10/12/22 Caucus & Council Meeting

By: Carolyn Maxwell

PERTH AMBOY – The council talked about the ordinances first. Law Director William Opel spoke about Ordinance No. 1 which had to do with amending the Focus 2020 Redevelopment Plan for Area#1 (Gateway). “This was introduced at the last meeting and there were technical changes which involved the convenience store project on Smith Street. The subdivision line was moved slightly on the corner and specific blocks were listed.”

Ordinance No. 2 – Amending Chapter 353, Section 3 of the Code of the City of Perth Amboy reducing the established allowable rent increase percentage per rental term. – This was discussed by Council President William Petrick first. “This is allowing landlords who are not paying for water to a 5% increase. If landlords pay for the water, the rent increase will be 3%. Most towns allow increases of 2.5% -5%. Perth Amboy has the lowest rent in Middlesex County – lower than Woodbridge, Edison, South Amboy, and Staten Island. I see there are fees for inspection which the Vas administration did as a courtesy.”

Councilman Joel Pabon agreed with Petrick that there should be no inspection fees.

Law Director Opel responded that he would make the changes as requested.

Pabon spoke up again, “Only Petrick made those statements, and he does not speak for the rest of the council. I have all the ordinances (pertaining to rent control) from different towns. When people leave their apartment, those apartments will remain empty for 30 days in other towns. We don’t have that luxury of having an apartment empty for 30 days. A person would need to earn at least $54,000 a year to afford a 2-bedroom apartment here. We would need 3 years to raise a rent increase to 5%. A tenant could plead their case to the Rent Leveling Board as well as the landlord when it comes to changing the rent increase. Everyone needs to know they can go for rental assistance. How will the Rent Leveling Board address this problem? It’s been a while since our taxes were raised.”

Petrick responded, “If people want to know the meeting schedule (for different boards), the first stop would be to go to the city clerk’s office.”

Pabon continued, “I had asked that Dianne Roman (Secretary for the RLB (Rent Leveling Board)) and also the chair of that board to be here in person.”

Roman joined the conversation via Zoom, “A tenant or a landlord can file a formal complaint with the Division of Housing and Social Services located on Olive Street. There is a tool for a landlord to appeal rent increases. They can look on the city website for information about the Rent Leveling Board. We have to go by the state guidelines and people can also pickup information when we have our housing expos. The ordinance has not been worked on in depth since the 1980’s. We need to bring it current to 2022 and the public can make recommendations.”

Councilman B.J. Torres spoke next, “I went to a forum recently on “Regarding a Right to Rent,” where people complained about the rent increases. These people help keep the town alive. They also need economic opportunities. We need jobs to have living wages.”

Councilwoman Milady Tejeda spoke up, “We have suffered even before the pandemic. When I first moved here, we were advancing, and now families can’t be home with their kids. Now, we have more illegal housing. High rents are a part of it.”

Petrick responded, “People who live out of town are the ones who are doing illegal renting.”

Chair of the Rent Leveling Board Sharon Hubberman came up to speak, “In 2019 there were thoughts of dissolving the RLB. Our first meeting was in 2021. Dianne Roman has a lot of experience working with community concerns and with the police and fire departments. The Rent Leveling Board was first founded in 1973. We had to look at many items including COLA (Cost of Living Adjustment) and the many types of household income. The per capital income and the demographics is what we looked at. We need to make sure we have a balance between the tenant’s and landlord’s concerns. 3% increase should be made if the landlords are paying for their water. A lot of Mom-and-Pop Rental Units are not high. We are updating our website for all the information needed for the renters and landlords. I know you all have the best interest of the residents. For political reasons, people are trying to diminish the Rent Leveling Board.”

Councilman B.J. Torres had a question regarding Ordinance No. 2 (First Reading) – Amending parking meter zones. He wanted to know, “Are we putting in more meters?”

Police Chief Larry Cattano came up, “This is not adding any meters. We are just making all the parking times uniform. In the ordinance, we named all the lots and blocks affected by this.”

Council President Bill Petrick had a problem with Ordinance No. 3 (First Reading) – Issuing a bond of $3,473,798 for various water/wastewater utility improvements. “We should be using American Rescue Fund money for this.”

Business Administrator Michael Greene responded, “This was approved in June, and it also includes the Runyon location. We allocated some of these American Rescue Funds on our water needs.”

Petrick responded, “These are critical needs that will give back to us. The bonds will add additional debt.”

Greene continued, “There are COVID needs that need to be addressed with the American Rescue Act money.”

