Residents press council to protect tenants as Hoboken Housing Authority redevelopment proceeds

Several residents and tenant advocates urged the Hoboken City Council to secure written, enforceable protections against displacement as the Hoboken Housing Authority’s redevelopment plan advances.

Zachary King of Hoboken United Tenants told the council redevelopment has often displaced residents in other cities and asked for a formal guarantee that “no resident will be moved out until the residents that have been moved out have been moved back in.” King said residents want a “formally empowered resident body that can oversee in a transparent way the process.”

Council members and administration officials responded that the project’s documents state a goal of zero displacement and that multiple layers of oversight — the housing authority commissioners, a nonprofit partner and the council — review the process. “There will be 0 displacement going and happen within this process,” Councilman Ramos said, describing a phased build-first approach intended to let residents move directly into new units on housing authority property.

Marine View Plaza residents and advocates pressed the council about an income-based surcharge and whether the building is subject to Hoboken rent-control protections. Speakers said the city issued letters in 2024 that were later contradicted by the city’s counsel. Residents said they had not received consistent guidance and asked the council to act before a June 30 date they described as a cliff for registration and rent control status. Erica Jacobson, a Marine View resident, said she had provided draft ordinance language six weeks earlier and called for greater transparency and accountability from the tenant advocate’s office. “If this isn't resolved before summer, then every single one of you will have failed my community,” she said.

Council leaders said the matter is legally complex. Council leadership described three open legal questions that must be resolved before the council can act: the effective start date for rent-control applicability, whether an income surcharge should be included in base rent calculations for rent-control purposes, and the destination of income-surcharge payments. Officials said the corporation counsel is researching the record and that the council was aiming to resolve outstanding points before the June 30 date; several speakers urged faster action.

The council had earlier introduced an ordinance amending the Hoboken Housing Authority redevelopment plan and referred an amendment to the Hoboken Planning Board for review under the local redevelopment law; both items were on the council’s agenda and the council recorded votes for related resolutions at the meeting. Public commenters repeatedly asked for stronger resident protections, clearer public notice and for the city to ensure that tenants won’t be left temporarily or permanently displaced during phased construction.