The Hoboken City Council unanimously adopted (9-0) a redevelopment plan for all 1,354 housing authority units at last night’s meeting.
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
The endeavor calls for the substantial rehabilitation or replacement of all the building on the HHA campus through the construction of new buildings that range from six to 12 stories tall.
It also incorporates requirements for infrastructure improvements to modernize the area’s stormwater and sewer infrastructure to reduce the impact of flooding, transportation improvements to increase accessibility and circulation, a commercial corridor along Jackson Street, as well as community-focused amenities with recreation spaces including a new resiliency park along Marshall Street.
“I’ve been an elected official for 25 years now … and HHA residents mean a lot to me and my family and a lot of times, I’ll be honest, I felt like a failure because the conditions weren’t what they should be. But we kept trying, we kept trying, we never gave up,” said 4th Ward Councilman Ruben Ramos, who fought through tears during his remarks.
“There’s so many people to thank. There’s so man residents that aren’t with us anymore that were in this fight for a long time. I’m certainly happy that 10 years ago, or 12 years ago, we started talking about the revitalization of the housing authority and the tone that took place at that time was so adversarial and combative amongst Hoboken residents that is almost didn’t feel like Hoboken.”
He recalled that as the process slowly moved forwarded, people would be screaming at each other and get thrown out of meetings, and while voting on the plan was just a first step in a long road, it showed tremendous progress: “It’s like a Christmas miracle.”
He also commended Mayor Ravi Bhalla, Community Development Director Chris Brown, the HHA commissioners, and of course their residents for making sure they reached this point.
Furthermore, while he didn’t address him by name, he said that HHA Commissioner James Sanford, who was censured last week for violating their communication policy, doesn’t care about residents, voting no on everything – even on something as small as replacing a boiler or roof.
The plan also calls for a phased construction approach over at least the next 10 years that minimizes disruptions to the over 2,500 HHA residents by reducing the need for relocations.
The phased approach will prioritize the rapid replacement of existing HHA units, while allowing for the development of new affordable and workforce housing units. Future redevelopment projects may include residential units for other income groups once HHA replacement unit requirements are satisfied.
Of the additional residential units for other income groups, the plan requires a minimum of 15 percent be affordable units and 10 percent be workforce housing units allocated for households with incomes ranging from 80 percent to 120 percent of the Area Median Income (AMI).
“A result of many hours of work by the City, HHA, and HHA residents has resulted in a plan that is a major step in assuring quality public and assisted housing far into Hoboken’s future for those that need it the most,” HHA Executive Director Marc Recko stated.
“I would like to express my appreciation on behalf of the families that reside at HHA and the HHA Board and Staff for a quality step into Hoboken’s future!”
The HHA Redevelopment Plan was created with input gathered from the community through the HHA’s prior planning efforts, community and stakeholder meetings, and online surveys following the council’s designation of the HHA properties as an Area in Need of Redevelopment in November 2022.
The HHA consists of six housing complexes on over 21 acres comprised of 1,354 housing units. These residential properties were originally constructed between 1940 and 1979.
“The Hoboken Housing Authority Redevelopment Plan provides the roadmap to revitalize an aging HHA housing stock that will enhance the quality of life for our residents without permanently displacing a single person,” Bhalla emphasized today.
“This collaborative effort signifies our commitment to progress with compassion, rehabilitating homes and including new infrastructure improvements that will not only address flooding concerns but also provide valuable open space amenities. Together we are shaping a Hoboken that is resilient, inclusive, and forward-thinking and I thank the Hoboken City Council and Hoboken Housing Authority Board of Commissioners for their support.”
 a redevelopment plan for all 1,354 housing authority units at last night's meeting.){kind=link}
What a total, complete and utter waste of money. Sanford is right to scrutinize and push back. Ramos is just pandering and still buying votes in some form or another, by hook or by crook.
I know people who are working hard and going to night school and about to lose their homes because they don’t make enough to cover their costs, but make too much to qualify for assistance. But if you do nothing all day and make a lot of noise about living in an expensive city, you get a bunch of politicos who need to play to (or buy) a base because they lack the professional skills to do anything in the private sector if voters ever figured out how useless they are, lobbying for a massive redevelopment project that costs a fortune to taxpayers — what is the total cost of this, anyway? Because subsidized housing isn’t good enough anymore, it’s got to be really, really nice, so the eggheads who would never set foot there under any circumstances can feel good about themselves.
Our system is broken.
As it stands now all those additional working force and market rate apartments in the plan will be generating hundreds of school age children for Hoboken Schools and those residents will not be paying to support them.
The rest of Hoboken residents will.