Petrick insisted, “This is debt that we will have to pay back. It will cause a tax increase which will mortgage the city.”

Greene responded, “We have applied for other money to help with the water/wastewater needs.”

Chris Langhard with the McManus Law Firm spoke about this ordinance via Zoom, “This would be a capital improvement loan balance from the infrastructure bank. The city may be able to qualify for a principle forgiveness. Most of the projects in this ordinance are small.”

Council President Petrick then questioned Ordinance No. 4 (First Reading) – Issuing $1,500,000 in bond or note for various water/wastewater utility improvements. Petrick asked, “Since this a small amount of money, will it be eligible for principle forgiveness?”

Langhard responded, “Both of these ordinances may or may not qualify for principle forgiveness.”

Councilman Torres spoke up, “If we give to all city employees who worked through Covid, would it be under $1 million?”

Pabon then commented, “At some point, I want to hear that our water is drinkable.”

Torres continued, “We have been asking for a plan on how the American Rescue Funds are earmarked.”

Greene spoke up, “Some of those funds were used for software and technology needs. There were needs for equipment for the fire and police departments, community service grants for nonprofits, food pantries and churches.”

Council President Bill Petrick continued, “Let’s spend American Rescue Funds money on this and see how much money is left afterwards.”

Pabon spoke next, “There had been money allocated for years. If we can pay this, it will be money that the residents will not have to pay.”

Luis Perez Jimenez, Director of Operations at the USA-PA (Utility Service Associates Perth Amboy) Middlesex Water Company) came up to the mike, “We will come back each year with more projects. “

B.A. Greene added, “We are applying for a $84 million grant along with several other towns who are asking for a piece of that money. We are seeing what we can get.”

Petrick responded, “We are just concerned about the financing of these bonds. If we use the ARF Money, the work will get done quicker.”

Councilwoman Milady Tejeda asked if there are other options.

Greene responded, “The money for this project also pays for the employees that will be involved in the projects.”

Tejeda asked what was the total money that we have appropriated so far for the water/wastewater projects.

Council President Petrick asked for a motion to table Ordinance No. 3. It was moved by Torres, seconded by Pabon. Those who voted “No to table,” was Tejeda and Morales.

Ordinance No. 5 (First Reading) – Granting the conveyance of a dedicated right-of-way easement over a portion of Block 172, Lot 1.01.

City Engineer Earnest Feist spoke up via Zoom, “Middlesex County requested this. It will be on the corner of Ogden Place and New Brunswick Avenue at a cost of $500,000.”

Councilwoman Tejeda and Council President Petrick had a difference of opinion on Ordinance No. 6 (First Reading) – Public Entertainment.

Tejeda’s concern was the reducing of time for festivals and how it will affect the July 4th Celebration.

Petrick stated, “It is not affected by this, because it is a single night event, and it is only for events on Sunday nights to reduce the time limit because a lot of people have to go to work the next day.”

Tejeda disagreed with what Petrick said. She also had concerns about the ordinance that was previously removed regarding equipment for the police and fire departments and having American Rescue Funds for the community groups which included food banks, churches, and nonprofits.

Petrick responded, “As far as the police, it is better to have foot patrols such as we had in the Vas administration. It is more effective than having cameras all over, such as in a police state. It is a bigger deterrent than having cameras.”

Tejeda spoke up, “The police need to have these tools to do their job as not to put them at risk.”

Petrick responded, “We have a lot of electronics that could be used for monitoring.”

B.J. Torres spoke next, “Camden, New Jersey crime has dropped because of increases police presence.”

Pabon spoke up, “I sent a message to the police and to Mr. Greene to talk about this. The mayor said we are playing politics. Let’s wait until after the election to bring this up. Also, when will our employees be getting the money when they worked during Covid? We have to make sure all of the employees are covered. Quality of Life Issues are not being addressed. I am not against churches or nonprofits.”

Greene responded, “They payout for the essential workers who worked during Covid which would be just under $500,000 (total).”

Police Chief Cattano came up to answer questions as to regards to the cameras, “Panzoom is a technology that we use. Having community policing with new technology has helped us. One crimefighting tool is video surveillance and license plate readers which help us to catch those stealing catalytic converters. There are less people who want to cooperate with the police.”

Torres disagreed, “Community interaction with the police will give trust to the people. The main issue is funding. Maybe the BID can help us with the funding instead of us using the ARF funding.”

Cattano responded, “All of the things the council asked for has been done.”

Torres continued, “It doesn’t look good when the administration undermines us.”

