##VIDEO ID:F7dXyWkvkKU## next time you got make it a all right ladies and gentlemen we're about to get started if you can silence your cell phones and if you're going to continue your conversations if you can continue them outside we have a large agenda we would like to get started and if we can close the doors side doors back door I greatly appreciate it thank you very much good evening everyone we are on the record today is Wednesday the 14th day of August in the year 2024 this is a regular meeting of the Jersey City municipal Council we had a scheduled 6 PM start the clock on my cell phone is showing 6:04 PM may we may we have a roll call for the commencement of this meeting council person priner here council person bajano council person SLE here council person Solomon here council person Gilmore president council person Dees here council person Rivera here council president will be absent for the entirety of the meeting and Council PR protemp Ridley here we have eight council members present in attendance at 604 PM may we kindly rise for a moment of silence please Clarence Collins also known as coach C God Rest his soul and also Marie Murray former Council Aid back in the 1980s thank you very much on behalf of council president Pro Temp Ridley and the members of the municipal Council in accordance with New Jersey public laws of 1975 chapter 231 the open public meetings act also known as the Sunshine Law adequate notice of this meeting has been provided by the posting on the bulletin board of the first floor of City Hall the annual notice which which is the schedule of meetings and caucuses of the municipal Council for the calendar year 2024 and filed in the office of the city clerk on Thursday November 30th 2023 in addition at its time its preparation the agenda of this meeting was similarly disseminated on Friday August 9th 2024 at 6:47 p.m. to the mayor Municipal Council business administrator Corporation Council and the local newspapers and posted on the city's website so I can certify as to our total compliance with the Sunshine Law council members I just want to recognize uh for a special birthday shout out to our lever web Washington whose birthday was last week she turned a young age of 76 and she hardly misses any Council meetings so God bless you all right with that being said council members be as discussed at the caucus we have one item to add the agenda that's item 3.11 city ordinance 24- 076 it's an ordinance disestablishing the Jersey City municipal construction board of appeals I need a motion to add item 3.11 city ordinance 24- 076 to the agenda second motion made by council person Rivera seconded by council person CLE just council members before I take a vote on this please make sure your mics are on when you're voting cuz people at home cannot hear the way you vote unless until I recap the vote with that being said council person priner on the motion to add item 3.11 city ordinance 24- 076 to the agenda I council person bajano I council person CLE I council person Solomon I council person Gilmore I council person dejes council person rera I and council president protemp Ridley I item 3.11 city ordinance 24- 076 is added to the agenda motion carries 80 what council president Waterman absent all right on to our first reading ordinances excuse me one second sorry and a little sidebar all right on to our first reading ordinances item 3.1 city ordinance 24- 066 is an ordinance amending chapter 160 fees and charges Section 1 fee schedule established subsection 10 chapter 254 Property Maintenance the fee schedule for lead best lead based Hazard inspection of rental units pursuant to 2021 panit laws 2021 c.1 182 item 3.2 I believe the administration is going to be withdrawing that that is correct Sean uh as discussed at at at caucus uh there's some last minut information we got changed we to make sure the council a chance to read it digest it so we'll bring it back next one thank you I will not read that into the record next item 3.3 also the camera operator um city ordinance 24- 068 is an ordinance amending and supplementing chapter 263 Article 4 rental and Commercial premises to prohibit the distribution of plastic straws and non-reusable food and beverage access accessories by Food Service establishments item 3.4 city ordinance 24- 069 an ordinance amending chapter 332 vehicles and traffic Article 1 General provisions and article three parking standing and stopping item 3.5 city ordinance 24- 070 is an ordinance supplementing chapter 332 vehicles and traffic Article 2 traffic regulations Section 332 a prohibited right turns on red signal to prohibit turns on red at all times at the intersection of Montgomery Street in Grove Street next item 3.6 city ordinance 24- 071 is a franchise ordinance granting permission to the number one to number number spot Inc to allow for number Spot ink to install a handicap Entrance Ramp beyond the boundary line of lot 9 block 18503 and for the benefit of lot n block 18503 commonly known as 539 Mont Luther King Jr Drive item 3.7 city ordinance 24- 072 is an ordinance authorizing the city of Jersey City to execute an extension of a lease with New Jersey schools Development Authority on real property at block 21102 lot 52 on the city's tax map located at 70 EG Avenue for the purposes of temporary parking for the Vier JC service excuse me item 3.8 city ordinance 24- 073 an ordinance of the municipal Council adopting the fiet Broadway Redevelopment plan item 3.9 city ordinance 24- 074 is an ordinance regarding the proper storage of Roose road salt and other solid deicing materials and privately owned properties item 3.10 city ordinance 24- 075 is an ordinance authorizing a lease agreement between the city of Jersey City and Verizon New Jersey Inc for property located at 71 Madison Avenue Jersey City New Jersey and last but not least item 3.11 city ordinance 24- 076 is an ordinance disestablishing the Jersey City municipal construction Board of Appeals Council Members I'm going to be taking a vote on items 3.1 through 3.11 with the exception of 3.2 which has been withdrawn council person priner I for introduction council person bajano I abstain on 3.3 and on 3.8 I just want to thank the Developers for meeting with the community and working out the issues yes on the yes on all okay council person so I for introduction person Solomon I for introduction council person Gilmore I for introduction council person Dees council person Riv I and council president protemp Ridley I for introduction okay item 3.1 is introduced 80 with council president Wardman absent item 3.2 has been withdrawn item 3.3 has been introduced 70 1 with council person bajano abstaining and items 3.4 through 3.11 are introduced 80 with council person excuse me council president Waterman absent okay I believe we're going to defer to a couple of items and I believe they're the first three resolutions but let me just double check the agenda to make sure I'm correct I believe they are so we're going to Def going to make a compound motion to defer to items 10.1 10.2 and 10.3 which 10.1 is a resolution honoring The Life and Legacy of Christopher englas 10.2 is a resolution honoring The Life and Legacy of Clarence coach C Collins and 10.3 is a resolution honoring friendship large number 44 FN m p ha as Lodge of the year so council members I I I hear it but just motion second you guys are just too quick and don't listen to me let him catch up give him a second so the motion to defer to items 10.1 2 and three resolutions 24- 584 585 and 586 motion was made by council person Rivera seconded by council person SLE on the motion to defer to items 10.12 and three council person priner I council person bajano I council person SLE I council person Solomon I council person Gilmore I council person Dees I council person rera I and council president protemp Ridley I motion to defer to items 10.1 two and three is carried 80 with council president wman absent so council members I suggest that we do each resolution in order so we'll start with 10.1 honoring The Life and Legacy of Christopher engas I believe councilman Solomon will read that into the record yes thank you um I'm going to read the resolution if you'll give me a minute honoring The Life and Legacy of Christopher anglace whereas the city of Jersey City is proud to recognize the exemplary life Legacy and accolades of Christopher engl a lifelong Jersey City resident and dedicated City employee and whereas Christopher completed secondary school at Hudson Catholic High School bachelor's degree at Jersey City State and master of philosophy at University of Glasgow in Scotland he was a true altruist gave his time and talent talents to the betterment of the city he loved whereas Christopher engl made significant contributions to his workplace and Community as one of the digital content creators for the city's social media platforms he contributed to reestablishing the medium's presence and significant growth in followers each year as co-founder and past president of bike JC he was instrumental in the implementation of bike lanes and Jersey City's Ward tour thus making streets safer for all as a gifted film maker and co-writer and director of communic of the communication division's documentary film strength through visibility which premiered at the Garden State film festival and receive Awards and recognitions at as the gsff 2023 homeg grown documentary award best feature film at the Austin Film Festival official selection for documentary feature at the Virginia Boulder International Seattle social justice Richmond International and Manhattan film festivals he was an Adjunct professor at cuni Adjunct professor of film and Theory analysis at Brookdale adjunct lecturer at Jersey City State media arts instructor at educate the Blanc Ted X speaker and owner of JC day Trippers and easy Riders and whereas the city pays respects to beloved resident employee Chris and offers their sincer and condolences to his family Christopher Ang is survived by his parents Margaret and Leonard and G Maggie and Lenny his brothers Michael and his wife Tess and Jason his wife wife Camille his sisters Jessica and her husband Shawn his nieces and nephews Allison John Candace Juliana Alexa Luca Jacob Evan Emma Marissa and his aunt Maryanne kotch and whereas Christopher was an active chair as as was active as chair of the mayor's lgbtq task force committee on clinical and social services and vigor participated in the promotion of the task force mission and goals including advocating for the homeless lgbtq youth community and whereas the volunteer community service an integral part of the operations and spirit of Jersey City now therefore be it resolved by the city council of Jersey City that on July 17th 2024 the fourth annual repainting of the progressive pride flag crosswalk was dedicated in celebration to Christopher's full life of devotion advocacy and compassion and public service and in the advancement of the lgbtq plus community in Jersey City excuse me okay council members thank you so much council person Solomon for reading that into the record council members I think we should vote on it and then maybe invite the family up um to say a few words if they can council person Prince AR to the engl family again the whole is large we still miss him terribly we are so thankful that he was with us for the time that we had him him and um now it's our responsibility to make sure that the good work that he did behind the scenes all the time continues in the city I was very glad to be able to spend a great time with him last summer when the film premiered down in Asbury Park um he'll truly be missed I about I council person Bano just want to do my condolences and say he was a great person you vote I correct I vote I of course council person SLE Chris was a an amazing individual a light in this world his smile laughter his jokes lit up the room his um intell intellect when it comes to building the city's social media presence was second to none and without him you know we wouldn't be the amazing City that we are today the residents wouldn't have been as informed and he has left an incredible you know set of shoes in his absence and you know the city misses him dearly and we honor him today but we thank you the family for giving us uh you know the time that we had with him and um raising him to be uh stand up gentleman and doing what's right for the people that I vote I council person Solomon Lenny Lenny and Maggie my sincere condolences um as as my colleague said you know losing Chris has just been such a a huge loss in so many different parts of the city and and it was such a testament to his character to his energy to his dedication on on how many communities he touched in the city um the artist Community the lgbtq community um the city All City staff um so many people were were so touched because he did so much for our city and and we're all the beneficiaries of his extraordinary commitment and and I know just from my personal conversations with him just just how dedicated he was to this place um and how much we're going to miss him so uh you know this this resolution is the least we can do and and we're going to continue to honor him and honor his me memory so I very proudly vote I council person Gilmore um I just want to give my condolences to the family and friends of Chris um his work was definitely impeccable we definitely benefit as a city for all the things he have contributed to us and he's going to miss um be Miss daily but his contribution as well continue to be filed I proudly vote I person de my condolences to the friends and family and those who who knew him uh this is a huge loss for the city uh big choose to fill but we will continue on his legacy I vote I council person R to the family my condolences thank you for Lending Chris to us his legacy and his character will never ever be forgotten and it's a true example of an amazing human being I definitely vote I council president Pro Temp Ridley um condolences to the family um it is clear uh that he lived a life to be emulated and he definitely has left his Mark here in Jersey City um we thank you for that we are grateful for the life that he lived and his contributions to us here in Jersey City with that I vote I City resolution 24- 584 is approved unanimously 80 with council president wman absent the family would like to come up and say a few words no pressure I totally understand um I just want to thank all the council members for keeping my son's Legacy alive I can't believe it's what an astounding effect on many people he loved and cared about many people and of all of anything he loved Jersey City um I wish he was here to see how much he's acknow knowed how much people cared about what he did but God needed him upstairs from new bike Lanes or something I don't know but um thank you so much I appreciate it thank you thank you e okay next resolution 24- 585 this is the resolution honoring The Life and Legacy of Clarence coach C Collins council member Gilmore would you like to read this into the record yes Sean thank you um whereas Clarence coce Collins a beloved member of Jersey City Community recently passed away after historically helping a neighborhood in need let me try to get through this whereas coach C devoted Over 13 years to University Academy Charter High School as the first ever full-time mentor on staff providing invaluable guidance and support to countless students and whereas coach C moved to Jersey City 18 years ago with his wife