It’s been 30 years since the “wackiest mayor in America” was elected to lead Hoboken, and the town’s old-timers still remember.
Born in Bradley Beach, N.J., in 1928, Thomas Vezzetti was the 33rd mayor of Hoboken from 1985 until his sudden death from a heart attack in 1988.
Vezzetti was known for his eccentric behavior. He started out as a town activist, railing against the ongoing gentrification of Hoboken. In the 1980s, many landlords were converting their apartment buildings to condominiums, and a series of suspicious fires burned out longtime tenants, allowing landlords to reap a profit when they rebuilt.
Vezzetti became known for walking around in mismatched clothing shouting into his bullhorn — which he called “Liberty Bell” — about the rising rents.
At first, no one took him seriously. But in a town where people were scared of being pushed out, he began to command attention.
One time, he left his car in New York City and couldn’t find it for two months.
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Since many of his supporters were victims of displacement and even homeless people, they resented Cappiello for apparently allowing it to go on.
As wealthier residents moved into Hoboken’s high-rent condos, Vezzetti marshaled support. In 1985, 30 years ago, he beat Cappiello for mayor.
During Vezzetti’s term, Hoboken passed an anti-warehousing ordinance, mandating that landlords find tenants for empty apartments within 60 days, rather than leaving them vacant while rents climbed.
In September of 1985, Vezzetti’s administration introduced a plan requiring developers of new or renovated buildings to set aside at least 20 percent of the units to be rented or sold to families earning less than $39,000 per year. Under the plan designed by consultant Steve Block, those units had to be divided three ways: for people earning under $13,000, for people earning $13,001 to $20,000, and for people earning $20,001 to $39,000. However, developers could instead pay money into an affordable housing trust fund.
The plan also tightened Hoboken’s 1973 Rent Control Ordinance, an ordinance that today still covers many older apartments in the mile-square city.
‘Wackiest mayor in America’
Vezzetti became known for doing some strange things. The New York Daily News dubbed him “America’s wackiest mayor” in an article in 1985.
At one point, he parked his car in New York City and couldn’t find it. He reported it missing. Two months later, it turned up – exactly where he’d left it.
Another time, he fell off a stage during an official function.
He had a strong brain trust of four councilpeople and administrators who worked closely with him to run City Hall, none of whom currently hold elected office. They included then-Deputy Mayor Laurie Fabiano, who went on to become an activist and novelist.
The popular mayor’s reign ended suddenly on March 2, 1988 when he had a heart attack at home. A person in the apartment below him heard him fall and called an ambulance.
After about an hour of doctors trying to revive him at St. Mary Hospital (now Hoboken University Medical Center), he was pronounced dead. He was 59 years old. He was succeeded by Patrick Pasculli as mayor of Hoboken.
Pasculli was subsequently succeeded by Mayor Anthony Russo in 1993. During Russo’s administration, Russo created 123 parking spaces near the city’s southern entrance and dubbed the swath of parking “Vezzetti Way” in honor of a true Hoboken legend.