The Hoboken City Council approved a redevelopment zoning ordinance intended to support ongoing housing authority improvements and a rent-setting algorithm ban at last night’s meeting.
By Joe Murray/Hudson County View
The ordinance focuses on moving forward with plans to redevelop properties managed by the Hoboken Housing Authority (HHA), including the addition of new senior housing and affordable units.
“We wanted to move the plan a lot faster overall This property will be allocated for senior citizens,” said 4th Ward Councilman Ruben Ramos, a mayoral candidate who represents the HHA.
He emphasized that the plan includes a one-for-one replacement of all existing units.
“We will not accept anything less than the number of units in our current housing stock,” he said, adding that the initiative aims to “increase the availability of low and moderate income housing.”
Another element of the plan involves expanding the city’s tax base.
“Current federal property does not pay taxes. There will be paying property taxes when the housing authority plan is all redeveloped, which they currently do not pay,” Ramos added.
Some residents raised questions about whether existing tenants would be guaranteed the ability to return once redevelopment is complete.
“What I find in the document is an intention … that not a single person will be displaced. But there’s no language… guaranteeing a legally enforceable right to return,” said Zachary King, of Hoboken United Tenants. “
The inclusion of the PSE&G site in the redevelopment area also prompted concerns.
Resident John Gregorio asked whether the property was suitable for housing and whether it could otherwise generate more revenue.
“Originally, I was told … the property could not be built on, no residential property could be there,” he said.
Ramos explained that the property is being sold to the Housing Authority and would generate revenue through that transaction.
3rd Ward Councilman Mike Russo, who served on the HHA board until the end of last month, also gave his take.
“It is my intention, and I think it should be everyone’s intention to make sure that we house people across the entire socioeconomic scale in the city of Hoboken.”
Officials noted that tenant protections will be included in future redevelopment agreements, separate from the zoning ordinance approved by the council.
The council approved the ordinance up for second reading unanimously (8-0), about a year-and-a-half after adopting the initial redevelopment plan.
As far as a rent-setting algorithm ban such as Real Page, that ordinance was up for first reading, following the passage of a similar measure in Jersey City last month.
The measure was spearheaded by Ward E Councilman James Solomon, a mayoral candidate, who has endorsed Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla and his running mate Katie Brennan for state Assembly in the 32nd Legislative District, as HCV first reported.
Expected, Bhalla and Brennan wasted little time in supporting the Hoboken legislation.
The proposed law, known as Chapter 158-2, would prohibit landlords and property managers from using algorithmic systems to determine rents—except when analyzing publicly available rental pricing data that is more than a year old.
The original version of the ordinance included incarceration as a potential penalty, but that language was removed before it was introduced.
“That has been removed — that’s no longer in there,” said 5th Ward Councilman Phil Cohen, the sponsor who also introduced an amendment during the meeting to address possible legal concerns.
“Without this information, we’re likely gonna be subject to a constitutional challenge over the First Amendment. If the information is older than a year, it’s of less relevance when it comes to setting prices for rent.”
Portside Towers Tenant Association East President Kevin Weller, a Jersey City renter and lead plaintiff in a class-action lawsuit against companies like RealPage, spoke in favor of the ordinance and urged the city to add enforcement tools.
“Any algorithmic rent fixing ban is meaningless without transparency. How will you know if landlords are using RealPage or the next generation of price-fixing software if they’re not required to disclose it?” he questioned.
He also commented on a related proposal regarding inspections for warehousing violations, saying the current draft’s requirement of seven days written notice for inspections would allow landlords to evade enforcement.
“Warehousing thrives in darkness,” he said, advocating for unannounced inspections instead.
Cohen responded by pointing to an existing Hoboken law already on the books.
“We passed an earlier ordinance … that says if any landlord raises rent by more than 10 percent, they must disclose to the tenant whether they used an algorithm. Tenants have a right to enforce that.”
The first reading of the local legislation was also approved unanimously (8-0).
Every redevelopment plan promises no residents will not be displaced and then they are
The road to hell is paved with good intentions.