Elaine and since dedicated himself to mentoring young people drawn from his own experience of becoming a father at 15 and overcoming the challenge of growing up too fast whereas coach C annual Father's Day dinner began with 20 attendees and grew to 60 offering young men without father without father's at home a model of healthy loving household whole free from anger and violence and whereas coach C served in the department of recreation uh where he built strong relationships with use and reinforc the hiring process to bring in new kids for internships from all corners of the city whereas coach C Outreach work connected him to over 3,000 kids in Jersey City providing them with fatherly advised jobs intern opportunities and connecting over Community leaders whereas coce firmly believe in importances of healing childhood drama financial literacy ending gun voles and embodying the values of fatherhood and Community leadership and whereas coach C family continues his legacy with his Grand with his grandchildren Jam uh n embodying his values and principles in their educational entrepreneurial Pursuit whereas Co C guiding principle included healing childhood T I love you for free and the most important four-letter word time now there for it be it resolved on the 14th day of August 2024 at the city council Council of Jersey City hereby honors and celebrate Life and Legacy of Clarence KC Collins recognizing his extraordinary contribution to the community and his unwavering commitment to improving the lives of our youth thank you councilman so I suggest that we take a vote on it and then we can ask the family of Coach C to come up and say a few words if they like after the vote with that being said council person priner this is a hard start to this council meeting um I'm sorry there you okay um oh okay um so so yeah so anyway um again thankful to have the time that I had with Coach C and Elaine and all the great work that they did on woodlon Avenue and the really good work we did together in otton park and then again providing opportunities for as young people to understand how they could be specifically engaged when I came on to city council because if coach C called you showed up um so again to El lady the entire family and to everyone who has been touched by his life he'll be truly missed um I about i c person Bano o c will be missed by many many people and uh once again he was a great person I vote I council person SLE we need more people like coach C in the world um he mentored thousands upon thousands of Youth that you know without his guidance might have made a wrong turn in life he saved so many any kids and his legacy and his example should be an example to us all that each child is our child that we have an invested stake in our community into making it better and when we see a kid that needs help or needs an internship or needs some guidance it's upon all of us to lift that child up so that they could reach their utmost potential he's also a Muslim brother and on behalf of the Muslim Community we're proud of everything he's done you know I didn't know that until after the fact and you know his his loss is a big loss for the community and my my only question is who's going to be the next coach C who's going to step up in the community it's on all of us and with that I vote I council person Solomon offer my my deep condolences to the family of Coach C you know after his passing the just extraordinary outpouring of emotion and support and words from sort of all corners of the city was such a testament to how many lives he touched and to what a sort of pure Soul he had and and how lucky Jersey City was to have him um so you know such such a such a tragic loss for for city um and uh I just I vote I and and again the resolution is just the start of what we can honor everything he did for us council person Gilmore um again condolences to the family um this right here this like struck me extremely personal um me and Coach C were kind of like two PS in a PO um I remember real talk with Coach C in the morning real talk with Coach woo at night um I remember working at Recreation I remember actually having a conversation with Coach C and he said Frank um we have to make sure that we know every youth that's in these communities if I don't know them you have to know them and just the the dedication to loving people for free and something that I've just found out was so important and I never really got started when he first said it he said the the most important four letter word was time and I was like no coach I kind of think it's love um and he would say well if you don't spend time with someone you're not really showing them that you love them and then now that he's been gone in these past few weeks and you know I'm really feeling the impact on how much he affected the community and now I really have a keen understanding of how important time is how important it is for what we do with our time um I'm just grateful though I had the opportunity to to be with him to share with him to grow with him to learn from him and I'm just gonna miss him dearly man this this is a huge loss and again to the family my sincere um condolences I proudly bought ey council person Dees my condolences again to the family um I've known coach for a while but it was after my transition out of the social studies classroom to Workforce Development with teens that I really tapped into him on mentorship and there was not a one-size fits-all model for mentorship with him each student got their own individual plan which is very very taxing on one individual I think he had said something along the lines of being hired as someone that was supposed to be disciplinarian but turned it into being a cheerleader and he really was I I hope his friends and family find some solace in the hundreds if not thousands of people that he helped and changed their lives for the better and they get to live on and carry on him carry him on I about I council person reer um I'm going to Echo Mir senent me that this is really hard today I mean uh coach was an amazing person um I mean we all have stories about him uh such positive stories such a legend you know here in Jersey City I mean uh I'm going to try to hurry it up because um I don't definitely don't want to break down but you know the the guy was just Priceless when it came to youth recreation and uh you know he just had a special Aura special light where kids would gravitate to him and he just impacted them immediately with whatever they were going to and uh you know as a person who dealt with youth recreation forever working at a school you know we we we had that common denominator and and um you know there was a specific student that he and I went to visit at 3:30 in the morning and this man impacted this kid and who does that right who's going to come off of their bed at 3:30 in the morning to meet a kid at a park right who's going to do that this man did it and uh when I found out that he passed it was um a very very serious emptiness like a huge loss and it's hard to get back you know it really is when you lose a legend when you lose a someone that's been so impactful like that especially to our kids was a hard truth to fill and we pray that we get somebody to actually imitate that moving forward I proudly vote I and council president Pro Temp Ridley U my condolences to the family I believe um my first interactions with Coach C was probably through uh Wabba the woodlon Avenue Block Association and wood law Avenue and that Block Association did a lot of work in coach C was really instrumental um it really was a family around there and he kept that family atmosphere going there are uh many times you know when we interact with residents and you know residents want to know how to get things done on their street and they really had a good group over there and you know coach C was always the one speaking and calling not just with resident concerns but making sure that um that family atmosphere was alive on woodlon like if someone passed away holding a vigil um making sure that his neighbors had what they needed taking care of the seniors and then from there just all the other things that he's done at audon Park as Council woman Prince G said uh his work at the charter school or even with him installing security surveillance cameras for people right a job that you just think somebody's just coming out and you know I need a security system put it in you leave right but he never left anywhere without um having a conversation right having a conversation about life and trying to connect with someone and that's why he touched so many people um I know a lot of people saw the outpouring of Love on social media for him but that's a testament to the life he lived and um he will definitely be missed and he will always be a part of our Legacy here in Jersey City um and with that I vote I resolution 24-58 5 is approved unanimously a zero with council president wman absent if anyone from the family would would like to come up and say a few words um no pressure on the family but if you don't mind if you could just state your name for the record once you speak so we know who you are hi I'm Miss is Collins most of you probably never really seen me but I am really proud to be here um to honor my husband who just miss so much he's amazing amazing person he loved the youth and he was all about Community you know um just helping people and he did this out of his heart it didn't matter how many hours or how many times the kids would call and I didn't care because you know what he was saving someone's Soul Saving the youth and he love Jersey City he would do anything to just be an impact he was like a beacon of light in any room that he would walk in to know coach was to love him and everybody that ever encounter or met him loved him because he was just that type of person so I thank you guys for this and I am really honored thank you thank you how you doing all I say thank you to all the council men and Council women for taking this time and opportunity to honor coach C Collins uh my name is Anton Nesmith I am um business partner with clearance with the security um company one thing I can say about um coach C is he was definitely a poter stone of the Jersey City Community everywhere he went he stopped the kids and had something positive to say something great to install in him one thing I say every kid that he came across he did prepare them for the future so he was preparing the kids for when he wasn't here so I do believe that these kids can take everything that he said to them in face tomorrow um when we started the security company um coach he like his wife said he loved Jersey City um his true goal was to make Jersey City a safer Community for people um so we installed hundreds and hundreds of cameras throughout Jersey City and um he used to always call me and say hey guess what um you remember the person that um got assaulted on this such and such street they caught them with the cameras you know so I was always get these calls when you know perss used to get caught from the technology that we installed so uh one thing I can say about him he loved the people and if you knew coach you know that's where he was he was love um just thank you um for recognizing him have a great day and my condolences to both families we you know Jersey City unfortunately lost two legends here and uh appreciate their dedication um and the service they had for Jersey City um I didn't have the pleasure of knowing either unfortunately um I'm always at my office so but um I do uh send my condolences to both families and they'll continue to watch over us and hopefully we can have the next Christopher and the next Clarence step up to the plate as Council minay said so with that being said I'm going to try to change the mood and go into a very happy moment um 10.3 resolution 24- 586 is a resolution honoring Friendship Lodge Number 44 f andha as the lodge of the Year could we ask the members of The Lodge to come up and we have the members from the large come up just step up in front of the podium and the councilman will read the resolution into the record if you don't mind councilman not to put you on the spot no absolutely so um excited to read this resolution so whereas Friendship Lodge Number 44 F and a m p located at two Oxford Avenue Jersey City has demonstrated exemplary dedication to community service and Civic engagement and whereas Friendship Lodge Number 44 F and am pH has been recognized as the lodge of the year for the Hudson Bergen and SE County district and whereas the larges community service efforts have resulted in the accumulation of 225 hours of service benefiting numerous organizations including Triangle Park Hoboken shelter Hope House St Lucy shelter adopta Highway Mixed Martial Arts Club and movies in the park and whereas these efforts have significantly contributed to the welfare and betterment of the Jersey City community and surrounding areas and whereas the dedication and Leadership within Friendship Lodge Number 44 are further exemplified by the recognition of its member Donald chunky Mosby as worshipful master of the year for Hudson B and and P County district and for the state of New Jersey given the most worshipful Clyde given by the most worshipful Clyde H Horton Jr Grandmaster of the most worshipable Prince Hall Grand Lodge state of New Jersey now therefore be it resolved that the city council hereby honors and recognizes Friendship Lodge Number 44 F and a m for the their outstanding contributions to community service and Civic engagement and commends their officers Donald chunky Mosby worshipful master John Bratton senior Warden Vincent blacksher Junior Warden and its members for their exemplary leadership and dedication to the betterment of Hudson County and the state of New Jersey before we start really clapping Loud Let's Take a vote on the resolution and let's pass it so then we can CL clap even louder on that note on resolution 24586 council person priner to the lodge and to the lodge leadership congratulations on this um designation um for all of the Fantastic work you do supporting organizations that support Jersey City and Hudson County um as an aside it's great to be able to to do this while you're here with us today so congratulations again keep up the good work make Jersey proud I vote I council person Bano congratulations on everything you do and keep up the good work I vote I council person s congratulations on becoming Lodge of the year like I see before me like Real Men Real role models for our community and I thank you for all the service you do and the community service you've given to the city and you got guys look like A League of Extraordinary Gentlemen with that I vot [Laughter] I councilman Solomon good luck with toping that one yeah I know um very proud to vote I um you guys are amazing I know chunk always reaching out to find more ways to keep helping Jersey City and that is what makes our city amazing and you guys are the the quintessential example example for what we want in Jersey City so uh keep up the good work and proud to vote I council person Gilmore um congratulations Brothers um I I know many of you personally I've actually been a recipient of some get it together words from uh of you Brothers um but it's truly means a lot to see you Brothers Beyond a lot of you guys been doing this for I'm 40 now and I remember being in Hawai when I was 10 so at least 30 years um and you guys check the boxes of helping out our community