Cattano concluded, “We are both advocating what is best for the residents.”

Tejeda spoke up, “Regarding Ordinance No. 3, we are contradicting ourselves on the use of ARF Funds.”

Torres responded, “We need to do that ordinance because of the $75 million investment of our infrastructure. If it was so important, why wasn’t it in the mayor’s budget?”

Petrick then stated again, “We have to watch how the ARF money is spent.”

Tejeda then insisted that the two items be put back on the agenda regarding equipment for the police and fire department and the funds for the churches and nonprofits.

Fire Chief Ed Mullen came up briefly to speak about Ordinance No. 7 (First Reading) – An issuance of $342,500 of bonds for the purchase of two fire trucks.

Mullen said, “This is the balance of money needed to put in the last piece of money for the equipment.”

CFO Jill Goldy made a brief comment via Zoom. She said, “This is intended to be part of the Capital Budget Plan and the bonding will be less than anticipated.”

R-491-10/22 – Temporary appointment of Denise Zambardino as Acting Tax Collector thru December 31, 2022, while Nancy Martin is on medical leave.

Greene spoke briefly about R-496-10/22 – A change order to the contract with HNS Construction and Mechanical decreasing the contract for the Stair Tower reconstruction at the Perth Amboy Free Public Library in an amount not to exceed $501.79. Greene explained that this company had overcharged for their services.

Greene then explained R-497-10/22 – Adopting procedures for administration and inspection of Federal Aid Highway Project. “This is for the Safe Route to Schools Program that we need to adopt.”

There was a heated discussion involving R-501-10/22 – Accepting an award from the USDOJ for the Connect Project: Law Enforcement Behavioral Health Response Grant Program in an amount of $550,000.

Chief Cattano came up to say, “The Office of Economic and Community Development was not involved with this.”

Torres asked, “I thought the grant writers were supposed to pursue grants.”

Greene responded, “The OECD is supposed to provide leadership.”

OECD Department Chair Tashi Vazquez spoke up via Zoom, “Depending on the types of grants, sometimes there are no fees, and we look at grants that will give us a lot of opportunities.”

Public Portion: (in-person first)

Resident Ken Balut spoke first. “I heard that there was going to be a $10 million study about the Outerbridge. Just get a new bridge. This is incompetency. We need more money for our employees who worked during Covid. Where is the list of the money used from the ARF? The politicians will use that money. We need more information. When money is being used for bonds, we need to know the cost, especially how much the law firm is getting. We are paying too much to political law firms. You always give away millions in PILOTS. Out-of-town law firms don’t care about animals, our residents, or our schools.”

The next person to come up to speak was Gerardo Benavides (Eagleton Fellow Public Policy/MPP Edward J. Bloustein School, New Brunswick). He handed out a flyer to the council which had to do with Housing and Security in Perth Amboy, NJ dated October 2022. This was a housing survey (from May to September 2022) under the Make the Road New Jersey Group. According to the flyer, which had ah housing survey, the group surveyed 135 tenants in Perth Amboy with an in-depth questionnaire on housing. The vast majority of respondents are immigrants and/or people of color and live in census tracts with median household income of less than $54,771 a year. Some of the results on the flyer stated that renters were struggling to pay for rising rent and are likely foregoing basic needs. Tenants that are living unhealthy, dangerous conditions and can’t get repairs, and tenants face serious barriers to rental relief programs and mounting debt. On the back of the flyer had recommendations that Benavides read to address these problems.

He asked the council to pass Ordinance No. 2. “The Make the Road New Jersey Group was formed in 2014.”

Petrick asked, “What has the group done to help renters?”

Benavides answered, “There are many resources that we can direct them to.”

Petrick then suggested that they also contact the Housing Authority.

The next person to come up to speak was a young woman who lives at 126 Market Street. “I am a 3-year resident and there is constant rodents and insects in my apartment no matter how much we clean. The windows are in bad condition, and we have to seal them with heavy plastic, and there is not enough heat.”

Council President Petrick said, “The police and fire departments need to look into this.”

A woman who lives at 345 Washington Street spoke next, “We pay our rent, and we get fined late fees even if it is one day late. We can’t get our apartments fumigated and our rents are high. Our building is owned by Paramount Assets. The rents are high. We need more legal advice.”

Another resident who has been a 20-year resident at 254 Amboy Avenue in Woodbridge came up to speak.

Council President Petrick asked if she went to the Woodbridge Council Meeting and Housing Authority to complain.

She replied, “Yes, and my landlord wants to increase my rent by a large amount, and they are always screaming at us.”

