Councilman-at-Large Ruben Ramos Jr. was selected by the Hoboken City Council to sit on the seven-member volunteer Hoboken Housing Authority Board Wednesday night. Ramos, whose father Ruben Ramos Sr. works as housing manager at the HHA, replaces former Councilwoman Nellie Moyeno, whose term expired.
The selection of the Ramos gives Mayor David Roberts’ administration a new ally on the Hoboken Housing Authority (HHA), which oversees the city’s 1,353 federally subsidized units in the southwest part of the city. The HHA answers to the federal department of Housing and Urban Development and is not city-run, but the City Council and mayor appoint some of the commissioners.
Ramos also has been a vocal critic of the HHA’s executive director, E. Troy Washington. In January he sponsored a resolution that authorized a fact-finding investigation into the HHA. The probe is investigating both the seven commissioners on the HHA’s volunteer board and Washington.
The resolution provides the payment of $30,000 to the law firm of Lynch, Martin and Kroll of North Brunswick, N.J. to perform the investigation. The firm specializes in workers’ compensation, medical malpractice, and work-related injuries.
According to Ramos, the investigation is still ongoing and the results of it will become available to the public when it is complete.
“I’m looking forward to serving as a Housing Authority commissioner,” said Ramos at Wednesday’s City Council meeting. “There are so many people down there that I have known my entire life and care a lot about. It’s time to put my money where my mouth is.”
Wednesday Roberts voiced his support for the newest member of the HHA’s board. “I have every confidence in Councilman Ramos’ ability,” said the mayor. “There’s no one that understands the issues and people that live there better than he does.”
Fourth Ward Councilman Christopher Campos, who is a close friend of Ramos, lauded the appointment. “[Ramos’] hard work down at the Housing Authority has brought the [HHA] from the periphery into the center of discussion,” said Campos. “It’s with a true sense of pride, admiration and faith that I sponsor this appointment.”