um I proudly vote I council person de congratulations to all of you thank you for what you do um and I hope that this little recognition goes a long way and keeps you guys going and motivated thank you v i council person rera my brothers to a group of men that we are always on the level love every single one of you guys you guys are a true examp example of what community is all about Community work is all about thank you for shining that light on people it's all that matters 100% vot I and council president Pro Temp Ridley uh I'd like to say congratulations um a lot of the times when you're a member of groups fraternal organizations whether you're Mason East star or part of panalin council a lot of times there's a lot of focus on the um the group and the exclusiveness of the group but we know that those groups are based in community service and that doesn't get recognized enough so I want you to know that uh we see you we know that you're here you're working in Jersey City you've been here um and you're going to continue to be here we're proud of you and thank you for all that you've done oh with that I vote I resolution 24- 586 is approved unanimously a with council president wman absent congratulations gentlemen okay I don't know who we're going to put on the spot but if someone would want to say few words uh oh we already got them chosen okay I just want to thank uh councilman uh Solomon uh for this um this award I'd like to thank my brothers I couldn't do it without my brothers and you know uh Rivera oh Donald Mosby I'm Donald chunky Mosby um I just want to make it real short next week next Saturday we will be at Lincoln Park from 12: to 5:00 handing out backpacks to the kids it'll be our 20 first anniversary and we will be handing out backpacks um with supplies in them next Saturday so uh bring your kids come on out and um and fellowship uh again thank you we will be back we will be back guys stay there one second come we come down council's going to come down and take a quick picture with the gentlemen what's up yes sir thank you sir thank you congratulations thank you I'm oh there you go that's how I know you thank you that's very much for you congratulations thank you all right as we are waking making our way back to our seats and can congratulating the gentlemen we do want to get back to our agenda which is a hefty agenda so with that being said I am going to go on to our first second reading ordinance item 4.1 city ordinance 24- 060 is an ordinance supplementing chapter 332 vehicles and traffic article traffic regulations amending section motion made by council person Solomon to close the public hearing on city ordinance 24- 060 may I have a second second oh there they go now they're woke now they're woke so I'm gonna give that to council president protemp Ridley seemed like she was the loudest on the motion to close the public hearing on city ordinance 24- 060 council person priner Hi council person bajano Hi council person SLE stepped away stepped away council person Solomon hi council person Gilmore hi council person Dees council person Rivera Ste away Ste away too they like to sneak out all right and council president protemp Ridley I motion carries 60 to close a public hearing on city ordinance 24- 060 would council member C Riva and council president wman absent for final consideration and Adoption of city ordinance 24 d060 council person priner I council person Bano I council person CLE he St away okay sorry council person Solomon hi council person Gilmore I council person Dees I council person Rivera he stepped he's I got right here and council president Pro Temp Ridley I city ordinance 24-6 is adopted 70 with council members SLE and council president wman absent on to our next second reading ordinance item 4.2 city ordinance 24- 061 is an ordinance supplementing chapter 332 vehicles and traffic article three parking standing stopping amending section 332 d241 limited duration parking along Mary Avenue and Williams Avenue this is a public hearing on this ordinance any member of the public wishing to be heard please come up to the podium motion motion to close the public hearing on TW on ordinance 24- 061 was made by council person Riva second seconded by council person CLE on the motion to close the public hearing on city ordinance 24- 061 council person priner Hi council person bajano Hi council person c i council person Solomon I council person Gilmore I council person Dees council person rera I and council president Pro Temp Ridley I motion to close the public hearing on ordinance 24- 061 carries 80 with council president wman absent the final consideration and Adoption of city ordinance 24- 061 council person priner I just want to thank the division of traffic and TR planning for continuing to work with my office and the residents on mallerie Avenue to make the necessary tweaks um with the changes we've made in the roadway I vote I Council council person Bano I council person SLE I council person Solomon I council person Gilmore I council person Dees council person Rivera hi and council president prot temp Ridley hi city ordinance 24- 061 is adopted 80 with council president wman absent before I move on to the next second reading ordinance council person SLE would you like to cast your vote on ordinance 24- 060 I thank you very much and if I can just recap the ordinance on the vote city ordinance 24- 060 is now adopted 80 with council person Waterman absent on to our next second reading ordinance item 4.3 city ordinance 24062 is an ordinance supplementing chapter 332 vehicles and traffic article 9 parking for the disabled of the Jersey city code designated a reserve parking space at various locations throughout the city this is a public hearing on this or any member of the public wishing to be heard please come up to the podium and state your name for the record motion second motion to close the public hearing on city ordinance 24- 062 was made by council person Rivera seconded by council person CLE on the motion to close the public hearing on city ordinance 24- 062 council person priner Hi council person Bano hi council person SLE I council person Solomon hi council person Gilmore I Council person Dees I council person rera I and council president protemp Ridley I motion carries 80 to close the public hearing on city ordinance 24062 with councel President wman absent for final consideration and Adoption of city ordinance 24- 062 council person priner Hi council person bajano Hi council person SLE hi council person Solomon I council person hi council person Dees council person Rivera I and council president Pro Temp Ridley I city ordinance 24- 062 is adopted 80 with council president Waterman absent on to our next second reading ordinance item 4.4 city ordinance 24- 063 is an ordinance supplementing chapter 332 vehicles and traffic article 8 Park permit parking amending section 332-5800 zones to extend parking Zone to to include Newark Avenue and Senate place and Tunnell Avenue this is a public hearing on this ordinance any member of the public wishing to be heard please come up to the podium and state your name for the record motion SE motion to close the public hearing on city ordinance 24- 063 was made by council person rera seconded by council person Cay on the motion to close the public hearing on city ordinance 24- 063 council person Prince I council person bajano I council person SLE I council person Solomon I council person Gilmore I council person Dees council person Rivera I and council president Pro Temp Ridley I motion to close the public hearing on city ordinance 24- 063 is approved 80 with council president Wardman absent for final consideration and Adoption of city ordinance 24- 063 council person Prince Ary hi council person Bano hi council person CLE I council person Solomon hi council person Gilmore I council person Dees council person Rivera I and council president protemp Ridley I city ordinance 24- 063 is adopted 80 for council president wman absent on to our next second reading ordinance it item 4.5 city ordinance 24- 064 is an ordinance amending ordinance 23- 093 and authorizing the execution of Three Financial agreements this is a public hearing on this ordinance any member of the public wishing to be heard please come up to the podium and state your name for the record motion second motion to close the public hearing on city ordinance 24- 064 was made by council person Riva seconded by council person C on the motion to close the public hearing on city ordinance 24- 064 council person priner I council person buano Hi council person SLE I council person Solomon hi council person Gilmore I council person Dees council person Rea I and council president protemp Ridley I motion carries 80 with council president wman absent to close the public hearing on city ordinance 24 there 064 for final consideration and Adoption of city ordinance 24- 064 council person priner Hi council person buano I council person CLE I council person Solomon hi council person Gilmore I council person Dees council person Rea hi and council president protemp Ridley I city ordinance 24- 064 is adopted 80 with council president wman absent on to our next and final ordinance item 4.6 city ordinance 24- 065 is an ordinance Amendment to the Journal Square 2060 Redevelopment plan regarding inclusion of a mandatory affordable housing requirement along with updates to some bulk signage and use standards Sean can can I read something first before we go into before we call the public hearing the councilman would like to read something into the record go ahead council person council president pro and Council Members First I want to thank my Council Partners councilman SLE and council person Prince Ary and all the council members for their support for the past two years before you is a mandatory Amendment on affordable housing for the Journal Square Redevelopment plan if you vote Yes today then affordable housing will begin tomorrow this is the first of its kind in a Redevelopment plan if you vote no then you are voting against affordable housing everyone agrees that this affordable housing in is needed and that the city can give the bonus density in districts 1 and three what everyone has learned is that not all districts are alike and should not be treated the same we must work together with City Planning with all of the residents with stakeholders and this with city council let's not work against each other let's work together as this amendment passes I also have an untime resolution on the agenda for city planning to properly study and amend the journal Square Redevelopment plan this is what city planning wanted to do in the first place issues such as parking remapping Corner bonuses and among other things will now have the chance to be addressed if you vote Yes tonight you will be supporting a first mandatory affordable housing amendment in a Redevelopment plan in Jersey City thank you okay so I believe there are quite a few number of people looking to speak on this ordinance if you can just line up in an orderly manner I greatly appreciate it and when you are about to speak if you can spell your name into the record before you start speaking I will not start your clock until your name is completely spelled and you start your first line so with that being said I'm going to turn it over to our first Speaker let me get the camera on you guys I am Michael Aron uh chairman of the affordable housing task force of the journal City Community Association nice to see you all again Michael if you can just spell your name before you start HR M Ann it I have no disagreement with the councilman that this is legislation that is very significant uh it started in our association back in December of 20 uh 21 has winded its way through but remarkably the original intentions and the main Provisions remain the same today and if and when passed this resolution will become a locally born uh Jersey City IO I've told many of you that uh we started this because we proceed correctly that the is would not work in our neighborhood in fact I hear it's not working in a lot of neighborhoods because it was developed from plans down south and now we when you do pass this it will now be available not just to to Journal Square but also to other neighborhoods but we have a Feelgood feel bad story tonight for our association because as you know at this point this is uh provision is here for only two districts uh joural square has 13 districts six of them are not applicable to this law seven are potentially and this resolution tonight is for two of them the those two districts represent um 23% of the entire area and they represent 30% of the seven districts that are applicable within one and three because they're heavily developed we see that 10% of properties would actually be affected of the whole Redevelopment area would be actually affected by this uh that is not insignificant but it is far from the 75% that could be covered by this um how did this happen I remember sitting being on the telephone with the councilman on uh Wednesday April 3rd discussing with great happiness a plan to go forward for a resolution on April 10th uh I thought that at 11:00 a.m. I was told at 2:00 there was going to be delayed and I was told a week later that 4 and 4 a would be dropped and later that um uh that much later that five seven and eight would be dropped so now we have this dilemma do we are we happy about what we've got here or are we unhappy about all that has to be done my recommendation city council is this if you are willing to give us as much attention as you've given before to perfecting this in the next few months vote Yes for this if you are not going to give us the attention and my association's afraid of this turn it down thank you Michael your time is up thank you our next speaker Le ver Webb Washington you know I'm tired this is a shame what we seeing here tonight I turned 76 couple weeks ago we've been fighting for affordable housing for so long it started right down here when we built Newport all down here we demanded affordable housing on the first five floors and then Apartments down here in Newport or affordable I keep telling you people this then I got people been living down here 40 years right down here around the corner we let people come in here build these skyscrapers and we don't demand no affordable hous I did two buildings up in Ward F I ain't make no money you know what I sleep good at night that I know 80 people can lay their head down and affordable howling it ain't about the money it's about people living in this city having somewhere to stay we running people out of here and letting other folks come in here it's it's not right we laid down plans and I used to go to Washington DC with the affordable housing Coalition we had the Hudson County affordable Coalition what's going on we shouldn't be at this point with all these people wor about up here in J Square it's all over the city C I keep tell we got to do better we got to let some rules down y'all people laugh at me when I say New York New Jersey landwise it's bigger New Jersey City population wide we are we done went up in the sky they don't give up the right numbers for this city no more about how many people here this is a disgrace that we're not demanding these developers to put affordable housing back in this city people worked here live here look at that man up there that Cil up here J Square I knew all my life he walked the streets and laugh he at mapel pafic he know me as a