In a letter to the editor, Hoboken 5th Ward resident Chris Szentmiklosy details why he’ll be supporting Councilman Phil Cohen for re-election.
I’ll be honest – prior to needing Phil’s help, I had no idea who he was…..I had no idea who my Councilman was at all! I never even thought of it – why would I?
Then I got my rent increase, and I was shocked to see it was 21%! After finding out that the rent increase was illegal, I notified my management company.
They were unresponsive, and when they finally responded, they were unwilling to negotiate. This, despite the City stating that the building was clearly subject to rent control.
After speaking with other building residents, I realized I wasn’t alone. We were all getting huge rent increases, and without a larger power’s intervention, we were either going to have to move or take the hit.
That’s when I reached out to Phil Cohen, our city councilman. I sent Phil an email at 11 p.m. one night. He personally responded 30 minutes later, and personally called me the next day. I was completely shocked at Phil’s incredible level of response.
Phil was outraged to hear of our situation, and he let me know that he was going to right this wrong.
Within days, Phil was in personal touch with my management company. He let them know that they were in violation, and that there would be stiff penalties if they didn’t comply with the rent control ordinance.
Phil and Mayor Bhalla got the city’s lawyers involved, and within days, the situation was resolved.
The management company decided to comply, and lowered my rent increase to 5% as allowed by law. Not only that, but hundreds of other residents also got their rent increases lowered. We all got new leases, and the building had to issue refunds for any overpayments over the past 2 years. Some of us got thousands of dollars back.
Without Phil’s intervention, we would have likely had to move out of Hoboken. Phil is a Councilman that truly cares.
He went to bat for us, and he hit a home run. Phil is the exact type of politician that you hope you’re voting for when it’s time to vote. He has my vote and he deserves yours.
Chris Szentmiklosy
Hoboken resident