Petrick told her that she needs to go to Woodbridge since she lives there.

Another Perth Amboy Resident was uncomfortable giving her landlord’s name, “In 2018 a boiler exploded in my building killing my husband and my child.”

Another woman complained that whenever she talked to her landlord about problems, she was told to leave. “My son has autism and when it rains, the water comes into the apartment. The landlord would not fumigate our apartment and we had to pay to do it.”

Attorney JB Vas came up next, “I am glad to see democracy in action. I support this ordinance and the community wants it. It was a functioning board up until the mid-2000’s. I am a fan of the Rent Leveling Board if it’s more than a board in name only. We just need to have landlords justify a rent increase of 5%. Because of the Rent Leveling Board being inactive, it allowed landlords to do large rate increases. There is nothing in Dianne Roman’s profile about her being a member of the Rent Leveling Board. I did an OPRA request asking questions regarding the Rent Leveling Board. I appreciate Hubberman’s comments.”

Sharon Hubberman, who is chair of the Rent Leveling Board came up to speak, “We have to compile lists from tenants and landlords to put all the information up on the website. Our Board is meeting and reviewing a 39-year-old ordinance. There was no action taken. I am the chair and Dianne Roman is a very active Board Secretary. There is a process in submitting a complaint. The action involving Cande Land was looked at. It is slanderous to say we (the Rent Leveling Board) are inactive.” She then gave a number to contact Dianne Roman: 732-826-1690 ext. 4322. “I am happy that we are having this discussion.”

Council President Petrick told Hubberman that everyone on that board should have a city email address.

Hubberman continued, “We need a basket email. I will not accept any misrepresentation about the RLB or the council. We have subcommittees also. You have to keep checking to get all the information from the RLB and our meetings and agendas. We all our volunteers. We welcome all to speak up. I can email the tenant complaint form to all. We have special meetings and had Zoom Meetings during Covid.”

Resident Junior Iglesia spoke next, “Our cost of living is unsustainable. Inflation is 8% and in a 5-year timespan, rent has increased up to 35%. The average rent is $2,300. We can’t afford this. We can’t control the price of food, but we can control our rent. Winter is coming and no one should be homeless. We need intermediate intervention to lower the rent and not to increase it by more than 3%. Put politicking aside. It is the right thing to do.”

The next person to speak was a resident from Sayre Avenue. She is the pastor of a local church that also has a food pantry. “We serve people during the pandemic. We are in desperate need of the ARF money so we can provide for our residents, especially since our families are being hindered. We have provided faith, hope, and love. I also support the new proposed substation which is close to the churches, and we need to also feel safe.”

Councilwoman Tejeda spoke up, “A police substation would help to make the residents to feel safe.”

Petrick responded, “Don’t be misled because crime has been occurring near the substation on Madison Avenue.”

Resident A.D. Pauro spoke next. For the first two minutes, he spoke in Spanish, then he spoke in English, “I don’t have problems with the houses of worship, but they are just a front. I have recorded Caba talking to the pastors, and why was this not being done before? The Business Administrator Greene should be living here, and I don’t like the fact that the Police Chief compared us to Camden, New Jersey.”

The meeting was opened up to Zoom Participants:

Resident Beth Lieberman who lives on Chamberlain Avenue spoke first, “I have lived here for 20 years. The resolution to control the festivals are a waste of our energies and the Fourth of July was addressed in our ordinances. We can’t be held liable for people drinking at festivals, and they should not be held on multiple days. The mayor thinks that the Dominicans should control the festivals. We should address the loud and excessive noises, especially those coming from cars late at night. The American Recovery Act Funds was supposed to help with the economic recovery. How will they redistribute the money to certain organizations to stimulate the economy?”

Resident Maria Vera spoke next, “We have too much illegal housing because people can’t afford the rent. Section 8 needs to be investigated. The law says you can only be on Section 8 for 5 years. A lot of it is being used to make car payments and to pay mortgages. We need to fix our water.” Not knowing she could still hear on Zoom, when Code Enforcement Director Irving Lozada spoke on Zoom, and when Vera heard his name, she used an explicative expression to address him.

Lozada spoke on Zoom to make sure he got all the correct addresses of the people who complained about the apartments they were living in. He stated he will be investigating all those addresses.