young lady a baby we let it have this we had to fight for people to stay here thank you our next speaker Tom zuper Zu PPA all right good evening council members Tom zupa president of the Journal Square Community Association which uh the councilman forgot to thank as one of his partners for their work our work for the last two years uh not only in the speech tonight but also some of the correspondents which has been going out to our community members I had a longer speech prep prepared but let's get right to the point we ask not we ask this Council not to vote no tonight to give us one month of time to get back to the table and work with the councilman and planning for this reason 76% of Journal Square will be excluded by having only districts one and three in this ordinance out of the remaining area only 10% of that land is eligible for affordable housing this is an opportunity we cannot miss to help thousands of residents who are screaming and begging for this Council to give affordable housing and if I anticipate you say well we'll come back and work with you well we're still waiting for updates to the inclusionary zoning ordinances around the city residents are still waiting and you can ask yourselves why are certain people Cho at the bit to put in proposals for development in one and three and then waiting for more zones to be included and importantly if our aim is to protect one to two family homes and neighborhoods nothing about limiting this ordinance accomplishes that if we look at Pine Avenue which is District 4A the same zoning District as the hilltop where councilman banana lives a 67 unit building was approved with zero affordable units and on Baldwin Avenue with 2400 units in the pipeline zero affordable and that's District Four another District that will be excluded this is an easy fix which is why I asked you for a couple weeks to get back to the table we don't need to go back to the drawing board go back to planning an easy fix to fix to protect one to two family homes by putting in a square footage restriction as of the date of Passage you can pick 5,000 ft 7,500 Square F feet so that developers can't consolidate those lots after today or after the next meeting and protect the one to two family homes to my our community leaders and partners this doesn't affect anything beyond Journal Square doesn't go to McGinley Square doesn't go to the heights beond 139 now while saying that I as personally we as an association want to destroy one to two family homes makes for a good political sound bite it's BS and untrue we don't mess around with residents livelihoods in Journal Square and we put people over politics thank you next speaker hello good evening Katie Brennan b r n n an thank you thank you hello everyone I'm Katie I'm glad to be back here with you all I'm a w c resident and I think it's important to stress tonight that I'm also a homeowner of a one family home and I agree that the fearmongering about this is BS and I enthusiastically support homes affordable homes in every Zone my home touches Zone 8 District 8 of The Journal Square 2060 Redevelopment plan District 8 for reasons unknown was dropped from this ordinance since we've introduced these resolutions hundreds possibly thousands of new units just since we introduced this a few months ago have been approved with no affordable housing buildings 100 200 300 units large no affordable units including several right around my block in zone 8 since we began working on this initiative three years ago there have been thousands zones one and three are almost completely developed it's basically the land on top of the Trin so let's just stick to my immediate neighborhood for the moment 67% of the developable Lots in zone 8 are 5,000 square ft or larger 50% are over 7500 Square ft we're not talking about single family homes we are talking about large developable spaces that are going to get large buildings whether or not any of this passes the development is here it's happening and so the choice is simple do you want Jersey City to be a beautiful diverse City racially and economically or not do you want young families public servants or fixed income seniors to be able to stay in Jersey City or not either way the high-rise development happens nothing we're considering tonight changes that no matter what zones are included the development still happens I'd say that if you pass one and three the councilman is right we don't go another day without having that affordable housing and our shared commitment to affordability but this is an important precedent that can be replicated across the city the work is not done as I just outlined the majority of the developable land in the Journal Square Redevelopment zone is well outside of one in three so we will be back and if we do not expand this to all zones We are failing our community so I look forward to continuing to work with you and the planning department so we can get this right thank you you our next speaker Edward Perkins you need the spelling of I do not oh okay thank you um so affordable housing the last time I came up and spoke on an ordinance for affordable housing was when the Bayfront was passing and it past and the good great historic Bayfront development plan uh Jersey City together and New Jersey together um a lot of good work there 35% affordable housing right right so when I read this I'm like okay at least 30 Mr bajano at least I mean can can we start there or do better like any development in your war or you know anything that you would support outside of your War should be at least at least 35% or better and like um our Auntie said Miss lne like why are you not asking for more from developers like we need more I stand here as a black man I'm always down here on record because people of color and especially black people hurt the most we own the wealth Gap we own me my people we own the least it's harder for us to rent than anybody and in Jersey City that's true the mayor this Administration would make Jersey City your own has failed us okay disproportionately harmed us more than anybody I hate what I read on social media about you and your support in these new and every de almost every new development going up with zero affordable housing units do you really deserve our support because you're running again this is in your War do you deserve this the the the people's support I urge you to at least vote no because you have to meet with the people of the public this is indicative of what happened with this body with the ccrt an embarrassment as it was reported okay so everything uh is going through but in the end there was no Community involvement in your plan moving forward for our mental health response you if you can just state your name and spell it for me I greatly appreciate it sure uh my name is Chris lamb L mm thank you Chris thank you uh good evening um the affordable housing ordinance that's on the agenda tonight is an important First Step uh and we thank the council uh for uh considering it and for talking with us over the past couple of years about it and giving at your attention um and to City Planning planning board and people in the community who have participated in a variety of ways uh in getting us here but let's be clear about this that it's a baby step and until we expand this to cover more of the Redevelopment plan area there's more work to do to facilitate affordable housing in Journal Square as we've discussed previously zones one and three are a tiny fraction of the Redevelopment area and they're largely built out or have approved plans already that really only leaves about 8% 7.68 to be exact of Journal Square where this is applicable meanwhile new proposals keep coming in in zones 4 4 a 5 8 these zones make up more than 53% of the Redevelopment plan area and a lot of these are small scale projects but some of them are big in these zones Big Lots mean big buildings and more than a million square feet of land area in these zones are on large Lots where large buildings are allowed to be built buildings in zone 4 with Corner bonuses or whole lot bonuses will be able to build hundreds of UN units in 20 plus story buildings and for now no affordable units would be required and that's simply unacceptable so while this is an important First Step let's not rest on laurels here our members have asked for affordable housing to be included in all major projects over 30 units in Journal Square this ordinance falls short of that goal we have a lot of work to do and every month we delay that work is another large building approved with 100% market rate luxury units affordable housing should be in every large building regardless of which zone it's in this should apply in all the redevelop zones not just to 8% of Journal Square like the signs over here say we need affordable homes in every zone so let's keep momentum moving forward and do that for Journal Square thank you our next speaker good evening Sean Kevin Bing Ding thank you good evening Council uh I am here urging you to vote Yes on this ordinance but with deep reservations um I don't think I need to explain to anybody speaking at this day or on the other side um that our region is in a housing crisis for years we've created more jobs than housing which is put the squeeze on the number of homes in our community and driven up rents I've seen it firsthand seniors being forced out of communities they help build residents living in substandard conditions and as we all know there's a crisis of homelessness that's on the rise I actually have a house on my block that is a one family with two bedrooms in it um and there are nine names on the mailbox I ask you where are those people living you think they're living in good standard housing that's up to code despite all this I am urging you to vote Yes on the ordinance it's a compromised position that is spoiling a project that has been um in the works not just for years with you council person bajano but as other Advocates can speak for decades um that said and and I think that we've come to a compromise on a sliver of land in the Journal Square plan so small that already has projects approved so this affordable housing mandate won't requ won't add anything that said it I think that this law will have great meaning to the individuals who ultimately move into those affordable units and as the council person said this can begin tomorrow um for that reason I urge you to vote Yes and I would urge everyone in the room to see this as a pilot project this is the first we've done um on a Redevelopment plan in the community and I think uh we need to take this as a pilot project and build on it once the city is ready to get serious and put affordable homes in all zones thank you next speaker good evening uh Charles Harrington of Connell Foley I'm here tonight because uh some of my clients uh who own property within zones one and three have asked me to to uh appear um to to uh extend their support for the order before you tonight uh they um they own property that's undeveloped within one and three right now and and certain of these Parcels they they have been looking at this and tracking it and and and seeing that this could be an opportunity to to create you know uh projects with the affordable housing uh um consistent with these Provisions um and you know some of them we've been working with the the councilman uh and the planning office and I've been in some of the meetings with the community members over the last uh over a year uh so we're you know we we were proposing similar amendments and and language that that you see tonight um you know some of which is like the the square footage uh uh um B accommodation within the ordinance I mean that's something that you know our our opinion from our our experts was that maybe it needs to be a little bit higher not the 5,000 square ft maybe seven but we think that'll be kind of flushed out in the future and and see see what happens and whether more tweaks are or are required or not because you at the end of the day uh uh the project needs to work right uh it needs to be you know something with affordable housing and something that as I've communicated to the councilman's office and the community members uh some of the community members you know you need it needs an incentive that that works on both sides uh of the table to to move forward so we're hoping it works and but in short we uh my clients um support this I also though I have other clients uh who own properties in in uh zones four and five and Corner properties in in zone four that would also like similar amendments and language for those properties so I I know you have the resolution on uh for later tonight and and the councilman said that's to open up the plan again and I would encourage uh you know the council to to to look at that and I know planning and and the councilmen and the community can can work through that uh to try to you know find the appropriate properties and are uh in in the Journal Square area where where this could work as well because I I iess said I have I have property owners and clients that that want to see that uh and we have had these discussions but you know we encourage the council you know to move forward tonight with this you know it's this first step but I'd also encourage uh all involved to take take another look uh at at the rest of the area that what may be appropriate so that this can continue the momentum you okay our next speaker yall doing um first of all no we need affordable housing in the community y already know that I don't know why y'all playing games with these people this is not a clown show y'all know what's going on in the community y see the homeless what y'all talkinging about 2500 I work at Jeffy Walker every day somebody come and looking for apartment I go over that list the rent start at 2000 education when you know it cuz we about to live in your basement like that man said nine people on the mailbox we going to be 25 on your block you already know that come on we got to stop playing these Gams we need affordable housing for our community we don't need no developments coming in here telling us how to run our community y'all know that y'all walk in the community stop letting these people come in your community telling yall what y'all need that's all I got to say thank you Tina was Tina NS Ron Ron simonini uh Sean uh Jersey City Property Owners Association Ron if you could just spell your name for the record for our court reporter m o n c n thank you so much I'm gonna be brief not as brief or as impactful as the previous speaker th this is the oddest hearing I've been to in a long time because you don't hear people saying vote no and vote Yes exclusively a few people have done that most people are saying vote more vote later vote more carefully um but I think from the Property Owners Association point of view our our cohort is the rent control properties we want to alleviate pressure on the rent control properties and the only way to do that is to build more housing and if the cohort of uh the new development includes a a a a com affordable housing in the ratios that have been proposed here that of course is something we support our concern is that even though there's a resolution to do more more is hard to do oftentimes people end a race and what do they do they're out of breath and they want to catch their breath first and they don't start another race for a long time and that's our worry our worry isn't that this ordinance doesn't do something it should