Dear Editor:
Thursday, the 12th of July Raia had a fabulous party at Sinatra Park. The man certainly knows how to get multiple people together and to see that they all get along and have a wonderful time. The food was free, the beer was free and the magnificent setting and music was, also, free. That said, Mr. Siegel seems to be stuck on the minority. I believe he meant democracy. Thank goodness for Teresa Castellano, Beth Mason, Michael Russo and Tim Occhipinti. They are fighting a battle for housing and to keep Hoboken from becoming a mayoral corporatocracy. Hoboken is an extremely desirable place to live, now. That means that many people have their own agenda for the area. This can be frightening. The housing, protected by rent control is under threat. A real estate owner has been fighting to diminish rent control. He did state that people that make 100,000 dollars are coming here for cheap rent. I guess it is not American to try to save some money for your own property some day. Not when a Hoboken developer wants all you make. We are to give every cent to the real estate developers and owners. It was said that the rent agreements are to protect the artists that developed the area. This is so they can stay and continue to contribute to the beauty of the area. What about the wonderful people that service the area and service the places that are desirable. The very people that bring money into the community by working to make it desirable. Are they, also, making hundreds of thousands of dollars? The people pressuring for changes in rent control are way out of line. The public has been warned that they have been lying to get signatures. We have seen warnings to not sign the petition. Some people signed them believing that they were signing to protect renters. What a joke. This petition gathering was nothing, but desperate. One cog on an agenda to turn Hoboken into a developers plan. So, let us not pick on the “minority”.
When people see that their homes are at risk, they will rise to protect these homes, as Mr. Russo, Ms. Castellano, Beth Mason and Tim Occhipinti know. Don’t speak too fast, Mr. Siegel, they may not be the minority forever. As for any bond initiatives, I am glad that they are studying them. Good people of Hoboken. Rise. We are well on our way to being ‘taken over’, with people wanting control of the rentals, housing projects, historical boards, education and zoning. This is scary. This place is so beautiful. The service for our wonderful restaurants and stores is great. The civil service workers are there for us. We can still negotiate to get around easily. The shore is magnificent. Let’s fight to keep it that way. If some real estate people and developers have their way, they will, also, be miserable. No one wants 13 people living in one place and, trust me, it isn’t that easy to get them out, but if you make shift living a necessity, everyone hurts. The extreme selfish, biased and actually stupid statements against rent control are, actually, laughable. See you at Church Square on Wednesday for wonderful music and Sinatra Drive on Thursday…Yea, I love Hoboken.
Bonnie Toadvyn