How many Hoboken residents think the answer to our affordable housing and displacement crises is to build tiny boxes ("micro units") to live in?
For those who don't know, "micro units" are apartments sized between 200-300 square feet.
Note, micro units are incredibly profitable for realtors and developers. Developers can squeeze in 5 "micro units" for every 1,500 square foot apartment, at double or triple the tenant's cost per square foot. And these tiny spaces are suitable for transient occupants, which means "churn" for realtors. Ka-ching.
Did you know that Jersey City just broke ground on a "micro-unit" building near Journal Square (190 Academy St)? It will have 122 units ranging in size from 220 to 280 square feet, to lease starting at $1,300 a month. "The units will offer a full bathroom, kitchen and a combined living room, bedroom and dining room space." To squeeze in a human, "the developers are using "transformable furniture"- sofa unit folds out into a bed and the coffee table can be expanded into a table that seats from two to eight people."
So, is this micro-unit housing model a 'fit' for Hoboken?
GA says, absolutely not.
"Micro-unit" buildings violate the intent and purpose of Hoboken's Master Plan, by increasing transient housing and increasing densities.
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| 2010 Hoboken Re-Examination Report to 2004 Hoboken Master Plan |
In an interview commissioned by Hoboken Fair Housing Association four mayoral candidates were asked for "his or her personal feelings on rent control, affordable housing, and displacement and to explain what they would do about these issues as mayor."
Now we see major daylight between the two Reform candidates, Ravi Bhalla and Jen Giattino.
Giattino would not state her position on rent control.
Bhalla affirmed that he is pro rent-control. In fact, Bhalla was the only candidate for mayor who spoke out against the ballot referendum in 2013 that would have resulted in Hoboken losing thousands of rent-controlled units. Giattino, quite literally, sat on her hands though-out the debate.
GA recommends you read the full Patch article.
Excerpts below are courtesy of The Hoboken Fair Housing Association:
GIATTINO ON AFFORDABLE HOUSING
"It’s about the phone calls. The phone calls.
“I get a lot of them,” Giattino says.
She takes on people’s potential displacement and sets out to negotiate a way out of it. Sometimes she succeeds. Sometimes it’s too late by the time it gets to her. But it has made her acutely aware of how significant an issue it is.
Her feeling on the 10 percent allotment mandate (10 percent of units in new developments must be affordable except for projects with 10 or fewer units) is that it doesn’t work for condos because the maintenance fee that the owner would have to pay wipes out the affordability.“The 10 percent rental can work,” Giattino says. “I do have some concerns about getting people placed in them.
Giattino is very interested in community land trusts (CLTs), but cites Hoboken’s lack of land as a reason they might not work as well as in other places. And while she would like to see a CLT work, she is also educating herself on other ways to provide affordable housing.“I do have this obsession lately with micro units,” Giattino says. “They’re building them in New York and it’s fascinating how much, how many more units you can get. I’ll sit there and Google them at night.”So it’s safe to say this will be a priority in a Giattino administration?“YES!” Giattino says. “Yes. I think anything I’ve experienced the past six years on the council, with people’s issues, now I know they’re there. You can’t ignore them. You have to do what you can to address them.”
BHALLA ON AFFORDABLE HOUSING
"Bhalla does not think the 10 percent allotment mandated by Hoboken’s 2012 affordable housing ordinance is going to solve the problem.“Here’s the reason why,” Bhalla says. “Right now from an urban planning standpoint we’re trying to control residential development, so any construction that’s residential, if we have a policy that they make 10 percent affordable or 15 percent or 20 percent or whatever the number is, if the overarching policy is to limit the number of buildings that want to be residential … it’s to control residential development to begin with. So while the allotments don’t hurt, it’s not going to by any means solve the affordable housing problem.”“I think we need to take the approach theoretically similar to the approach we take when we look at trying to increase open space, trying to [increase] flood remediation,” Bhalla says, pointing to federal and state funding sources used...“I would think we should take a similar approach to affordable housing. There are opportunities to work with the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Financing Agency, for example, to find a developer that can develop affordable housing that’s financed through low-interest loans that the state of New Jersey can provide. That’s how we get parks. Why can’t we finance affordable housing in a similar way? But now we’re not talking about 10 units, we’re talking about 300 units.”Bhalla is proud to have advocated for the creation of the office of a tenant advocate attorney in city hall, an expert in tenant/landlord law who has regular office hours.“He tells me [those hours] are filled with tenants coming to him with problems,” Bhalla says.