do I think I Echo a lot of speakers who've already said that it does something it should do but does it do it in a way that makes it harder to do more later or that starts a different conversation or that ends up with multiple agendas being concerned and considered here and I don't I don't begrudge anybody their agenda because obviously we have one too oftentimes we're up here talking about how we want the rank control cohort to be regulated and that's a very comfortable space for us this space is not as comfortable and I think probably many of you who read the recent emails I sent you recognized that we struggled to even figure out what to what we should do here and how we should do it and I think a lot of that also is out of respect uh for councilman buano who has had a fantastic career and made awesome contributions to the city and no one wants a second guess him and I'm not second guessing him here I can't say yes or no either I can say I would love it if there would be some more time in order to let the other districts and the other properties adjacent to the one and three be considered maybe that can't happen maybe it can I certainly expressed our concerns about whether or not uh some of the standards for considering this would have been met I were read all the wear asses in today's ordinance and all the wear ases tell me I shouldn't be worried about that that all the do eyes have been Dot and all the teas have been crossed and so maybe I shouldn't be worried about it and and I hate to have such a mey mouthed lame non-committed position here but that only says to me is it really have to happen tonight um so I wish you luck with this we support it in the sense that we want more affordable housing but we'd like it to more affordable housing really thank you Ron okay our next speaker if you can state your name and spell your name for the record I greatly appreciate it good evening I'm Jessica sha J S I K A and S a ah thank you thank you and good evening everyone for your time and effort to help the community uh I'm a resident of j3 for past 37 years and I'm also real estate agent I do support development but I think it should be balanced uh councilman bajo mandator ask developers in district one and three of Redevelopment area to build affordable housing people are being pushed out of JAL square area because of overdevelopment and high rent uh we need affordable housing and I know Mr bajano is working on this issue for a long time uh I understand that in order to affordable housing the amendment had to provide accommodation in the form of the bonuses and and the final plan offers 5,000 put in bonus density for each affordable housing unit that means the developers can build more than they permitted I am also active in Indian Community and I think we need to you know protect India square uh council member General has resolution on the agenda for city planning to study the general Square Redevelopment plan I know there there have been other issues such as parking and mapping that came up in the community meetings but I urge you and request all the council member to say yes for affordable housing thank you okay our next speaker if you can state your name and spell your name for me I greatly appreciate it uh good evening I'm vasiliki fanga I've been talking with Portside T Towers before it's v a SS i l i k i and then f l n g thank you and I'm Val for most of the people uh I'm coming here impromtu because I heard gentleman in the green shirt and I said I would speak um so I don't have all the facts but in 1998 when I got a job as a professor assistant professor I moved to Journal Square what is now called Journal squared and where I paid 750 a month that I thought was very expensive now a studio there cost 3,300 I'm a mother of an African-American daughter I want diversity in this city I was I mean my partner at this time he was looking at the path and the people coming out of the path and he said this is like United Nations and I loved that I I always love that about this city and this gentrification where because I lived in Manhattan also where you see all white people in the evening and all diverse people during the day because they're doing the work for the white people I cannot stand it anymore it's not not fair you need the the diversity in this city and that's all I have to say because I don't have any more facts but I'm in support of this group and I'm in support of affordable housing thank you thank you next speaker you can just state your name and spell your name for the record my name is Amanda derario I'll spell it a m a n d a last name t a d d a r i o a r i e o a r IO a r iio sorry thank you um I'm a professional planner here on behalf of Journal Square Community Association um through Council we submitted our preliminary planning report to the city council which we would like to incorporate by reference and include within this record we will not read it in verbatim here but we'll try to to express our main points within this testimony as pointed out in our report there are both procedural and substantive issues within the ordinance as proposed as planners and we as people here we strongly support and appreciate and encourage all efforts to incorporate affordable housing whenever possible however the proposed amendment to exempt affordable housing in 10 of the 13 zones appears to be more restrictive than it is inclusive the purpose of the amendment to mandate affordable housing is to provide ample opportunities for mixed income housing and create affordable units that align with state laws case law and the objectives of the master and me development plan both the master plan and the land use element adopted in 2021 emphasized the importance of creating inclusive Equitable Community with diverse housing options the master plan specific specifically States on page 60 that the city should strengthen policy and zoning regulations to prioritize affordability in future development and growth especially in areas where development pressures overlap with socially vulnerable populations the proposed ordinance Amendment to the 2060 Journal Square Redevelopment plan would restrict affordable housing options by limiting the applicability of accommodations like increased height allowance F and gross square feet to only zones one the core Zone and three the neighborhood commercial Zone there is much less land to develop in zones 1 and three than the actual land area due to the existing path Transportation Center and the Hudson County Community College campus so only focusing this ordinance on these areas ignores any other zones where affordable housing options may be necessary and in areas where there are to quote the master plan socially vulnerable populations in a June 10th 2024 memorandum planning director Tanya Mar noted that zones 4 and 4 a represent 42.7% of the entire Redevelopment plan she then questions is it correct to exempt over 40% of the plan and then still meet this purpose as this is the first of its kind it will set precedents for regulations to follow and as a professional planner I believe that exempting all but two of the 13 zones from affordable housing accommodations contradicts the intentions of the master plan the land use plan and the Redevelopment plan it would be recommended to evaluate either all zones as a whole or each Zone individually to establish appropriate affordable housing regulations that would more closely align with the stated purpose of the ordinance as well thank you Amanda our next speaker if you can spell your name for us yes good evening everyone Jennifer maway M A Za a w y w w y I'm attorney with the law firm KL Gates and I'm here this evening on behalf of the Journal Square Community Association um I'd like to speak just to supplement the record with regard to correspondence from my office that was sent to Council on August 6th and the planning report just alluded to of August 9th um as you know from working with the association for many years and as you've heard here this evening the association has always been supportive of affordable housing opportunities within the Journal Square 2060 Redevelopment plan area and be beond that support continues today do not be misled we are not asking this Council to vote no on this ordinance however we are requesting that the council table this current proposed ordinance for two very good reasons one there are procedural problems with the defeat of ordinance 24- 056 which was the more inclusive affordable housing ordinance and the introduction and passage of this ordinance 24-65 that we believe could threaten the ordinance Effectiveness and two there are substantive issues with excluding almost 60% of the plan area from this ordinance not only does the does the ordinance exclude almost 60% of the plan area from this ordinance but as you've heard the 40% that is included is not actually developable in that way in part because of the significant land mass taken up by the PATH station and the Hudson County Community College within zones 1 and three at its July 10th meeting the council summarily denied ordinance 24- 056 without public hearing and then went on to introduce this ordinance without uh referring it to the planning board for consistency review if it had it is likely that the planning board would have found inconsistencies with its master plan goals of creating meaningful affordable housing opportunities and would have suggested amendments as it did with ordinance 24- 056 this is an opportunity for this Council to enact real meaningful affordable housing legislation while also considering the councilman's stated concerns it's accomplished by getting back to the table with the community stakeholders take the month now to draft real affordable housing legislation that is procedurally proper meets the goals of the master plan meets federal state and local uh requirements regarding affordable housing and brings together all stakeholders it will be time well spent and it will allow the ensuing ordinance to be legally sustainable thank you you if you can just say your name and spell it for me please so my name is Miriam tus m i r i a m last name t a w you're going way too fast Sor slow down a little bit last name t a w f i l s thank you perfect thank you dear council members thank you for giving me the the opportunity to speak with you today I'm here to urge you to vote Yes on the second reading of councilman Ban's mandatory amendment in the Journal Square Redevelopment plan as a lifelong resident of Jersey City and a member of the Bergen Square Community I have witnessed firsthand the impacts of our developments on our neighborhoods I am actively involved in both my Egyptian Coptic community and the Jersey City Public Schools and I have seen how the rapid development can affect our community councilman bajano has been a dedicated supporter of our community for over 20 years he understands the need for a balanced approach to development that considers both progress and the well-being of the existing residents right now our communities within the Journal Square and Bergen Square regions are experiencing the adverse effects of overdevelopment with many lifelong residents being pushed out due to these Rising costs we need affordable housing but it must be achieved thoughtfully I recognize that the incentive for developers such as bonus density can encourage the creation of affordable units however this needs to be managed carefully City Planning currently allows 5,000 ft bonus density per affordable housing unit which means developers can build taller buildings than previously permitted while this is appropriate in areas with existing tall structures like districts 1 and 3 it may not be suitable everywhere in our community located in district 7 and 8 we have had concerns with recent developments for instance a proposed high density project on 829 Bergen Avenue was met with resistance from our community and local leaders including some Council people unfortunately the developers plan was approved and then sold off the next month this raises the question of the trustworthiness of some of these developers if bonus densities are applied indiscriminately we risk allowing developments that may not align with community's needs I am also aware that councilman Bano has a resolution on the agenda for City Planning and further study of the Journal Square Redevelopment plan the study could address various issues including our parking and Zoning concerns this resolution would allow for a thorough examination while the second ordinance Amendment on affordable housing still proceeds in conclusion I just wanted to urge you to support the second reading ordinance of councilman Ban's at atory affordable housing please vote Yes to provide necessary bonus densities in districts 1 and 3 ensuring that affordable housing can begin promptly thank you all for your attention and support tonight thank you our next speaker you can state your name and spell your name I greatly appreciate it asman ghani spelling o s m a n g a n i thank you dear council member thank you for your time and support to the community you all very special to me I always wanted to thank councilman bojano for always helping president in the community please vote s on the second reading of the councilman Bojo's mandatory amendment in J Square Redevelopment plan I have been in the Jersey City for over 31 plus years my children were educated and bought up in here one of my son is a doctor and my dad one of my dad daughter is a director for one of the biggest company so also I am Hudson County Committee Member and I work for the city for the court compliance as a inspector I owned few properties in a general Square Redevelopment area in the district 8 cilman Bo General mandatory Amendment as developer in district one and three of we need affordable housing and I know councilman bojano has been working very hard on this issue for a long time I'm also active in the Indian Community plus I always serve and a give service for the community in the indan citizen and any part of Newark Avenue they need help I'm always there as a Committee Member I also see the councilman bojano has a resolution on the agenda for the city planning study the general Square Redevelopment plan I know that these have been other issues this resolution can continue to study of the Redevelopment plans while the second reading ordinance Amendment on affordable housing can start now in conclusion council member please vote s on the councilman V Janos Amendment so that affordable housing can start now thank you for your time appreciate all your help to the community thank you good night thank you our next speaker uh my name is Chris sh you you have to bring the mic up to you hi my name is Chris sha can you spell your name please x i a o did you get it last name x i a o s x x sorry yeah sorry I've been waiting for t on that almost Ru my voice okay um I'm I'm not an expert in the affordable housing projects actually I was not prepared to talk in this but then after listening to so many people talking about this I think this has been a failure project anyway in the last few years or maybe 10 years I don't know but I do have a a single bedroom apartment in Journal Square and two years ago I have my tenants coming from New York and they rent dat is a $2,800 a month coming to Jersey City they save 300 bucks but in the from 2017 to to now my property tax increased from $6,000 to $88,000 now tell me how can I make it possible for these people to stay