The future of Hoboken’s rent control is heading to the November 5th ballot after the city council unanimously defeated (9-0) a proposal before them last night.
By Daniel Ulloa/Hudson County View
While Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla publicly declared he would veto the ordinance if if passed, as HCV first reported, it didn’t seem to condense the virtual session at all, which went just passed 11 p.m.
“Yes, I’m the face of corporate landlords … This really helps mom-and-pop landlords,” Rose Marie Markle, one of the members of the committee of petitioners, said during public portion.
She argued it would give people like her a chance at succeeding, noting that inflation was going up more than rent is. Markle also said rent control advocates to go to the state if they want to see significant changes to rent control rules.
Echoing the sentiment of the Mile Square Taxpayers Association Executive Director Ron Simoncini, who is spearheading the effort, Claire DiMeola said that many who opposed the ordinance don’t live in Hoboken.
“Like Rosemarie, I’m a slum landlord. I own two buildings … We small landlords are getting lumped in with the big corporations. I’ve tried to keep people in their homes,” she said, noting that she lowered her rents during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Nonetheless, a number of speakers urged the governing body to vote down the measure.
“The proposed ordinance would have devastating consequences for thousands of renters … It would be life-altering in the worst way,” Annmarie Colonna stated.
She said it incentivizes landlords to kick out long-term residents like herself.
“I am opposed to this compromise because it is undemocratic. I believe voters should have their say. I am appalled by that referendum,” Lucinda Mercer asserted.
“The minute a growing family wants to move within the city of Hoboken, they will be faced with devastating rents.”
Zach King insisted that no one wanted the referendum besides landlords.
“Rent’s going up, it makes people stressed, it makes people homeless. We gotta protect our neighbors. Say no to Simoncini and his astroturf organization,” King declared.
He also thanked the Hudson County Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) for advocating for rent control.
“This is not a compromise. This proposal is nothing short of a capitulation to corporate interests,” Shannon Rae exclaimed.
“What concessions are the corporate landlords making here? They’re getting a tiny fee with the ability to double rents.”
New Jersey Tenants Organization (NJTO) President Matt Shapiro reiterated the notion that this was a thinly veiled attempt by landlords to force out tenants.
“Landlords will do whatever it takes to get rid of their tenants, whatever it takes to get their tenants to move out,” he stated, saying he’d rather take his chances on a referendum in the fall.
“Your landlord-friendly proposal is much worse. Tenants will not forget any council member who votes for this proposal.”
Activist Cheryl Fallick also didn’t like the ordinance and thought it would incentivize landlords to kick out tenants.
“You’re voting to rid your community of the most vulnerable renters … You will be forever known as the city council that destroyed rent control in the city of Hoboken,” she said.
“Only the affluent are welcome and now corporate landlords are salivating over the prospect of syphoning more money into their portfolios from the wallets of persons with more cash to extract.”
Mark Boyles, of the Portside Towers Tenants Association, cited an Op-Ed by Jersey City Ward D council candidate and Hudson County DSA member Jake Ephros as covering all the reasons why the proposal must be defeated.
“I do support these amendments because they’re what’s best for the city,” Justin Calabrese, another member of the committer of petitioners, said, claiming the opposition was oversimplifying the issue.
Calabrese argued landlords cannot verify the income of renters and that condominium conversions currently allow landlords to circumvent a lot of the current rules: “This system does not work.”
“We get hit a lot by coming in from other cities and supporting our neighbors. The Mile Square Tax Association run by Ron Simoncini … he also runs a similar organization in Jersey City. He’s come out against the Jersey City Right-to-Counsel,” he argued.
“An injury to one is an injury to all. Let’s get to the referendum and defeat it.”
Ron Bautista, a local activist who has run for city council, mayor, and county commissioner, said this issue should be uniting the community, not tearing it apart.
“This should be the time when the city sees every elected official coming together to defeat the referendum,” he stated.
He pointed out that 3rd Ward Councilman Michael Russo, a former opponent of his who is expected to run from mayor next year, has received donations from Simoncini.