Bhalla says he is very much pro rent control.
“Needless to say, it’s imperfect,” he says. “I’ve personally tried over the years to make our local ordinance better.”
Bhalla cites the ballot referendum question from November 2013 and notes, “I was the only current candidate for mayor who spoke out against this. It would have decontrolled thousands of units in Hoboken.”
- One of these candidates has given these issues a lot of thought, has the courage of his convictions by taking a side on a public controversy, has the political and executive skills for complex negotiations with state and federal agencies on financing of affordable housing.
- Another candidate talks about problem-solving by phone call, CLTs which may not work in Hoboken, and MICRO-UNITS as affordable housing, and housing for displaced residents. This candidate talks about being compassionate but does not seem to have thought about compassionate solutions, does not state support for (or opposition to) rent control. Putting displaced people in micro boxes is not compassionate.
No, I am not a big meanie. I am keeping it real. What do you think?
ravi sounds pretty knowledgeable about the issues. in a non-election year, i could even imagine his position would be shared by a legendary local fair housing advocate. but it's an election year, so...
ReplyDeleteIf a 1-issue vote can't support the only candidate that supports their #1 issue in an election year, then clearly they really don't care about that issue all that much.
DeleteMaybe its because that so-called 1-issue person has direct experience with a particular candidate's dishonesty on this very important issue.
DeleteSo you'd rather support a real estate agent who happens to be a Republican and not only refuses to take a position on rent control, probably would like to kill it. Oh that makes perfect sense. You really are a twit. You deserve a mayor who prices you into a homeless shelter.
DeleteTwit? Stupid? Come on Da Ojo Rojo, you can do better than that. You sound like a 3rd grader. Besides, the blog commenting community hates tenant protections; it isn't a secret - so, if your so sure that Jen is doing away with tenant protections and Ravi is suddenly the champion of tenant protections - I am sure this whole crew must be 100% behind Jen.
DeleteI don't need to do better than that when you are going to vote for a candidate who will likely profit by ending rent control and making you pay market rate rent. You think it is a coincidence she refuses to take a stance on the issue? She knows if she does, rubes like you will finally get the message. She depends on your stupidity to get your vote.
DeleteI think that this is an extremely complex issue, requiring vigorous and thoughtful debate. Ravi Bhalla is the only candidate for Mayor who appears to have put in the effort to think of some possible solutions for Hoboken's residential price explosion. We cannot afford to have Hoboken go the way of Manhattan...becoming an enclave for only the wealthy.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for giving the HFHA independently commissioned article on affordability and displacement wider exposure, GA. The full article is available on our website at www.hobokenfairhousing.org. We commissioned a journalist to cover the four major candidate positions on this important issue.
ReplyDeleteI've often wondered why anyone believes that people in hoboken are less transient if they own a condo. A huge number of condos are not owner/occupied but rather investment vehicles and those that are actually owner/occupied are flipped faster than tenants recycle.
Of course, as a supporter of Jen for Mayor, I'm going to comment on the rest too. Jen Giattino is the only candidate that has put ANY effort into assisting with displacement in Hoboken & the only candidate that can probably explain exactly what is happening here. (To be fair, most residents, including long-term tenants don't know about it until they are directly targeted.)
Micro units, are usually between 300 and 500sq ft. They can be smaller too, but don't have to be. Have you ever seen the fantastic documentary: We the Tiny House People? It's a must see. As someone that lives in a 525sq. ft unit for over 30years - I can assure you, living in small spaces doesn't necessarily equal transience.
Since Jen and I have worked closely on a number of heartbreaking displacements, I know how much it burns her up to not have a solution to assist someone that is losing their home. She's tried valiantly to find alternatives for tenants that are elderly, in some cases terminally ill and, in one case, developmentally disabled - as well as older and younger residents that suddenly find themselves in the most bizarre displacement circumstances.
Jen is supportive of CLTs and has spoken with various stakeholders to get input on how they could work in Hoboken. She has also worked with Suzanne Hetman in the rent control office on some landlord/tenant issues and has assisted HFHA on ongoing issues including many displacement situations. She is determined to find solutions and, undoubtedly they will be multi-pronged and, not on the back burner, as has been the case with the Mayor for her entire time in office. Microunits are just another avenue that might ease the crisis.
