The Jersey City Council questioned creating a special improvement district (SID) to fund the proposed Centre Pompidou at yesterday’s caucus, about three months after approving the measure on first reading.
By Daniel Ulloa/Hudson County View
Ward C Councilman Rich Boggiano, who represents the Journal Square area, wanted the ordinance postponed further, claiming that a meeting on the subject was not well attended.
“If our property values go up, we’re going to pay more taxes. I’m already paying $18,000 a year in property taxes, and services are less and less. My neighbor residents in Ward C are tired of it!” he exclaimed.
“I was also at the other meeting the day with stakeholders,” Ward B Councilwoman Mira Prinz-Arey said, indicating there was confusion around the timeline and preparation.
“We narrowed it down to properties worth $4 million or more,” Business Administrator John Metro said about the properties that would be included in the SID.
He argued this will raise property values and also reiterated that the SID would be governed by a seven-member board of trustees. Metro also said that the new tax wouldn’t be implemented until 2026 even if it was approved at Thursday’s meeting.
“The Pompidou in France is going to be closed for five years. What’s gonna happen here? I think this should be delayed,” Boggiano doubled down
“It’s only going to be 100 properties affected by this SID?” Ward F Councilman Frank “Educational” Gilmore asked.
“It’s 85 properties, we picked the most valuable properties” Jersey City Redevelopment Agency Counsel Joe Baumann replied.
He also indicated that a $4 million property would pay about $2,000 a year as part of the new SID.
Gilmore worried that building tenants and their workers might face negative consequences.
“We’ve heard the concern that these incredibly wealthy property owners … will put it on their tenants. They’re not necessarily going to. The rents they pay are driven by the market,” Baumann responded.
Baumann said high state property taxes due to property value increasing is a state issue, not a municipal one.
Boggiano said he didn’t buy that New York residents, of anyone else in the region, would travel to Jersey City to see the Pompidou, which Prinz-Arey, who has an arts background, seemed to agree with.
“If people want to see a show or exhibition, they will go wherever that’s happening,” she said.
Council President Joyce Watterman asked if there is a timeline in the ordinance, to which Baumann said there is not but it could be added.
He also repeated a point that he said previously: that even if the property at 808 Pavonia Ave. doesn’t ultimately become the Pompidou, the city will own the land which could have a number of uses, including a community center.
“There’s a lot of pieces to this puzzle and we’re aligning them as we move,” Baumann added.
Prinz-Arey noted the fee is supposed to go to operate the Centre Pompidou.
“If it’s not going to be the Centre Pompidou… is there a mechanism to transfer that money?That is a reality.”
Baumann said it’s possible. He argued that few will have to pay the assessment even if many have a negative opinion about it.
Prinz-Arey later said a property re-evaluation might be necessary.
“Something is broken if you don’t want your property value to increase … Many of those developers know how to reach me,” Baumann noted.
“A lot of them think the old mentality of Jersey City and politics … They see all these new buildings, and their taxes are going up. And all these improvements are doing nothing for the people who lived 40,50, 60 years! We’re driving a lot of them out of the city,” Boggiano argued.
Watterman said these concerns are common any time they introduce a new SID, but further stated that questions remain about how the Pompidou will be funded and what it will cost taxpayers.
“The Pompidou museum can’t go forward unless the city and the redevelopment agency have identified secure sources of funding to build the Pompidou and to have it operate for a significant period of time,” Baumann said.
“We can’t put a shovel in the ground until all those questions are answered … We don’t have those answers yet which is why we’re taking step by step.”
Governor Phil Murphy (D) told HCV in October that the project will not receive state funds after the New Jersey Economic Development Agency yanked their support in the summer.
“Everything is cutting. Is it the right timing now? It seems like we have to get into survival mode as a city because there’s too many things cutting. We all for arts. But sometimes it’s not the right timing,” Waterman said, reiterating that no one wants higher taxes.
Gilmore asked if there was any harm in tabling again, to which Baumann said certified mail was sent to the 85 potentially impacted property owners indicating that the council had this on second reading for their February 13th meeting.
Ward D Councilman Yousef Saleh contended that the property owners in question are wealthy and complaining about a minor tax.
“These people are getting away with murder! They have their ways! We have to figure out how we’re going to maintain our city … Journal Square is filthy! It needs to be cleaned!”
Prinz-Arey declared that all the money generated from the proposed fee would go to a cultural institution and not to improve the area.
Boggiano again called for the vote to be delayed again, which Watterman appeared to favor, but Metro insisted the ordinance had to be heard on Thursday.
The Jersey City Council will convene tomorrow at City Hall, 280 Grove St., at 6 p.m., which will also stream leave on Microsoft Teams.
