The rent increase at Hoboken’s Marineview Plaza will be 3.5 percent for the 1st quarter of 2024, at least temporarily resolving concerns about a 9.5 percent hike that was proposed at the beginning of the month.
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
“This temporary, three-month agreement will allow the City and the property owner to continue to engage in discussions and for the City to continue its detailed legal review process, which remains ongoing,” Mayor Ravi Bhalla wrote in a letter to Marineview residents yesterday.
“We remain steadfast in the prior representations that the rents are regulated by either the New Jersey Housing Mortgage and Finance Authority (HMFA), or by the City’s rent control rules and regulations.”
He went on to thank the property owners, Marineview Plaza Associates, for the temporary reprieve.
They indicated on December 4th that the proposed 9.5 percent increase was pending review from the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency, as HCV first reported.
Since then, NJHMFA Executive Director Melanie Walter sent a letter to Hoboken Business Administrator last Friday, December 15th, indicating that they do not regulate rent increases in this building.
“Marineview Plaza prepaid its HMFA financing in 2015. Following that prepayment, it remains subject to limited ongoing Agency oversight for the original mortgage term; i.e., March 1, 2025, pursuant to the Agency’s prepayment regulations at N.J.A.C. 5:80-5.10,” she wrote.
“Pursuant to N.J. Stat. § 55:14K-7c, however, NJHMFA does not have regulatory authority over rent increases in market rate units at this income-restricted property at this juncture. That is not among the Agency’s retained regulatory powers. In the absence of statutory authority, NJHMFA cannot approve or deny rent increases at the property, and has taken no action to effectuate either approval or denial.”
City spokeswoman Marilyn Baer indicted that the payment in lieu of taxes agreement (PILOT) with the city remains in effect, but since the mortgage has been paid off, local rent control rules are now in effect at Marineview.
” … The City’s position is clear – rents are either regulated by the HMFA or the City’s rent control, and that a 9.5% increase was not permitted in any way, shape, or form,” she noted.
“As the Mayor’s letter stated, the administration, in partnership with Councilman-Elect Paul Presinzano, Councilman Mike DeFusco, Councilman Joe Quintero, Assemblyman Raj Mukherji, and the entire City Council, will do anything and everything possible to ensure that the residents of Marineview Plaza will continue to have rents that are lawful and within reason.”
She did not response to a follow-up question asking approximately when the mortgage was paid off.
Presinzano, who saw the possibility of a rental increase become a hot button issue during the tail end of this month’s runoff election that he won, said he was happy to work with the administration to effectuate a positive outcome during the holiday season.
“The rent increase is a complex issue, and in the next 90 days, the city and myself will do everything in our power to protect Marineview residents. While this solution is only for the next 90 days, I hope this will allow residents to enjoy the holidays with their family,” he said.
Outgoing Assemblywoman Annette Chaparro (D-33), who lives at Marineview, said she was glad to be able to help her neighbors to some degree.
“I am happy to hear that everyone is working together, the residents needed some guidance. I was happy to be a part of the discussions with the NJHMFA.”