Hoboken 4th Ward Councilman Ruben Ramos, a candidate for mayor, is celebrating a court victory that will ultimately bring 56 affordable housing units to the Mile Square City, urging the developers holding out to drop their appeals and comply with the ruling.
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
“With rents and housing prices continuing to rise, the middle class is being hollowed out in Hoboken and the only way to stop that is to provide more affordable housing. This legal battle has gone on for over ten years, and enough is enough — it’s time for the developers to respect Hoboken’s inclusionary zoning ordinance and provide these affordable housing units now, with no more delays or legal games,” Ramos said in a statement.
“I want to thank Fair Share Housing Center for their tremendous work in winning this case and our local housing advocates led by Cheryl Fallick and the Hoboken Fair Housing Association for staying on top of this case and always fighting to make Hoboken more affordable for middle- and lower-income residents. “
The court ruling concerns three properties of the four that were originally fighting to avoid providing the required 10 pecent affordable housing in uptown Hoboken.
The one property that previously offered an accepted settlement with the City is Advance at Hoboken LLC.
The remaining three properties that continue to fight to avoid providing the required affordable units are: Artisan Hoboken Apartments LLC, 1415 Park Ave, LLC and BIT Investment Sixty-One, LLC, 9th Monroe LLC and New Jersey Casket Company, Inc.
The property owners had challenged the city’s inclusionary zoning ordinance, which requires that 10 percent of units be designated as affordable housing, and had refused to comply with earlier court rulings that upheld the city ordinance.
Fair Share Housing Center, along with the City of Hoboken, has been fighting this case in the courts for years.
“Hoboken residents have been waiting for over 13 years for these much-needed affordable units. It’s a tremendous and welcome win for renters and working families who will have an opportunity to secure an affordable home which may mean the difference between staying in Hoboken or being displaced,” added housing advocate Cheryl Fallick. “
Councilman Ramos and I both want to see these affordable housing units opened without further delay, and I echo his call for developers to stop using legal tactics to stall progress.”