A GoFundMe page haas been started for a longtime Hoboken renter trying to stave off eviction, potentially facing a $2,800 rent increase.
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
“Jeff [Trupiano] has been under relentless attack by his landlord for several years now. His case has been bouncing between the courts and the Hoboken Rent Board but is now coming to an unconscionable head Jeff‘s rent is currently being subjected to an uncapped ‘hardship increase,'” the GoFundMe page description says.
“In 2017 the landlord petitioned the Rent Board to grant it this increase to raise Jeff’s rent by $2800 a month on top of his existing rent. Had the Board approved the increase, Jeff’s rent would be higher than most one-bedroom luxury rentals in Hoboken.”
The page also notes that Trupiano’s apartment falls under Hoboken’s rent control laws and such a large increase would be “cruel and unusual punishment.”
According to court records, Amaconn Realty, Inc. purchased 703 Park Ave., the building where Trupiano lives, and spent about $1 million on renovations in 2001.
Furthermore, the Hoboken Rent Leveling Board approved the landlord a rent hardship increase of $563.43 a month, bringing Trupiano’s monthly rent to $1,137.84 (which doesn’t include surcharges).
However, Trupiano filed a prerogative write complaint in Hudson County Superior Court challenging the decision and the leveling board then held a remand hearing that ruled on a substantially lower rent increase.
Amacconn Realty, Inc. then challenged that decision and a different judge ruled that the board acted “arbitrarily and unreasonably” and that matter is still pending.