Developer Eddie Trujillo spoke next, “I don’t have a problem with the Rent Control Ordinance. It is just not right for the landlords not to have a voice. I have concerns that Harbortown is exempt from the ordinance. My average rentals are less than $1200 a month. There is a big difference between a 2.5%-5% increase. A 35% increase is illegal. Most landlords take care of their properties. My costs have gone up 15%. We (landlords) need to be informed of the new ordinance. If you don’t have the money, you may not be able to improve your property that you own. This is not my fight. Landlords also have to pay their mortgages.”

The council went into closed session at 9:01 p.m. They returned at 9:14 p.m. to adjourn the caucus. The regular council meeting was called to order at 9:16 p.m.

The only person to talk about the ordinances that had a public hearing was Attorney JB Vas who talked about Ordinance No. 2 regarding reducing the established allowable rent increase percentage per rental term. He again talked about an OPRA that he requested on October 3, 2022, asking that the Rent Leveling Board supply information and pamphlets to tenants and landlords a list of complaints and unlawful rental increases. In October 2021 I sent information on Cande Land. Everything I requested on that OPRA was not done. There is no landlord registration. Why has no action been taken? Dianne Roman is not supplying information. Landlords need to justify their rent increases. This is not a personal attack on Hubberman or Roman.”

Council President Bill Petrick stated that the Cande Land case is in the hands of Superior Court.

Vas shot back, “It is still an active case and a real issue.”

Petrick continued, “It won’t be heard by our RLB and Roman said they are still working on forms and pamphlets. The administration takes care of the website.”

Law Director Opel spoke up, “There are two matters regarding Cande Land – one was in 2022 which was a consent order and another case where Cande Land sent an application to Superior Court.”

No one else spoke about the ordinances that had a public hearing. The council voted on the ordinances. Ordinance No. 1 and No. 2 was moved by Pabon, seconded by Tejeda. Ordinance (first reading) No. 1 was moved by Pabon, seconded by Tejeda. Ordinance No. 2 was moved by Tejeda, seconded by Pabon. Ordinance No. 3 (Issuance of bonds of $3,473,798) was tabled at the caucus. Ordinance No. 4 (water/wastewater utilities issuing bonds for $1,500,000) was moved by Pabon, seconded by Tejeda. The only person to vote “No” was Councilman B.J. Torres. Ordinance No. 5 was moved by Tejeda, seconded by Pabon. Ordinance No. 6 (public entertainment) was moved by Pabon, seconded by Tejeda. Pabon, Tejeda, Morales voted “No”. Ordinance No. 7 was moved by Pabon, seconded by Tejeda.

There were two ordinances that were added from previous agendas that were tabled and were put back on tonight at the request of Councilwoman Milady Tejeda. Ordinance No. 8 – A lease agreement for the police substation on Smith Street. Moved by Tejeda, seconded by Morales. Tejeda and Morales voted “Yes,” Pabon, Torres, Petrick voted “No”. Ordinance No. 9 – Additional equipment for the police department which includes surveillance equipment. Moved by Tejeda, seconded by Morales. Tejeda, Morales voted “Yes”, Pabon, Torres, Petrick voted “No.”

For the consent agenda: R-483 thru R-501 was moved by Pabon, seconded by Tejeda.

There was a Resolution added: R-502-10/22 – American Rescue Act Funds of $1,328,157 to be used for nonprofits and houses of worship. Tejeda, Morales voted “Yes”, Pabon, Torres, Petrick voted “No.”

Tejeda stated the reason she voted, “Yes,” was because they are grants.

B.J. Torres stated that he voted “No,” because it was, “Nothing more than more bureaucracy.”

Council Comments:

Councilwoman Rose Morales thanked everyone who participated.

Councilman Joel Pabon thanked all who talked about the Rent Leveling Board Ordinance. “We have to make sure it is fair to everyone. The people who made complaints were just a small portion. There are also a lot of good landlords, and some landlords took advantage because of not having a Rent Leveling Board. Section 8 (the rentals) is a nightmare, and they need to be held accountable. The houses of worship should not be lumped together with nonprofits. The people who help our community (with rent) should be taken care of. Hall Avenue needs a police substation. A lot of those residents are scared when they see police cars. When we had meetings at the waterfront, it was great. The police need to walk the beat. It was a long meeting tonight.”

Councilwoman Milady Tejeda thanked all who participated. She then addressed a comment that was made via Zoom that was disparaging and said, “We need to respect all (on both sides).”

Councilman B.J. Torres had no comments.

Council President Bill Petrick said, “It was a lively meeting with good discussion. When they had discussions about the Gateway Project, the need for a police substation never came up. Stay safe and remember that Covid is still around.”

The meeting adjourned at 9:45 p.m.