on the same rent I probably have to increase it to $2,800 a month and that will take them out back to New York or maybe somewhere else outside Jersey City or New Jersey so my suggestion is that before you talking about any affordable housing projects you should make the housing affordable to regular people as well not just the those lowincome people reduce your tax property tax reduce your spending cumman you are get paid by the tax payers to do your jobs if the review in the last few years you haven't get a Project's working fine and then you see all this tall building in the joural square area that means the developer they also they have to somehow digest those attack cost to make a building even bigger more condensed more luxury and driving all the regular people out of the Town that's all what what is your first name Chris Chris thank you our next speaker good evening Sonia kesna s o NJ a k i r s c h n e r you know that Sean right go ahead good evening everyone I just wanted to say real quick to the people who are concerned about having affordable housing in their neighborhoods we at Portside witness every single day who the people are we should be really scared of it's this Super Rich developers and the greedy landlords the they mistreat people every single day they don't communicate through the most dangerous emergencies like fires in floods you will hear more about that later from the port Siders of course they force people out of their homes these are the people we should be scared of not the people on the receiving end of affordable housing as a daughter of a mom and pop landlord who try to do their best best to make housing affordable for everyone I can tell you low income does not equal delinquent for the super on the other side we have a ton of evidence here in JY City what their behavior does to the city and its people thank you our next speaker if you can hi my name is Nishan shaso and I s h a n t and last name is s r i v a s t a v a that's right thank you you hear it sorry I got to spell it again for my core reporters last name is s r i v a s t a VA that's correct go ahead sir first of all thank thank you so much for um councilman giving me such an opportunity to talk about it and it has been seriously a pleasure and honor to speak in front of you and talking about some serious issues which is happening in Jersey City right now let me take a step back like been in Jersey City from last six years um the situation was really different than which is now and it's all changed because of the all the housing prices which has been shed up like which is really not affordable for the people like you know who is average scale in earning right which is average scale of earning which is 87,000 and right right if you look at it if the general the prices which is in Jersey City for the one bedroom apartment which is in good condition I mean it's going to be at least $2,000 which is almost 50% of the earning which we are doing right now as an average so my question and then probably the the one suggestions to all councilman to please say yes to this amendment I do see a wonderful initiative which has been taken by Mr Bano it is going to help to the common people it's going to help to everyone who is there as part of one Jersey City one Unity we are talking about diversity and inclusion we are not talking about diversity and exclusion we want the people to be there in Jersey City with us not without us we cannot live with all people without us New Jersey is a Garden State it's not something God has made this Garden State it is something the people who live in City they make it a Garden State it's very important to not to walk in the garden but also see the effort which has been happening in Garden across to maintain it to serve it that's one of the example now it it is also very important for the people to understand affording houses is a great opportunity for living in together being unit being together and then inclusion start with word I it has to start within themsel that's where we are I'm trying to take an help from you and say hey say yes to this vote now I'm I'm actually living with my my wife and my kid and it is very important for me also to give them a good life the place where I'm living right now it is good to live but can it be better yes it can be better can I afford it I cannot afford it I'm sorry for that and this is where I need support from the official like you to make this Jersey City a affordable place by providing some of these kind of amendments to make Jersey City liveable for all common people thank you my name is Sonia Smith that's s o n i a s SM i t h okay um good evening everyone I actually came here for another issue but I guess this is the right time and the right place when certain things is going on and I think I'm a prime example of why affordable housing is needed um currently I live in Kevy Woods public housing authority I've been there for 12 years I used to live in booger public housing 12 years ago I actually make $7 and some change more now than I did back then and I can't afford no other housing I live with two grown children my daughters one is disabled she's 27 she has sick and C disease we in a twostory apartment the bedrooms are upstairs uh 50% chance uh 50% times she have to stay downstairs because of going back and up the steps um is applications in for change nothing has happened my other daughter is in NJCU right now she chose to live on campus so she could study on her Masters while she's in school because of the noise and living in public housing but unfortunately we can't afford our own place separately so we have to live together I'm 51 years old I don't want to live with no grown kids but quote unquote public housing won't give us a split cuz they don't have no kids and other people say well you lucky because you in a four bedroomroom no I'm not lucky my great aunt died 12 years ago they still in mve me so I'm paying between $2 and $400 extra every single month because I'm in a four bedroom but I don't want to be there I have no choice but to live there now if we go back to my daughter lives on campus last year June July and August my rent was $251 because they counted her income because her College um letter stated school starts in June but you uh uh no you had to live on campus I'm I'm gonna stop you one second I'm gonna stop your time for a second so this public hearing is strictly on this ordinance I know you're listed as a speaker um that's the time to bring up the what you're bringing up now I we have to actually stay on the subject and I I know you're subject is very important and I know you want to broadcast that but you have to stay on the subject of the ordinance in order to speak during the public hearing of the ordinance okay sorry so I ended with saying I'm a prime example why is needed thank you Michael Manzo MN zo lifelong Jersey City resident good evening council members friends enemies neighbors uh I'm here tonight because we're in the middle of a lot of development okay but we have to remember not only we give approval to development the way they portray their development is just as important because it's not the development that makes Jersey City great it's the people that have lived here for a long time and putting up one new building if they take away our parking spaces they close out our street with all their Furniture their equipment all over they start at 5:00 in the morning they line out streets with hundreds of cement trucks they work on weekends they work at times where they shouldn't and we don't do anything about it one good development doesn't help any of our neighborhoods become any better the next thing I want to say is affordability affordable housing although there's a formula there at the rate we're going we should raise the minimum wage to about $35 for the residents of Jersey City to be part of this affordable housing we have to do something to tweak it so more of Jersey City could stay in Jersey City so this development benefits Jersey City not every project Works in every area of the city and I appreciate the opportunity to work with many groups council members in the past where the numbers don't tell you the story it's the neighborhood it's the people that tell you yeah it's a goal or it's not a goal I think it's a dual track and since we've had the opportunity to meet with many of the people that want to come to our city the great City we have the opportunity for dialogue and now is the time where we can ask and receive to better our neighborhoods better our communities there are a lot of factors that make a decision a smart decision we have to look at the planning the infrastructure the schools traffic flow a lot of different things at this time we have a start we have a plan in motion I say let's approve this plan let's move forward and let's use intelligence to plan our next move after this approval thank you thank you our next speaker good evening Wendy W and Dy Paul p and Peter a thank you with the Jersey City Apartment Owners Association good evening Council thank you very much for the opportunity to address you this evening in one of the rarest occasions the build Comm the Builder community and community members support the creation of affordable housing and actually have a common denominator with Community activists who are also here to support the creation of affordable housing one of the rarest occasions however where the ordinance falls short is the narrow selection of only zones 1 and three these set aside for uh for these set asdes and bonuses further the planning board's mandatory affordable housing requirements took into consideration both the need to create affordable units and create Economic Development opportunities for Builders to add to the much needed housing Supply legislation to limit the creation of housing to only two zones which in large part have already been spoken for by larger Builders will only continue to benefit the ex existing structures and the builders in the areas located closest to Jon Square path in the immediate area limiting the creation of additional housing is primary and arguably the most problematic issue with this ordinance skipping ahead as many other people here have already made the same statements of what challenges the creation of the additional to to the supply the creation of housing has greater benefits that extend far beyond the fabrication of units building units creates jobs and generates related Economic Development according to the National Association of builders for every 50 units buils nearly 60 jobs are created including 20 plus direct construction jobs and other jobs providing goods and services to the builders the incentives outlined in the mandatory affordable housing requirement makes the creation of housing possible even in this tight economic climate a vote on the ordinance is welcome only with the immediate introduction of the available zones in the joural Square 2060 plan to draw upon the benefits and incentives toward the creation of housing not just the prime locations near the path while leaving the rest of Journal Square behind a scheduled plan to phase in the remaining Zone should have been included with these amendments and must be introduced immediately at the next council meeting the application of these amendments to all available zones will spur not only the creation of Housing and additional incentive to voluntary to voluntarily contribute to the affordable housing Supply but also adds to the creation of jobs and economic development I urge the council rep to replicate the formula not only in joural square but eventually model it throughout the city thank you very much hey okay you're ready I am dear council president Pro Temp Ridley and council members thank you for all of your support and guidance on this two-year Journey it's been two years that councilman boano has been working on this now let me just tell you what this is because people seem to be confused this is mandatory affordable housing mandatory the first of its kind all throughout Jersey City mandatory that means all developers 30 units or more must build affordable housing okay no one is saying no to affordable housing everybody wants affordable housing this is the first time that we see mandatory affordable housing and I'm sorry Edward I could only get 10% I will keep on working on it with councilman boano I promise but mandat storry I'm going to say that 10 more times because it is a beautiful word word and it took us a long time now everybody does want affordable housing that's not the problem here what the problem that everybody is fighting for is bonus density that's the problem what is bonus density bonus density is the incentive for developers to build affordable housing it allows them to build taller okay it's a loophole so so if you can only build up to 10 floors if this was enacted in other districts instead of 10 floors it's now 20 residents all over Jersey City are fighting bonus density right councilman boiano created the development Watchdog group in the planning and zoning board meeting because we kept on seeing each other at meetings and fighting we never saw these guys because they love density right but town is fighting proposed Hotel height on New York Avenue the heights was fighting density on Palisades the church was fighting density on 829 Bergen Avenue sorry arvinger um but there's that's the fight there bonus density there are 12 districts in Journal Square Redevelopment plan and the councilman is proposing the plan that everybody supports everybody wants bonus development in districts one and three that is not uh in disagreement here everybody don't listen to the community partner who stopped being our community partner when they started fighting with us or they started fighting with City Planning or they didn't listen to the residents at the community please vote Yes and support mandatory affordable housing thank you motion to close okay okay hold on hold on everybody let's be respectful of one another I have to ask the question anyone would like to be heard because this is still a public hearing on city ordinance 24- 065 second motion to close made by council person Rivera seconded by council person Cay on the motion to close the public hearing on city ordinance 24- 065 council person princeeric Hi council person Bano hi council person SLE I council person Solomon I council person Gilmore I council person Dees I council person Rea I and council president protemp Ridley I motion to close the public hearing on city ordinance 24- 065 is approved 80 would council president wman absent for final consideration and Adoption of city ordinance 24065 council person Prince are um so first of all thank you to the number of groups that have been working on this plan over the last couple years the Journal Square Community Association councilman Boo's office um are sitting planning staff um and as you can see when we have these conversations about affordable housing and what it means it can get very contested whether it's inclusion or zoning ordinances or these amendments to the plan um I think that this is a good step forward with one and three I know it's a smaller part but it's also some of the places where people can build the tallest buildings so while 10% may be left the numbers were still going to work in community favor because they're going to be taller buildings altogether so more units more percentage of affordability you know is going to give is going to yield the