A 'Yes' Vote Protects Jersey City Residents: Association

JERSEY CITY, NJ — A homeowners association urged residents to vote "yes" to proposed regulations regarding short-term rentals in Jersey City Nov. 5.

"Short-term rentals are driven by internet mega-businesses like Airbnb, who are spending millions to convince voters to undo the work of the mayor and council to protect Jersey City from the negative impacts of strangers occupying our housing," said Ron Simoncini, executive director of the Jersey City Property Owners Association. "We are strong supports of this legislation."

The City Council passed an ordinance earlier this year calling for new restrictions on short-term rental services like Airbnb, NJ.com reported. But, Airbnb collected 20,000 signatures and successfully got the question placed on the November ballot.

If approved, the new regulations would disallow the continued unsupervised operation by out-of-town owners who buy apartments and then rent them as hotel rooms.

"In some cases, they even illegally convert rent-controlled units," Simoncini said. "Not only does this damage our neighborhoods, it drains Jersey City services."

Other Jersey City organizations on both sides of the issue have come out and expressed their desires for people to approve or vote down the regulations.

Jersey City Together issued a statement this week recommending people vote "yes" while Keep Our Homes, a Jersey City community group, recently came out wants people to vote "no."

Short-term apartment rentals contributed $40 million to the Jersey City economy last year, an Airbnb spokesperson said Friday.

"Our community is not going to be quiet. This is how they support their families. This is how they give back to the community," said Liz DeBold Fusco, an Airbnb spokesperson.

Related:

• Community Group Urges 'Yes' Vote On Airbnb Regulations
• Airbnbs Have Generated $40M For Jersey City Economy, Company Says
  

Email: daniel.hubbard@patch.com