Dear Editor:
There’s a lot of misinformation going on around town right now, and I’d like to set the record straight. Section 8 housing is a federal law. It’s absurd to suggest that a councilperson in Weehawken could over turn a federal law. Why is town hall trying to scare you?
WIN candidates will be elected to uphold the law. Our concern is that tenants are protected from unscrupulous landlords. We support rent control, and will work with tenants and building owners to preserve affordable housing in Weehawken. Rent control not only provides for reasonable rents in buildings with desirable locations in Weehawken, but it creates diversity in the community by allowing people from different economic backgrounds to live in the same neighborhoods. It is a large part of the reason Weehawken is such a great place to live.
How can they say that WIN is against rent control? I lived in a rent-controlled apartment in Weehawken for 13 years, and in that time experienced an attempted condo conversion and a super who was extorting money from seniors in the building and robbing tenants! My running mate Dr. Ben Goldman lived in a rent controlled apartment for just as long. We’ve both been actively involved in organizing seniors, disabled, and low-income people to ensure that their tenant rights are observed. WIN’s First Ward candidate Rob Terhune has also dedicated hundreds of volunteer hours to dealing fairly with housing issues as an active member of the Gregory Commons board of directors. In her former position as Weehawken Town Clerk, WIN candidate Areilly Laszlo was instrumental in addressing the complaints of Hispanic tenants with the rent-leveling board by translating laws into Spanish and allowing them to fully exercise their tenant rights. The lies about our positions are offensive and contradicted by our candidates’ records of community activism and involvement.
The truth is that the Turner administration has approved thousands of residential units along our waterfront with no ironclad guarantee of affordable housing. Instead, the town of Weehawken could receive a sum of money — as required by state law — that would further concentrate affordable housing in other parts of town. This is another example of how their ill-conceived plans could divide our town.
Did you know that Turner’s hand-picked “tenant’s association” endorsed him while refusing to even meet with WIN candidates to hear our positions? What are they afraid of? We need affordable housing throughout Weehawken to preserve the diversity of our community, and we need fair and vigorous enforcement of state, federal, and local housing laws. That is WIN’s agenda. Anyone who tells you otherwise is lying. The question is why?
Karen T. Brady
2nd Ward Candidate