Ravi, on the other hand, has double-crossed the tenants in town, is not supportive of CLTs and, although he will talk a good game, has yet to put ANY time or energy into assisting with displacement issues. He did refer Andrew Sobel to the city when the city put out an RFP for a tenant advocate -helping a friend receive a city contract.
By the way, although Ravi takes credit for the tenant advocate position - he had nothing to do with that contract being created.
He is outright lying when he says this. For years HFHA requested that the tenant advocate position be reinstated, to no avail. Ultimately, it was Jen, Jim Doyle and Tim Occipinti that pushed for it and, it was not conceived for Ravi to get his friend a contract, but that's the way it turned out.
In the case of both Ravi and the Mayor, the one thing I can point to is the MSTA referendum as being a big deal where they sided with the tenants. I personally believe that the mayor supports tenant protections, but displacement was never an item that held any interest for her and, therefore, it escalated terribly under her watch. Ravi...I'm not so sure. If he's elected Mayor, it's been made very clear to the HFHA that the city will continue to ignore the crisis (while playing concerned elected officials on TV and in press releases.)
By the way, I did notice that you edited out a very telling quote made by Ravi in the article. I'm guessing that the hidden subtext of the quote was as clear to you as it was to me (and should be to anyone that reads the full article.) It reads as follows:
Bhalla added, “I’m just offering a suggestion for food for thought. I’m not making a pledge or a promise.”
In other words - he is just talking a good game, once again.
Fascinating. What was Giacchi's position?
Deletesounds like your problem with ravi could be that he's never come groveling to you and your organization looking for approval and blessing, and you can't get the chip off your shoulder. how dare he!!
Deletealso, how come "jen" is seemingly incapable of articulating any of this? th only thing voters hear is you telling us stories about all the virtuous things she's done and believes, puzzling why she never takes public positions herself. where's the leadership?
Well then, I guess you cant read because I think I was pretty clear that Jen is the candidate that has been trying to address displacement. As for Jen stating her positions...almost all of the article is quotes! I just gave a different view on Jens comments in the article than the blog post that initiated my response...and it is a more informed view, I might add.
DeleteIndie,
DeleteI read all the quotes, too, without rose-colored glasses. According to the interview, Jen certainly has addressed displacement-- on a case-by-case, person-by-person basis, which she admits sometimes succeeds, sometimes doesn't. She has not articulated how she would use the power of the mayor's office to address the issue itself. No one doubts she has helped individuals in her capacity to do so as a Councilwoman. She hasn't translated that to policy if she is Hoboken's mayor.
Also, have not heard her articulate support for or against rent control in an interview about her thoughts on rent control. Did Patch edit that out?
As for "micro units"- you don't live in one; my first Hoboken home was 750sf for 3 people and 2 cats. My current home is on a 12 foot wide lot. Living small is not living "micro." Micro units are essentially mini-studios between 200-300 sf. I have lived in spaces that size (West Village student days), and smaller (6 tatami mats in Kyoto). They are places to sleep, not "homes". Yes, there is a place for them but calling them an alternative to affordable housing (from someone who lives in a whole brownstone) is offensive to people who need a 'real' home for themselves and their family.
The micro units in Jersey City will start at $1,300/month for 200-300sf. The cost for the tenant per square foot is exorbitant by comparison. It is not a bargain for tenants, its paying more per sf to live "tiny" while developers and realtors make a fortune.
Curious to see/hear unedited interviews. Just because (respectfully) you are so vocal and (IMO) unquestioning in your advocacy for one candidate. If you have the audio, would post. Anyway, thanks for your part in commissioning these interviews.
@indie, i guess the root of my confusion is in how your preferred candidate is the one who is a proud member of a political party whose central pillar is the free market. let the free market decide, they believe. get government out of picking winners and losers, the free market will take care of that. yet the free market seems to be the single greatest threat to the notion of fair housing.
Deletedo you see any irony in your supporting a rich, free-market republican real estate broker?
Interesting. Jen self-identifies as a Kasich- Republican. Well, it appears that Ohio Fair Housing activists have been trying (for years) to get Gov. Kasich's backing on anti-housing discrimination law for LGBTQ Ohio residents.
