Dear Editor:
Recently a group of developers sent mailings filled with misinformation to home and condominium owners in Hoboken. Their true intent was to divide our community by targeting laws that protect vital and necessary members of our community, namely Hoboken renters.
These rent control laws protect all of us in Hoboken. Without them, developers would likely leave us with a larger population of transients and all of their attendant problems. These developers don’t care what happens to Hoboken in their wake. Their only real concern regarding Hoboken is how much money they can siphon out of it.
Rent control is not about charity; it is about our homes and our rights. It is about giving some protections to renters dealing with real estate investors who have far greater wealth and resources. This is about the right of Hoboken citizens to keep the protections which have preserved our community in the face of big money interests who would ravage it for their profit.
The changes these developers seek include legalizing all currently illegal rents (of which there are many) and the ability to raise new excessive rents on current tenants with no oversight. It also provides the motivation to harass existing tenants and force them out to seek even greater gain.
Many of Hoboken’s long-time residents will be forced out of their homes regardless of their current rents.
If you are a tenant in a building built prior to 1987 (which includes all of our historic housing stock) you will be negatively affected if these developers eliminate tenant protections in Hoboken.
Hoboken Fair Housing Association (HFHA) is a group of citizens concerned with maintaining tenant protections. We believe that one of the most important aspects of maintaining tenant protections is to fight this campaign by wealthy developers to strong arm Hoboken’s City Council into gutting our law. We know that harming these protections would ultimately hurt every resident who cares about our town. HFHA is engaged in keeping tenant protections and saving our community from the devastation brought on by forcing many of our middle class families out.
HFHA does not have the deep pockets that the developers have. We do not have highly paid lobbyists hired to present distortions and lies as facts. We do not have unlimited funds to mail out mass misinformation in Hoboken to plant lies such as rent controlled units get some kind of break on property taxes or that “innocent” landlords are at risk.
If you are a tenant or a homeowner concerned with maintaining tenant protections and keeping Hoboken a stable community you are welcome to join us. There are no dues or fees.
If you are interested please call or send us an email providing your name, address and contact information to: hobokenfairhousing@gmail.com or telephone: (201)217-3456.
Rebecca Lewis
Hoboken Fair Housing Association