“Your biggest voting bloc are tenants,” Bautista added.
During his turn for public comment, Simoncini said the rent control board continues to get sued repeatedly, claiming that the opponents to the ordinance have resorted to intense fear mongering.
“We’re ready to go to referendum. It’s our last gasp here. Conversions will continue. People will continue to not abide by the law,” Simoncini said.
“You are merely puppets of the mob! Affordable housing should be provided by the city.”
Nicole Magana, a realtor in the area, said the MSTA’s motives should be questioned after a deceptive campaign to collect petitions: “That to me, is fraud.”
Prior to the vote, the council expressed frustration about getting to this point.
“Everyone has been concerned about tenants. It’s a situation none of the nine of us want to be in. This was a negotiation with the MSTA. The trade was for them to not do the referendum,” began 2nd Ward Councilwoman Tiffanie Fisher.
She said there was great fear that the referendum could pass, so this ordinance was taken up as an alternative to avoid the worse case scenario.
“This is not where we want to be,” she said.
Councilman-at-Large Jim Doyle added that this current juncture was “really a risk management situation.”
He also said that most of the people sitting upon the dias most were against the ordinance, including himself.
“We didn’t get to this compromise overnight. It was done to avert a situation that is better than the worst-case scenario. Landlords are not evil, and tenants are trying to protect their homes,” noted Councilman-at-Large Joe Quintero, who also denounced the MSTA and said their activities should be investigated.
4th Ward Councilman Ruben Ramos said he personally worked hard on a compromise for months, but Mayor Ravi Bhalla vetoed it last year. He reiterated the concern of potentially losing the ballot initiative.
“We’re stuck between a rock and a hard place tonight,” he said, noting that since so many spoke out against the referendum, he would vote against it.
“We’ve heard your voices. I will be voting no tonight,” 5th Ward Councilman Phil Cohen said.
He also criticized the MSTA petition gathering drive, claiming it was deceptively pitched as an affordable housing effort.
“It’s going to be an all-hands-on-deck effort to defeat this,” he added.
Russo said affordable housing and rent control are often conflated and confused.
“If this referendum passes, we will not be able to vote on rent control changes for three years. That’s my big concern,” he explained.
Russo said he would also vote it down and wanted to continue to work on the issue.
1st Ward Councilman Paul Presinzano noted that if the referendum passes, rent would only increase, but he would still listen to those who were against the compromise and pledged to vote no.
Councilwoman-at-Large Emily Jabbour noted the issue is very complicated, seconding the notion that the MSTA duped people into getting signatures.
“They ended up signing something they didn’t agree with. It is the will of the people to take this to ballot. I have to support that.”
The discussion concluded wth Council President Jen Giattino stating she reached out to Bhalla, but he never responded to her call to work together on this.
The ordinance was voted down unanimously (9-0).
In a statement released this morning, Bhalla applauded the outcome.
“ … The bullying and deception campaign waged by the Mile Square Tax Association leading up to the vote failed to conceal their true agenda: maximizing corporate profits to the detriment of tenants,” he said.
“They weren’t fooling anyone, and I thank the many residents who forcefully made their voices heard at last night’s meeting. If an even more severe referendum question comes to the ballot, I am fully confident that it too will be defeated, this time by voters at the ballot box.”
 a proposal before them last night.){kind=link}
Mayor Bhalla set the stage, and the Hoboken Governing Board followed through: a Victory for Tenants. Please keep Hoboken, a dynamic City with much history, available for the person of modest means. One of the first land transactions involving the Lenni Lenape and the Dutch involved Hoboken land. Baseball, which was played here before it was played in Cooperstown, became our National Pastime because it transcended socio-economic class. Ole Blue Eyes, the Chairman of the Board famously refused to perform if his fellow band mates of color weren’t treated with respect. Hoboken is not that far from the Statue of Liberty, which is literally depicted as eternally stepping out of the chains, representative of all the huddled masses yearning to be free. Never forget your historic city’s legacy. Preserve it. Pay it forward.