Dear Editor:
Mayor Fulop has figured out a way to get out of his Tier Program on tax abatements for the waterfront which he limited to 5 years. Mayor Fulop along with the consent of the city council changed the zoning for the Powerhouse Arts Distict to 30 years for affordable/market rate housing for artists at the June 24th council meeting. No struggling artist will have the means to qualify for the income under HUD’s guidelines where condo units sells between $350,000 to more than $1 million so those units will go regular high income folks but the tax abatement will still apply to the development.
It is amazing how Mayor Fulop is different from Councilman Fulop. The former Ward E Councilman was against a similar program in 2012 for affordable units for artists. In 2012 Fulop said, “this is not a good deal,” and noted that the Tax Collector, who is on the city’s tax abatement committee voted against this.
Regular taxpayers are not considered for tax relief by city officials. According to the 2010 census, the average income for Jersey City households is $55,000. Some of $55,000 households are also property owners who pay full taxes. So what is the logic of providing affording/workforce housing for individuals who will need 80 percent to 120 percent for a high income community?
Senator Michael Doherty is correct; Jersey City is abusing its tax abatement policy. More than $130 million from tax abated properties are not going to the Board of Education and regular homeowners with limited incomes do not benefit from any tax policy, including the mayor keeping the overpayments of water bills instead of returning the money to the public.
Yvonne Balcer