Dear Editor:
While the school district is proposing a 47 percent hike in the school levy, the city council under the guidance of Councilman Solomon has frozen rents until August of this year including two to four family homes, normally not under rent control, excluding owner occupied buildings. Additionally, Councilman Solomon said the federal government should give Jersey City $100 million for rents.
It is not the federal government job to bail out the poor choices of Jersey City which has been granting tax abatements which robs the budgets of the school system and county.
There was no reason to grant tax abatement for any building including affordable housing. As an example, a senior living in an one-bedroom apartment pays one third of his/her income in rent but that apartment actually pays $2,200 a month due to the subsidies of taxpayers but none that that is earmarked to the board of education and only 5% to the county.
Likewise, rent control tenants will only get increases in their rent based on Jersey City Rent Leveling Board which range from one to four percent but has been in the one percent range for a long time. Those tenants will not receive a 47 percent increase based on the school board. The federal government did not write Jersey City rent control laws so why should they bail out Jersey City finances or the school board?
In addition, Jersey City has contributed to the housing shortage, by declaring itself a sanctuary city, more illegal immigrants settle here, forcing citizens to compete for housing which drives up the rents.
This idea of protecting tenants from rising rents will actually cause more harm down the road, more pre-war apartment buildings were converted to condos in the past to avoid Jersey City housing regulations and the same will happen in the future. This does not serve the interest tenants at all. Government must address the issue.
First, fix the rent control laws and allow the tax increases to be passed on to multi-family buildings as everyone else. Next renegotiate tax abatements that come before the city council. City ordinance 20-037 came before the city council for a transfer and the city council could have renegotiate their tax abatement then for school taxes. Finally, stop floating bonds for pie-in-the sky ideas such as Bay Front, which is $170 million on the backs of taxpayers.
It is the small homeowner that provides the bulk of the rental housing in their two to four family homes. When they default, their tenant, has lost their housing, too.
I am looking forward to the day, when the city cares about the small property taxpayer as they do their tenants.
Yvonne Balcer