DeleteLike Jen, Kasich seems to be another, deal with it "case by case" but let's not admit there's a problem, nor codify a solution kind of Republican. In Ohio, Kasich has failed to advocate for an LGTBQ Fair Housing policy solution-- he says, " I'm not sure there's a problem." Take a look:
http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2017/03/ohio_lgbt_anti-discrimination.html
Indie sees what she wants to see.
"Giattino is very interested in community land trusts (CLTs), but cites Hoboken’s lack of land as a reason they might not work as well as in other places.
Delete“I’ve talked to a few people about [CLTs], so I don’t know how financially it works, but it could be a way of saving some of these teardowns,”
“If we had empty land it would be an easy thing to do,” Giattino says.
Still, she[Giattino] thinks some people in town would be open to selling their home to something they knew was going to build the community."
Has Jen spoken to people at any of her meet and greets about selling their homes to a community land trust rather than to the highest bidder when they move? I wonder if Peter Cunningham and his neighbors would welcome this.
Jen already talked to an owner that wanted to sell their property to the city to be a CLT. The mayor dropped the ball.
DeleteIndie how much below market value did the seller offer it to the city. 30%, 50%?
DeleteOr did Jen expect the tax payers to pay full market price to a private seller for a handful of units?
Indie, inquiring minds want to know.
Indie, that doesn't pass the smell test. Let Jen tell us all about it. (*snicker*)
DeleteWhat also doesn't pass the smell test is someone who cares about rent control voting for a free market Republican who refuses to take a public position on rent control. But I can believe something far less savory drives her political leanings like spite, personal self-interest, etc... We have been seeing a lot of that go around lately w/ some former reformers coming out in favor of Jen and Mike in particular.
DeleteTo be blunt, the only housing of genuine concern to indie is the brothel where she sells her political endorsements. That housing must be affordable, as the rate she charges can't be very much given her demonstrable lack of influence.
ReplyDeleteThat is blunt, kinda rough.
Deleteno worries, GA. RB's comment is low brow, low life crap, reflects entirely on his/her character and says so much more about that particular Ravi supporter than it does about me - so, I could care less what drivel he/she posts.
DeleteIndie you indicated somewhere here that the job of tenant advocate wasn't meant for the gentleman who was hired through the RFP process.
ReplyDeleteCan you clarify what you mean by that? Was the job "meant for" someone else?
To be more blunt, was the job "meant for" you by Councilwoman Giattino? If so, can you comment on the ethics of "creating" a job for the purpose of hiring a personal friend/political supporter?
You're on to it. Jen Giattino promised Indie the Tenant Advocate job, Zimmer went with somebody else. Now you understand?? Jen is no Miss Clean. Sounds like a back door deal to me. Jen the baton tosser. Indie the baton catcher.
DeleteOh Gawd, if this whole anti-Zimmer stink of Indie's is another concocted set or nonsense that is really a result of her somehow feeling slighted b/c she or someone else she is close to didn't get a city contract, I am just going to barf. ANYONE who opposes Ravi along similar grounds (and it is my understanding there are more than a few of them out there) really needs to look at themselves in the mirror and say "I am part of the problem" over and over again until the message sinks in. Past fed up w/ people supporting candidates purely based on personal self-interest.
DeleteI stand by my metaphor.
DeleteRb, I didn't say your metaphor was right or wrong, just "rough." Hyperbole is protected speech. Falsely accusing someone of a criminal act, like prostitution, isn't. Your hyperbole is protected speech. All it takes is one idiot, like Lane Bajardi, to conflate the two. So, saying a comment is "rough" is not in the spirit of censorship, it's in the spirit of folks to be mindful as the heated election time rhetoric ratchets up. John Heinis has let his comments section (Hoboken only) go to hell, literally. He is hosting actual libel. I've advised him a couple of times on various actions to protect himself from getting dragged into litigation, like what happened to Patch, the Hudson Reporter, Advanced Media and Google in the Bajardi SLAPP. Oh yeah, Bajardi subpoenaed a whole lot of media outlets to get screen name IDs. If Heinis doesn't wake up, it's only a matter of time until he wastes time and money to "defend" or roll over, all because he allowed morons to abuse his forum. Anyway, that's all I meant, rb. Looking out for you, and myself.
Deleteit appears team "jen" has done an effective job of cornering the entitled hypocrite vote.
