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Portside Towers tenants press Jersey City council to enforce security and rent-control rules
Summary
Tenants from Portside Towers told the Jersey City Municipal Council on April 9 that the city has not enforced existing rules on uniformed security, live-in superintendents and landlord disclosures, and urged municipal action while litigation and an administrative investigation proceed.
At the Jersey City Municipal Council meeting on April 9, dozens of Portside Towers tenants and tenant-organizers pressed council members to enforce city ordinances they say the building’s owner is violating, including the city’s uniform security and landlord-disclosure rules.
Tenant speakers said repeated incidents — including a bullet through a child's window, a violent incident in a lobby and failures of building emergency responses — show the building lacks required, continuous on-site security and an on-site superintendent. Several speakers said the landlord has not complied with city rules on disclosure of landlord identity, and they accused the administration of slow or inconsistent enforcement.
The tenants sought daily fines and other enforcement actions. Multiple speakers also disputed public statements by Mayor Steven Fulop and others that tenants had delayed filings: tenant representatives said they filed as required and that the city’s own rent-control officer initially confirmed the building was subject to rent control.
Corporation Counsel and other city staff told the council the city’s investigation into a pending exemption request is complete and that the investigator is preparing a final report for the administration. Staff also said two municipal-court violations related to the property are outstanding and in the court process; if an exemption is refused, additional violations may be issued for noncompliance.
Council members did not take a new enforcement vote at the meeting. Several said they were tracking the investigation and court actions and asked staff to complete and circulate the final investigative report. The city’s corporation counsel confirmed the city can issue violations if inspectors find ongoing noncompliance after the required cure period.
While tenants said the failures have continued for years, city staff told the council they were completing the administrative review and that inspectors can issue daily fines in appropriate circumstances. The meeting record shows the investigation was complete and that the director preparing the report intended to finalize it “very soon.”
The tenants warned the council they will continue public outreach and media campaigns to seek stronger action and to make enforcement a public issue in the mayor’s campaign.
Ending: Tenants asked the council to apply existing code and fines now, and to make enforcement transparent; staff said the administrative report would be circulated to the council when finished and that municipal-court proceedings were in process.
