Councilman Joel Pabon and Council Candidates Junior Iglesia, and Jeanette Rios along with attorney JB Vas held a rally in City Hall Circle on September 28, 2022, to bring attention for the city administration officials to enforce rent control laws and reduce and support a new measure which will reduce annual rent increases to a maximum 3%. *Photos by Paul W. Wang
By: Carolyn Maxwell
PERTH AMBOY – The first person to speak at the first Public Portion on Agenda Items Only was Resident Maria Garcia via Zoom. She was concerned because the Sunshine Alley Street was supposed to have been fixed years ago and there were funds allocated for those repairs. “What happened to that money? No one seemed to account for it. We need to take care of the city’s needs before giving anything to the churches and nonprofits.”
Petrick also talked about the fact that Brighton Avenue and Patterson Street are supposed to have work started beginning on Monday (October 3rd) according to City Engineer Ernest Feist.
Pabon agreed, “After those streets are fixed, Sunshine Alley will be done next. Those streets are talked about when Former B.A. Remsen was here.”
B.A. Greene said, “Any money that was not used went into the surplus.”
Pabon also said, “Cortlandt Street was supposed to have been done and I don’t know why we wait until the end of the year to talk about theses alleys.”
The next person to speak via Zoom was Attorney David Gray from Jefferson Township who represented the City of Perth Amboy Landlord Group, “They would just like input into voicing their opinions regarding the Rent Control Ordinance. Their expenses are going up, and it is hard for them to reinvest into their properties as well as paying the taxes. There were no discussions with small landlords. They need a voice on will affect their standard of living.”
Resident Sharon Hubberman spoke next via Zoom, “R-469 does not bar houses of worship receiving the American Rescue Act Funds. We just need a breakdown of what the nonprofits versus the houses of worship will get. Sometimes they are in the front line in helping with Covid. I support the passing of this resolution.”
Attorney Alan Papp spoke next in person regarding the Assistant Prosecutor Appointee. “I applied for this position, and I had a job as an Assistant Prosecutor. I was the only person from town to apply for this position. The person who applied for this job on the agenda lives in Bloomfield and worked in Newark. Someone who works for the city told me about this opening. I believe our B.A. recommended this person and I believe Cintron got the job from someone who recommended him from Newark. I put in all the work, and I have put in a lot of recommendations that have been adopted. I can decide what is best for the people. All the judges that we had before lived in town. I am a property owner, and we eliminated a lot of illegal housing when I was on the Rent Leveling Board.”
Resident Maria Vera spoke via Zoom, “We have thirty attorneys in Perth Amboy and our Business Administrator Mr. Greene needs to move into Perth Amboy. I agree with Maria Garcia about where is the money to do the historic side street?”
When voting on the Ordinances, No. 1 thru No. 5 were moved by Pabon, seconded by Tejeda. All voted “Yes.”
For Ordinances (First Reading): Ordinance No.1 (Fink Park) was removed in the Caucus. Ordinance No.2 – Appropriating $1,320,000 from the American Rescue Act Plan Funds for equipment for the Police Department. Moved by Pabon, seconded by Tejeda. Pabon, Torres, and Petrick voted, “No.”
Ordinance No.3 (Police Substation lease agreement at 479B Smith Street) was removed at the Caucus Meeting. Ordinance No.4 (An Amendment to the 12/22 Redevelopment Plan for Area No. 1 (Gateway) was moved by Pabon, seconded by Tejeda.
Ordinance No. 5 (Amending Chapter 353 Section 3 – Reducing the established allowable rent increase percentage per rental term.) Moved by Pabon, seconded by Tejeda. The only person who voted “No” was Petrick. He felt there was not enough homework done and it should be amended, “Not everyone’s voices were heard.”
A couple of comments were made regarding this ordinance.
Petrick had concerns about Section B of the ordinance, “It does not mention a 2.5% increase. It should be carried over to our ordinance.”
Pabon spoke up, “I did get some numbers from other towns where there were rent increases that percentage, but I did not read their entire ordinances.”
Councilwoman Morales who spoke via Zoom wanted to know if Harbertown could be included in this ordinance.
Petrick said, “They have an agreement that cannot be superseded by anything else.”