ReplyDeletefrom the HR article on their debate:
ReplyDelete"Candidates also brought up rumor-laden blogs and local political websites, where candidates as well as their supporters are often derided and called names.
'The best suggestion I can make is, just don’t read the blogs,' Giattino said. 'They are awful.' ”
it must be a sad, lonely, heartbroken day in crazy horseshitville.
Implausible deniability. They know what's being done for them. They approve. Take that comment to be germane only to this blog.
Deletethere is only one blog that hides behind the excuse that what is posted is all rumors and it is not this blog. LMAO
DeleteSo tragic. All of that clippity-clop, clippity-clopping for Mona Lisa! I think I'm gonna choke back tears and applaud! Imagine... after all of that Jen-dust sprinkled in the barn only to find out that Jen is allergic to horse-dust sprinkled on Jen! Oh, the humanity.
DeleteRoman's blanket excuse of purveying in "rumors" as a cover for blatant smears against his political adversaries is apparently a one-way street. He posted an unsubtle threat of violence against me for the suggestion that he requested money from the mayor's family and covers Zimmer and her husband negatively as a result of being turned down.
DeleteWhile I conceded there was no formal, explicit request for money, the following facts remain on the table:
1) Roman had a conversation with a member of the mayor's family that led that person to tell him, whether there was an implicit request intended or not, that he could not help him.
2) Tiffanie Fisher sent a mass e-mail to constituents encouraging them to peruse Roman's blog and support it financially.
3) Roman, after eight years of taking a decidedly pro-Zimmer position in his coverage (I'd also argue pro-fact, the beneficiary of which happened to be the Zimmer administration because they happen to be fact-based), suddenly shifted his blog over to a full-fledged Giattino propaganda vehicle, now trashing Zimmer, Bhalla and their supporters in a manner disturbingly reminiscent of Lane, Perry and Mason.
These are the facts. If Roman doesn't like the fact that I see these facts and draw the conclusion that money played a part in his political behavior, well, I guess I'm just a blog commenter purveying in rumors.
Oh, you forget spite. I am sure spite is motivating more than a few people backing Jen and Mike. Greed, spite, ambition, quite the trifecta. I choose not to guess which of these motivates person A vs. person B, but I see nothing resembling altruism amongst any of them. It is very disturbing.
DeleteWTF is Jen thinking about? Micro units are no effing substitute for affordable housing. And Indie’s comments are just as moronic.
ReplyDeleteFirst, let’s just put Indie’s nonsense aside. Indie is not representative of the folks that need affordable housing, so the “I live in a tiny space” (good for you, Indie) does not represent the profile of a family of four in Hoboken looking for affordable housing. What an idiot. As if a family of four can live decently in 300 to 500 square feet. The ONLY reason that micro units are attractive is that they make more money for developers (lots more). They have a secondary benefit to towns wishing to keep families out (not the Hoboken that I want to live in) by eliminating any need for school expenditures because no one with families lives in them.
And the “obsession” and googling about them? Maybe if she had more than a high school diploma she might not have to use Google as a replacement for 4 years of college. Perhaps she would have a rational and thoughtful proposal to address affordable housing like Ravi.
I always thought that the “not good with numbers” and not executive material” claims about Ravi were nothing than thinly veiled racism. I wont discuss the utter hypocrisy of the horseshit argument that Ravi has somehow injected racism into the contest. Horses in glass barns should not be throwing horse shoes.
I now think those claims are just a ploy to cover up her educational and intellectual deficiencies.
I had always given her a pass while she was the council president because she always aligned with reform and she did a passable job. I began to have my doubts when she read her campaign announcement off of index cards like she was in a 5th grade public speaking class.
The more I see and hear her (with no discernable or articulated reason for being in the race, I now realize that she really is nowhere close to “executive material”. Her inability to grasp the Suez contingent liability issue sharply focused me on her limitations. I guess if you can’t compete with a bachelor’ degree, a graduate degree from the London School of Economics and a law degree, you have to play from the bottom of the deck.
If I ever had any doubts, I have heard more than once from her supporters that “Hoboken is not ready for a mayor who wears a turban”. What a bunch of creepy losers. Indie and her self-absorbed dishonesty fits in well with that crew. If Ravi loses, then we have The Spoiler Crew to thank.