same thing as if you were doing it in some of these zones that might have the ability to build to maybe eight or 10 stories but not go higher than that so um I think that this is also an interesting opportunity to do some things with our Redevelopment plans that we don't always do which is open them up and study them when they get close to the 10year mark our cities grow sometimes slowly and then sometimes very quickly Journal Square is a prime example of that I know in my own Ward we have a couple of zones that um are similar with situations where the difference between going to 10 stories and 17 stories is 250 ft right these things in City's grow and change need to be examined um I have worked with the councilman and with the leadership of some of these groups over the course of this time the commitment is there to continue to do so um over the next couple of weeks and possibly months as we look at other amendments once some of these studies are done I think that there are changes that can be made to these zones that will be able to capture the um the appetite for the affordable housing that we need um with also sort of thinking about the neighborhoods where they live so with that I vote I council person Bano over the past several years I've seen too many people have to move out of the city because they can't afford the rents it's about time we have some affordable housing I also want to preserve certain neighborhoods and keep the people here and well that issue comes up with taxes and everything but it's about time we have some affordable housing we have to keep are people here and maybe bring back some of the people that left the city I vote Yes council person SLE by God I done seen it all I swear to God they have the developers on one side of them the community and for once uh you guys seem to be in agreement over you know this plan this affordable housing plan and there are some folks that say you know first I just want to thank everyone that came out right like thank you to all those that spoke I know most of you and just really appreciate your voice and all your work that you've done throughout this whole process now this ordinance is essentially is not limiting anything it's creating an opportunity that never W never wouldn't have existed had it not been for councilman boano and the community and all the stakeholders coming together to push this now does it go far enough no I agree with you there however there there are certain things that we have to discuss as a community because if we just blank it put it out there this is a bonus density you know the issue is the bonus density so for every 1,000 square fet of affordable housing the developers can get 5,000 square ft in return and when you have one to two family homes and all of us sudden this Council passes something that says all of Journal Square now you can have this bonus density and where there used to be one to two families you can now build up to like 7 to 12 stories that is not really compatible with those particular Pockets within the community now I agree we need affordable housing I agree that this is a great first step a moonlanding moment for Journal Square and we should roll it out to other areas within Journal Square I think we should do it responsibly I think that uh council boano did put the resolution uh so that planning can study it and we're not done Michael you you said earlier like you know if we have the the stomach for this fight to continue to put our energy towards it you know and I can tell you that this Council you know with you we're we're here with you guys we're going to make it right we're going to work together so that we can expand affordable housing we have a housing crisis in this country and there's no shadow of a doubt we need to build more units but if you rolled it out to the one to two families their their taxes are going to go up people are going to come out and snap up those homes very quickly right so that that mailbox that has nine people on it that house is going to get sold so we need to be very delicate in in the way that we do things um but it's not lost on me the the affordable housing should happened 30 years ago as another audience member stated with Newport so um but here we are we're here to fix what we can in the time that we're given and with that I vote I and you know thank everyone for their participation and Council boano and the entire Council thank you council person Solomon sure um at our last meeting in July I voted against um removing the city planning uh boards recommended ordinance for the exact reason that um Mr ER mentioned that it was reducing the amount of mandatory affordable housing in Journal Square from 75% to 10% and given the extraordinary need for affordable housing in the city given some of the testimony today but given what every single one of us hears if we do our job uh from our community is that the rent is too high and too many Jersey City residents are being pushed out of the city um I was struck by the vast majority of the comments today didn't ask us to vote no they asked us to either accept this as a baby step which was one of the phrases used um and or give us more time um I certainly think from discussing with my colleagues there aren't the votes uh to extend the timeline so it's either a vote to take a step forward or to vote no and have nothing um given that choice um I think that this is a step forward and I want to acknowledge that um and so I'll be voting yes I do want to say um I know how much work was taken um by both the council office and community members together to get to this place and there was a lot of internal resistance and that hasn't really been discussed today um but I want to acknowledge that there was a ton of work put in over a full year to overcome a lot of resistance to even get to this place um and I think it's a model moving forward but I also want to acknowledge that the folks who are fighting for more aren't doing so from any malintention they're doing so because they see the desperate need for more affordable housing and they see how the plan has shrunk from April to today and that's a real thing and that's what their motivation is so it's it's a you know it's a tough situation we know where everyone's coming from um and I sort of vote Yes with a commitment to work with all to expand to the additional zones moving forward thank you council person Gilmore um first and foremost thank everyone for coming out to speak I think this is really our democracy Corner Stone when people come and articulate their views whether it's indifference than a major point of view or not I think it's it's good to have this type of dialogue for me when I'm when I'm looking at this legislation um of course I'm Pro affordable housing I'm a recipient of affordable housing I advocate for for affordable housing um so I understand the need I would love to have seen a bigger percentage um for the affordable housing especially in general Square given how that Community is rapidly changing almost quicker than downtown it's like really rapidly changing with everything going on in Journal Square um but I do feel that you know we have to maintain a certain continuity with the with the one and two family homes in Jersey City um we we want affordable hous that I don't think anyone is is against that it's just a matter of how do we get to that point so for me um I do want to thank the councilman for working on this legislation and working with the community um I was taking a bat a little bit to hear that communication have broke off amongst certain Community groups and things like that I always think that communication is healthy whether you disagree or not the essence of communication is very healthy um so given all of that I'll I'll V eye on it and again while it is a baby step I am knowledgeable of that this is not a major win I'm not you know hooping and hollering um but the nonetheless it's it's movement it's movement in the right direction so with that I'll vote I thank you council person Dees thank you to everyone who came out to speak today thank you very much to the councilman's office who you know worked tireless on tirelessly on this but also Incorporated the entire Council every step of the way taking in our feedback and ideas and that's why this rule out occurred this way thank you to the other groups that came out even if you were in opposition thank you for you know your participation in this and don't allow your disagreement now to stop the talks because this does need to continue as somebody else said this is a baby step but we can't delay affordable housing coming tomorrow um especially in the core development zone of this Ward I do expect to see more zones added as quickly as possible and I'm going to continue to work with the councilmen diligently and the city to expand it through rest of Ward SE to make sure that there are more affordable zones but also as this can this can serve as a framework to other parts of the city like the Southside which are not as developed development is coming just is downtown was developed the Heights in Journal Square it's coming to the Southside there needs to be a framework in place that guarantees mandatory affordable housing and also affordable housing for Workforce um level as well not just the lowest level so before that development gets to the South Side we need to work on this framework and I know it's a baby step and I know it's slower than people want not as inclusive as people want now but that doesn't mean that it ends so I vote I council person Rivera so I guess I'm not going to get any claps so uh listen I I really wanted this to go back to the drawing board because um as it really stands you know we are looking at between 75 and 80% less housing don't don't let this fool you I mean I don't understand why we can't go back to the drawing board and come back next month and say okay let's let's include planning had all the zones included why don't we just include all the zones it'll be more affordable housing for everybody so unfortunately I vote no and council president protemp Ridley okay so this is a this is a tough one because I hear I think that something very important was said by the community the joural square uh organization Community organization two important things um one was that they would like to go back to Jord board and sit down again and then two they um actually provided a way to ensure the safety of those one and two family homes by uh looking at square footage so I think that that needs to be acknowledged and I think that that needs to be definitely Revisited um with the council either councilman borano or for somebody else to kind of look at that and make some amendments to this um I totally get where people are that they want to start something now um so because they want to start something now I'm going to vote Yes but I think that we need to definitely acknowledge what was said here today from the community and those suggest question because I think they are valid suggestions that to be um implemented into this plan so with that I vote Yes city ordinance 24-65 is adopted 71 with council person Rivera voting no okay before we move on there is one item we would like to remove from the table agenda we tried to do it at the last council meeting but we do need this ordinance um sorry so it's uh item number 11.8 city ordinance 24- 046 on the tabled agenda it's an ordinance granting a temporary construction easement to New Jersey Department of Transportation for construction of drainage system along Route 7 affecting real property owned by the city of Jersey City known as block 287 lot five as shown on the official tax maps of the town of Carney this was tabled after the close of the public hearing on June 12th 2024 and was brought back and then reted at the last meeting on July 10th so council members I need a motion to remove ordinance 24- 046 from the tabled agenda may I have a motion motion moot so the motion was made by council president protemp Ridley second and seconded by council person SLE on the motion to remove or 24046 from the table agenda council person priner Hi council person bajano Hi council person solle I council person Solomon hi council person Gilmore I council person Dees council person rera I and council president Pro Temp Ridley I motion to remove ordinance 24046 from the tabled agenda is approved 80 with council person president wman absent for final consideration and Adoption of city ordinance 24- 046 council person priner I council person bajano I council person CLE I council person Solomon I council person Gilmore I council person Dees I council person Riva I and council president protemp Ridley I city ordinance 24 D 046 is adopted 80 with Council P council president wman absent okay before we get to our public speakers again we do have a public hearing on the 20 24-22 Journal Square special Improvement assessment role and budget any member of the public wishing to be heard please come up to the podium and state your name for the record motion motion to close the public hearing on the 224-225 Journal Square special improvement district assessment role and budget was made by council person are you coming up to speak on the on the on the Journal Square budget S ID okay come on up my name is Chris got to lift the mic sir yep okay my name is a Chris sha SP as x i a o I went to the IR websit to look up the form 990 of this company Sid company it has a tax return for 2016 2018 2021 2022 there are quite a few years they do not do any tax return while they're paying a $4,500 accounting fee I'm not sure how effective this organization is doing their business is there any uh officer from the company tonight present no oh uh wait I guess your mic's not on charm there is representative here tonight if they need to speak about it right uh can you answer me whether anyone in the uh in the companies get paid do they get paid I would recommend giving minute 30 left you might want to just answer your questions and we can have the council or the Sid about it after okay can you talk to him side after he all right let me just go ahead with my questions further all right I believe the company do very little the websites the uh social media for the company has very little post I'm not sure how many meeting have been done this year so far how many projects have been done they have only used the one independent contractor for all the four or five years regarding my property in new Avenue 2021 the Sid fee is $24 next year $15 2022 $50 for the 2024 it goes up to $65 that's 46% what height great height I just wonder for the same team what different they have done for the next year how can you believe they will do something better and each year they have $275 surplus of funds what they doing they have 340k assets why canot us that this is still a public hearing on the 2024 D20 2 Journal Square special Improvement assessment role and budget any member of the public wishing to be heard please come up to the podium and state your name for the record motion second motion to close the public hearing on the 2024 d225 Journal Square special Improvement assessment role and budget was made by council person Cay seconded by council person bajano on a motion to close the public hearing council person priner Hi council person bajano hi council person SLE I council person Solomon he stepped out okay council person Gilmore council person Dees Ste away council person rera stepped away and council president protemp Ridley