When it came time to vote on the consent agenda, R-465 thru R-468, R-472 thru R-474, R-477, R-479 thru R-481 was moved by Pabon, seconded by Tejeda. R-469 was moved by Tejeda, seconded by Morales. Petrick, Torres, and Pabon voted, “No.” Some of the reasons were that we need to take care of our city employees to make sure they get their share of the American Rescue Plan Funds first after waiting 3 years. “People work through Covid and were excluded,” said Pabon.
R-470 (Municipal Court Judge Appointment) was moved by Pabon, seconded by Tejeda. Petrick, Torres voted, “No.”
R-471 (Assistant Municipal Prosecutor Appointment) was moved by Pabon, seconded by Tejeda. Pabon, Torres, Petrick voted, “No.”
R-475, R-476 were removed at the Caucus Meeting.
R-478 (Grant from Office of Arts and History for 2023 General Operating Support Grant Program) moved by Pabon, seconded by Tejeda. Petrick, Torres voted “No,” because there was no paperwork attached.
Some of the remarks regarding the Rent Leveling Board Ordinance that concerned the council were a suggestion by Council President Petrick that there be a special meeting so that the landlord, tenants, and the Board Members could voice their opinions.
Tejeda said, “Not many people came to speak about this ordinance at the Caucus Meeting.”
Pabon said, “It is a dream to be a homeowner, and they are struggling, too.”
Petrick also said, “There are people on Section 8 that can qualify for a First Time Homebuyer Grant, and they can get help with paying those mortgages.”
Tejeda disagreed, “My parents were on a 10-year waiting list for Section 8 and one of my parents passed away in the meantime.”
Pabon spoke up, “Grants with Section 8 are limited and rent rate increases vary after every 3 years.”
Petrick said, “The ordinance passed, and it is only the first reading. Some landlords that have more or larger units want to be free to raise rents on their own. This ordinance pertains to legal landlords.”
Public Portion (in-person first):
Resident Dorothy Daniel questioned, “Why are there two big TV Monitors in the council chambers?”
Council President Petrick explained, “It is for people who need to make presentations via Zoom. There is no more need for slide projectors.”
Daniel continued, “I am very disappointed on some of the events happening, and I tried to come to every city event, especially the ones that happen City Hall Circle.” She then turned her attention to Council President Bill Petrick, “I don’t always agree with everything you say or do.”
Petrick said, “I feel the same way about you.”
Daniel said, “When they have these programs, they mention everybody, but they don’t mention you, which is not right.” She then mentioned Alan Papp, “He is a respected member of this city. How could you not vote for him to be the Assistant Prosecutor. He has served on many municipal boards. Why was the police substation ordinance taken off the agenda?”
Petrick responded, “It was not being properly utilized.”
Daniel said, “It is good to have that substation to make people feel safe, especially the elderly.”
Petrick responded, “We need more foot patrols, and it is more powerful than a building with a sign with hardly anyone in there.”
Daniel said, “What about having volunteers in that proposed substation that would have communications with the police? I would volunteer myself.” She also invited everyone to attend a program on October 30th at St. Peter’s Church at 2 p.m. that will honor the First Responders in the Perth Amboy, Woodbridge, and Sheriff’s Department.
Resident Junior Iglesia came up next, “There is no rent control for owner occupied of three units or less. Everyone feels the inflation rate of 9% to 39% increase in rent. The minimum wage is $13/hour. Our community cannot afford these rents. I know a single mother who says she has to work two jobs and she still can’t get what she needs. She worries about sickness, and this is a humanitarian issue.”
Council President Petrick asked Iglesia, “How many rentals do you own, and how much do you charge?”
Iglesia responded, “This is not about me, but I charge $1,200 for two bedrooms.”
Petrick responded, “I also charge the same.”
A.D. Pauro spoke next, “I listened to the gentleman that applied for the Prosecutor’s job. He is a taxpayer and lives here.” Continuing he talked about the substation on Madison Avenue where there was a rape that occurred nearby. “There have been homicides, stabbings, robberies, and shootings. There is a lack of leadership (at the top) and at the Police Department. There was a shooting in Harbortown. There only is police presence at city events, and you see Kenny Ortiz and Miguel Arocho at these events. There is a priority list when people call the Police Department. You can’t pay me enough to do that job. The owner of a pharmacy was pistol-whipped. Don’t play politics with the Police Department. What about money for nonprofits?”
