second Thursday of the month. 

Arlette Braxton, 54, has lived in the Housing Authority for 48 years. She said she calls the police every day. During the meeting she said that when she calls the police during the day, it takes very long for them to respond. She especially confronted Executive Director of the Housing Authority Carmelo Garcia about the issue. She also asked him if anybody is monitoring the cameras that are put in place at the buildings. 

"Every day there are people in the hallway," Braxton said. "We have cameras, why don't they see what's going on?" Braxton, who lives on the first floor at 310 Jackson St., said she puts ammonia in the hallway, because the stairwell's smell of urine seeps through her walls. 

Garcia said he can watch the camera footage from his laptop, and that two people who vandalized the doors of one of the buildings have been arrested and charges have been pressed against them. 

"I put my life at risk when I'm at these buildings, chasing these people down," Garcia said. Braxton answered that she puts her life on the line every day, when she enters her apartment. "I have grandkids," she said. 

"Public safety in the Housing Authority is a top priority," said Housing Commissioner Jake Stuiver. "If tenants are feeling that they're not getting adequate response from the police, that's a huge concern." Stuiver said he is hopeful that the problems will be resolved, seeing how the contract has only been in place for about a month. 

Housing commissioners urged the residents who attended the meeting to contact Mayor Dawn Zimmer and Fourth Ward Councilman Michael Lenz. Lisa, as well as board member Jake Stuiver, said they called Lenz to brief him on the problem. Lisa said he also called the mayor, but had not heard back as of Monday afternoon.