In a letter to the editor, Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla urges residents to vote no on the rent control referendum that will be on the November 5th ballot.
When casting your vote this November, there is a critical vote that will shape the future of affordability in Hoboken.
In short, there is a referendum question initiated by certain corporate landlords, developers and special interest lobbyists that attempts to severely gut critical rent control protections in Hoboken. I urge you to vote NO on this ballot question.
As you may know, rent control allows for a range of price points for rental units in Hoboken’s rental market. Currently, landlords are permitted to raise rents in units subject to rent control to a yearly maximum of 5% or the Consumer Price Index (CPI), whichever is less.
And upon a vacancy of a tenant of three years or more, the rent can be raised to a maximum of 25% (also known as vacancy decontrol).
The proposed referendum, if adopted, would essentially end rent control as we know it, allowing the rent to be raised by landlords upon a vacancy without any limit to beyond market rate, for a fee that is less than an average Hoboken monthly rent.
Not only would this eventually eliminate thousands of units of rent-controlled stock, but also provide financial incentives for unscrupulous corporate landlords to harass and evict tenants.
And, this will almost certainly raise average rents throughout the City for all tenants and create a ripple effect across the housing market.
How can you help? Please consider joining the advocacy group Hoboken United Tenants and me for a grassroots happy hour fundraiser on Monday, October 21 at 6 p.m., at the Waiting Room (72 Hudson Street), where every dollar will help fund outreach to voters about the referendum.
You can RSVP with a donation of any amount by clicking here. Even if you can’t make it, a donation to assist Hoboken United Tenants would be appreciated.
I want to be clear that many landlords in Hoboken are good, honest people who treat their tenants with respect and dignity.
However, the same cannot be said of the out-of-town, special interest groups pushing this referendum with one main goal: enriching their own wallets at the expense of Hoboken tenants.
Currently, these groups are spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to send you misleading glossy mailers. I
t’s not surprising that they lied to voters when collecting signatures to place this item on the ballot, inaccurately claiming that this measure was for “affordable housing” in Hoboken.
I ask all Hoboken voters to do their research: the question posed to voters can be found here, and a helpful Question and Answer document can be found here.
I hope that you will join me in voting NO to protect our neighbors, our affordability, and our city’s character. And I hope to see you at our grassroots fundraiser next Monday.
Ravi S. Bhalla
Hoboken mayor