Dear Editor: I had thought that Joe Barry was buying variances from the Russo administration, but compared to what he gets out of the amended rent control ordinance now being rammed through the city council, those variances turn out to be small potatoes. When you rinse away all the hogwash, what this new ordinance does is give Joe Barry a total one time vacancy decontrol of 30 percent of his applied housing units as they move from federal to local jurisdiction. This ordinance also gives total vacancy decontrol to two family houses if the owner occupies one of the units for a year. The stated purpose of the Joe Barry exemptions is to protect the interests of tenants in his buildings and Clock Towers. What’s actually happening is that Mayor Russo, playing the big padrone, is using the tenants’ fear as leverage to get them to support a measure which will seriously diminish their rights in the not so distant future. If the Russo administration really wants to protect the interests of these tenants, they’ll draft legislation that places these units under the current rent control ordinance. Vacancy decontrol of two family units is a separate issue and should not be attached to a measure dealing with the Joe Barry units. This is a ploy to get the support of small landlords, throwing a few crumbs around at the expense of a subgroup of tenants. What this measure will ultimately do is lead to vacancy decontrol of all rental units in Hoboken. If the owner of a two family unit gets vacancy decontrol, why not the owner of a three or four family house? And so on. It is my opinion that Mayor Russo doesn’t really care whether this measure passes or not. If it passes, he’ll have paid back Joe Barry for his campaign contributions, and the tenants will not feel the negative effects until after the next election. If it fails, Russo can tell Joe Barry he did what he could, but maybe in his next term he’ll fix it right. Perhaps they could discuss the matter over a $2,500 a plate dinner. Also, if this measure fails, rather than simply placing these tenants under current rent protections, the Russo gang will leave the issue unresolved, and falsely blame the consequences on the opposition. Joe Barry and Russo et. al. have manufactured a panic situation in order to push this measure through, and if people are panicking, it’s for good reason. It’s like they’re being offered a reprieve from hanging on the condition they swallow sugar coated poison. How sweet. What the mayor and city council are doing in the name of protecting tenants’ rights is removing protections from two tenant subgroups – 30 percent of Joe Barry’s units and two family houses. In return, existing tenants get to keep what they already have for a little while longer. If this measure passes, it will inevitably lead to the demise of all rent protections. If you care about preserving these rights, show up at the March 1st City Council meeting and let your views be known. Meanwhile, get a copy of the new ordinance and read it very carefully. Greg Ribot