Dear Editor:
To the voters of Hoboken, As one of those who went out on the streets with petitions asking to put the recent changes to Hoboken’s rent control ordinance to a vote, I would like to thank the hundreds (thousands actually) who signed those petitions. Many, many homeowners and even landlords along with tenants signed the petitions. They know that in order for Hoboken to remain a real community, and not just a bedroom town full of transient renters, it is important to keep our ordinance’s protections for renters. And as one landlord told me, the recent changes to the ordinance only help landlords who violate the law. He obeyed the law and had nothing to gain from it but plenty to lose as a resident of Hoboken. I was happy to see how quickly we were able to gather signatures from Hoboken voters who were concerned about the city council vote for these changes where a majority of members might potentially gain financially from the changes. It was heartening to have so many people thank me for what I and the others were doing to protect rent control in Hoboken. For every person (four or five in my case) who told me they didn’t like rent control at least 15 thanked me for spending so much time and effort trying to preserve our law against those who want to harm it. (And of course I was happy to tell those who asked how to get a rent calculation, something many don’t know about.)
Thank you all!
Rebecca Lewis