The next person to come up to speak was Sharon Keller who resides at the Honson Building (a Senior Citizen Building). She previously lived at 275 New Brunswick Avenue. “I’ve had landlords who lowered my rent. When that building was sold, the new landlord imposed a huge rent increase. I am helping someone who lived at 275 New Brunswick Avenue pay their rent. Dianne Roman who is on the Rent Leveling Board gave me a number to call someone in New Brunswick who can help me with that situation.”
Petrick told Keller not to lose the copy of the leases.
Alan Papp came up to speak, “They used to have community police under the Vas administration who would walk the streets and rode on bikes. They had substations then that were closed due to lack of manpower. I agree with Dot, that having volunteers might work in that substation. It’s good to hire more police, but we need them to walk the streets for more visibility in the community.”
A woman by the name of Abigail came up to speak, “It hit a nerve to talk about Section 8. It takes 8 years or better to get that. I have to work to get on Section 8, yet I know of some people who get Section 8 who don’t work and can work but choose not to work and still get Section 8 approval.”
Dot Daniel spoke briefly while seated, “Section 8 is a federal program.”
The meeting was opened up to Zoom participants.
Maria Vera spoke first via Zoom. She questioned, “What is the Section 8 policy? Is there a limit to be on Section 8? There was a catalytic converter that was recently stolen (It happened in Fords). On News 12, there is a report about people in Staten Island complaining about the loud music coming from Perth Amboy. We are getting a lot of dirt bikes on our roads. Atlantic City and Jersey City has cut down on a lot of them. In most towns, the rent increases are only 5%.”
Petrick responded, “The Administration controls loud music and unlicensed vehicles. It’s an epidemic.”
Attorney David Gray who was representing the Landlord Association in Perth Amboy spoke about problems with out-of-town landlords. The city can enforce the laws on the books and the misinformation bothers me. These landlords just want a voice, and they work with their tenants. Take into consideration those who do the right thing. Make sure you have some teeth to the law. Don’t handcuff the taxpayers who are also landlords.”
Petrick said they are always welcome to come talk to him.
Resident Lisa Nanton spoke next via Zoom, “All the dead shrubs and bushes at Harbortown – developers need to have irrigation for the landscape in their development.”
Resident Sharon Hubberman spoke next via Zoom. She thanked the council for supporting the Rent Leveling Board recommendations. “At the end of 2020, we started to issue public notices of our meetings. We have various speakers and have a diverse Board of Residents. Will there be a presentation of the allocation of the American Rescue Act Funds? We also needed a presentation of the proposed new water building.”
Petrick responded, “There was one.”
Hubberman concluded, “The front-line people need to be taken care of first when it comes to using the American Rescue Funds.”
Petrick then remarked that the Director of the Water Department had people make presentations about the new Water Department building and what was needed.
Greene spoke up and told Petrick that the Covid money that was allocated and its distribution how it will be used was listed in the Capital Plan.”
Petrick asked if it could be presented in a slide show.
Council Comments:
Councilwoman Rose Morales spoke via Zoom. She thanked all who participated.
Councilman Joel Pabon thanked the Rent Leveling Board for answering questions for us and the community. He urged the community to go to those meetings. “That board has an attorney.” He the council for voting for the Rent Leveling Board Ordinance. He turned his attention to the motorized bikes that are zooming by people, especially by schools. “What can we and the Police Department do about this? And the Rent Leveling Board also can see what they can do about Harbortown.” Het thanked all the volunteers who helped build a new KaBoom Playground near Waters Stadium. “We need to work on the Waters Stadium entrance. I want to thank all who came tonight.”
Councilwoman Milady Tejeda thanked all the participants. “All residents should feel free to participate.”
Councilman B.J. Torres talked about an article he read in the News Tribune that spotlighted Carteret getting a film studio. “They looked like our warehouses. We can do this to transform our town to a middle-class town. Carteret is getting a ferry, and word on the street is one of our warehouses is leaving. We are not getting living wages with these warehouses, and they exploit their workers.”
Council President William Petrick agreed with Councilman Torres that film studios open up a lot of opportunities. “I thank all the people who showed up tonight, and I wish more people would come here in person and participate on Zoom. These meetings are important for a learning experience on how you can make a change. It is the government of the people.”
The meeting adjourned at 9:14 p.m. Councilwoman Rose Morales participated via Zoom.
