Council advances Hoboken Housing Authority redevelopment plan; residents press for legally enforceable right to return

The Hoboken City Council on Wednesday voted to advance an amendment to the Hoboken Housing Authority redevelopment plan that adds property to the authority's plan and identifies sites for new senior housing, while residents and tenant advocates pressed the council for legally enforceable protections to prevent displacement.

Why it matters: The redevelopment plan reshapes how the housing authority will replace aging public housing and add new units. Residents of public housing, tenant advocates and council members raised questions about protections (including a legal, enforceable "right to return"), the timeline for rehousing, and how tax and sale proceeds from properties will be used.

What the council heard: Director-level staff and council members said the property at issue is being sold to the housing authority for redevelopment and is not being given away; council staff said the sale will generate city revenue and that once the authority builds new units those structures will pay property taxes going forward, adding a new revenue stream not currently collected on federal housing authority land. City staff said the new site will be used to increase senior housing and accelerate the overall plan.

Public concerns: Tenants and housing advocates urged stronger, legally enforceable tenant protections. Zachary King of Hoboken United Tenants told the council he reviewed the redevelopment-plan draft and found no language guaranteeing a legally enforceable right to return or legal standing for tenants if the plan's good intentions were not fulfilled. Several Marine View Plaza residents spoke during public comment asking for clarity on dates and recertifications, and urged the council to exclude an income-based "surcharge" from base-rent calculations for tenants that would otherwise raise rents.

Officials' responses: Council members and the administration said the redevelopment plan is zoning-level action; protections and tenant-relocation promises are implemented in redevelopment agreements and other legally binding documents that follow zoning approval. Director-level staff read plan language into the record committing to one-for-one replacement of the housing authority's existing affordable units and to preserving the agency's existing affordable stock; staff said the protections and specifics will appear in the developer's redevelopment agreement and in subsequent project-level documents. Council members said they expect those agreements to include tenant protections and rehousing guarantees.

Outcome: The amendment advanced on introduction at the meeting (first-reading); council members indicated they intend to review redevelopment agreements and implementation language before final approvals.

Clarifying details: City staff said the added parcel would be used to accelerate senior units and that federal housing authority property currently does not pay property taxes while redeveloped parcels will be taxable; staff also said the redevelopment agreement adopted in May stipulated a $1.75 million community-benefit payment for a previous project in the North End redevelopment area. Several speakers requested written, itemized timelines for tenant recertification, income surcharge review and the housing authority's sequence for rehousing residents during demolition and new construction.

What residents asked for next: Tenant advocates asked the council to include an enforceable legal right to return and legal standing for tenants in redevelopment agreements, or to add companion protections at the municipal level; residents sought clarity on when the state's oversight ended and city rent-control obligations began for properties that were transitioning from state supervision.

Sources: City staff presentation and public remarks at Hoboken City Council meeting; remarks from Hoboken United Tenants and Marine View Plaza residents recorded in the council transcript.

Ending: Council members said they will review the redevelopment agreements as they are finalized and continue hearings and briefings on tenant protections and implementation timetables.