okay motion to close the public hearing carry six Z with council members Solomon Rivera and council president Woodman absent all right before we get on to our public speaking portion of the meeting I believe our Corporation Council would like to addess the the municipal Council and members of the public just give me one second so I can get the camera on you can we please close that back door whoever's back I really appreciate it thank you so much one second Britney I'm sorry you don't have to do it want to make sure you're on camera all right Britney you're on sure um at the request of the council just wanted to provide a brief update on the port side matter I did provide the council with a confidential memo um the recalculations of the base rent uh was completed it was provided to all the parties last week on August 7th um all the parties are reviewing they have a few extra days to review and provide any um objections or comments to it we are proceeding in the federal court all the parties are there um We Have a scheduling order from the court the federal court will be U monitoring it and moving us forward through Discovery and any of the other um appeals processes through that so everything else is being litigated moving on um and we'll continue from there Bry what what are the party's reviewing the calculations themselves commenting oh so they'll give their feedback on what we think what we think and then ultimately correct court is going to Y whatever decision they decide well the parties will continue the Court's going to come up with briefing schedules if we have to continue um as I've explained to the council we're in the federal court instead of the state court the prerogative writ action um the federal court has said they will handle that as well how we previously told you it goes up through the state Court uh now since we're in the federal court the judges handle that just for the sake of the calculations so you saying that the so are they still negotiating with the count that's what I'm confused shyron has provided the calculations they get to review and make comments on it and then the court is going to continue to monitor it they can still make their arguments as to whether or not they agree or disagree that's what we're litigating but the point is what I'm saying is irregardless whether they agree or disagree we're saying as a municipality that we think it should be this correct we've done that yep we've provided this that's that's what I was want be okay and can I just ask a follow question um if either party objects to the recalculations provided um what's the process by which they do so does that go to the landlord tenant office or does that go is that now in the Court's hands what's the process by of objecting to that it's in the Court's hand so right now the court has entered an order telling the parties to object by a certain date or to provide their comments by a certain date and then um like I just explained how a prerogative writ is normally an appeal of the municipal body decision that goes through the Superior Court uh the federal court is going to be handling that now so um the judge will put together a briefing schedule for that thank you so just to confirm we've provided all of the um you know the rent figures that we've been asked to or need to at this point correct from the city okay okay all right Sean Al righty with that being said I want everyone to pay close attention to your agenda because I'll be calling the number and the first name of the speaker so with that being said I see that L left he was probably wanted to re celebrate her birthday again next speaker 5.2 David is David here hearing none 5.3 aena not here 5.4 I know Tina didn't leave Tina oh no she right your Bas can't come down oh you will leave when it's time for me to speak you and you s hey y'all go ahead hi guys how y'all doing today um yes I'm glad to be back I was going for a minute so I just wanted to let y'all know Justice for Drew Justice for Drew so I just wanted to say I'm very disappointed that we didn't get the funds for the mental health um by me working for Jerry a lot of people come through that for mental health we actually had a phone call last week for somebody was looking for some type of help we should not have to be begging of looking for funds for something like this and we should remember that this happened to the family and our community so we should all try to work together to make sure that anti violence them get the fund so we'll be able to have someone that we'll be able to go to or talk to about mental health or make sure whoever in the community that's in the community that we are able to get the funds so whoever need help they'll be able to get help and nobody nobody family will ever have to go through what Drew family had went through and we'll never forget of what happened to him and I also want to talk about guys um I thank um Jeffy Walker for coming up together as helping out with some of the young guys from um Ware a lot of them have been receiving apartments and stuff like that we need more Community we need more um nonprofits in the community that have doors that we are able to open that people are able to go in and get help we shouldn't have to come here and continue to ask for help in war F we all know to see how War f is if you in the community you'll definitely see what's going on inside our community so we definitely just asking for y'all to come out together and make sure that we come together for Justice for Drew make sure we come together for nonprofits make sure we come together for Community make sure we come together so we can contining to heal our community and make it in a better place thank you guys you okay our next speaker 5.5 Graham is Graham here no thank you 5.6 Stephen st's not here 5.7 Michael hello again I'm not going to use all of my three minutes um very happy that uh We've started um as we go forward a couple of comments uh we're going to be providing to the council once a month a record of any developments over 30 units in the excluded districts that have been proved by city planning so we can tell the urgency of going forward with the rest the second thing I wanted to notice is is we've been citing some statistics tonight and the city council has all of them a member of the Journal Square Community Association board George zppa has prepared some marvelous information analyzing um the entire district and I want to thank him for that and say that they will provide us with a lot of guidance going forward specifically in that information we identify by numbers the number of parcels that are in the excluded districts that are 5,000 square feet or more now that's is good information going forward because we you can easily write an amendment that uh limits uh application to the other districts to uh properties of 5,000 square fet or more that excludes the one to four family lots you can put a time limit in it and say it's only as of the date of the effectiveness of the N Amendment and then you've captured all of the larger properties in those other districts there may be other ways to doing it but I'm saying it's not all that complicated going forward to figure out what we're going to do the other thing I'll finish with I I worked at HUD back in the 70s in late 80s and you know we struggled through all of this but the reason we do is because the feds killed all of their major Housing Programs back in 1980 and ever since we've been trying to put OS together we've been trying to put federal tax credits hopefully one of the results because it's being discussed to this election is that the feds will start be putting more housing resources is on the table because the most logical way to do all of this is is with money not with all of these things we're working on but thank you for working with us uh we appreciate this step and we'll see you again you our next speaker 5.8 Amory good evening Council and community members here tonight this is a very solemn month for Jersey City as Tina mentioned on August 27th we marked the one-year anniversary of the death the killing of Andrew Drew Washington on Randolph Avenue our state did a prudent and compassionate thing New Jersey created the seab Brooks Washington community-led crisis response act funding community-led nonprofits to enhance deescalation that they do stabilization and followup for persons in mental health or substance use crises we in Jersey City and Jersey City together started our advocacy effort beginning the the beginning and thinking that we only had one hurdle that we had to jump and that hurdle was to get the city to adopt and Implement a behavioral health response program program for Mental Health crisis now 3 years at this effort to get this program what we realized is We There were really two big hurdles and the prior hurdle was this one it was the changing the culture of the city's Administration that's what it's going to take in addition to our other efforts to get this done we're lead staff of the city don't hear their Community don't listen to the elected representatives of this community you the eight tonight but usually nine counselors who represent the community and the neighborhoods that they live in the three Council designes and one Community member who were tasked to Shepherd through our Behavioral Health 911 response program were not allowed by this Administration to see or review The Proposal as it was being developed the proposal for seber's Washington funding we all know that the proposal failed Jersey City received zero no funding from that act named for our own Drew Washington as we go forward to achieve a Bonafide 911 behavioral health program through the antiviolence Coalition proposal through our efforts to get arrived together and our RFP resuscitated we offer you the council our voices to move this Administration to recognize its Community to listen to its Community representatives to hear our voices thank you our next speaker 5.9 Susan Susan here next speaker 5.2 and Christopher I know he was here oh there you go all right um so first of all um thank you for your attention to the affordable housing issue in Journal Square it's an important issue and as we mentioned this is a step and in case y'all were wondering that was me who said that um so I I did want to just kind of clear up a couple of technical things and I I I think it's important uh I think one the journal C Community Association this has been an important issue for us for years and for our members and they've been asking for something to be done about it and so we've been working cooperatively with City Planning with our councilman's office with all of you throughout um and I don't like any insinuation that anything other than that has been the case um so we are open to working with you all and want to continue working with you all because as we mentioned there's more work to do um second is the issue of one to two family homes um excluding them from affordable housing mandates does not protect one to two family homes in Journal Square Redevelopment plan in zones 4 and 4A there are a lot of one to2 family homes today but the Redevelopment plan allows larger buildings there as a freight um and that doesn't change whether we include affordable housing in those developments or not um so I think that's really important uh and we think that affordable housing in buildings that are especially large in those zones and there are some corner lot bonuses and things where you can have 20 story buildings in zone for um that it's important to include affordable in those larger buildings because they're going to be large buildings and affordable units should be in them um so yeah I think that's all my points uh but again I just want to thank you guys uh for your attention to date uh and thanks in advance uh for continuing to work with us we'll be back thank you our next speaker 5.11 Henda no no 5.12 nasia think she left yes next speaker 5.13 Lula no next five .4 Michelle no and next 5.15 Tom cover up Sean thank you uh ladies and gentlemen thank you for passing the ordinance today as so many people said it is a quote baby step uh I want to do a few things including clarifying some some comments that are unfortunate that were made at the end uh but first let let me let me say a word about the journal CR Community Association we have over 120 members uh who are dedicated to caring about Journal Square and Jersey City they come we clean up the streets voluntarily none of us are on the taxpayer dime we volunteer our time our energy our Blood Sweat and Tears to make Journal Square better and to the point about bonus density it's already happening I listed before the zones including the SA same Zone where the councilman lives is being subject to higher density already without any mandates so we're not pro more density we just want what's being built to be affordable for our residents and I also want to clarify about cooperation before the July council meeting I had emailed Council every member of this Council uh asking you to support the more inclusive proposal after I did that I copied that message and sent it to Rich to council Bano and I copied his Aid Pam Andes I said Rich we can work this out we're on the same page about protecting one to two family homes he and I had the same conversation in a moment at the mount carel Feast last month I said we can come together and work this out that was after the last last council meeting and this morning in these Chambers at a flag raising I asked the councilman if you want to protect one to two family homes we have the solution to do it so any indication whether it's directed by a councilman's office or not to his or her staff member that we a nonprofit Community Association are not dedicated to working with the council and the city is as laughable as it is is false I'm aware a message went out from the councilman's office to each of you which reflected that same nonsense that we as a Community Association refuse to work with the councilman well you know that's not true we dedicated hours to be here with you and you know it's not true because I had that conversation with a councilman today now Council bajano said he didn't send that email so I put this challenge out to whatever staff member is monitoring those emails and sending out messages without his permission we're here we're working and we're not going to shut up thank you our next speaker 5.16 Rob is Rob here no next speaker 5.17 Sonia again um first on the record I want to apologize to uh the mayor's Aid I think her name is Miss Nancy the last time I called City Hall uh my phone died so I don't want her to think that I hung up with the phone on her but I am here to talk about uh my nonprofit my name is Sonia Smith I'm born and raised in Jersey City New Jersey I left Jersey City in December of 19 1992 came back uh 14 years later and when I came back the development I used to live in was boogy Washington projects at that time it wasn't that much stuff for the children to do um different people down there allowed me to go in the community center and start holding meetings and just doing activities and game with the children I later on went to the managers office and with a proposal of trying to get the center uh once a month to do some Dee activities with the kids well they told me I couldn't I wasn't on nobody's lease like all kinds of stuff so on my own I started National Children's Day it is actually something that was started by President uh almost 30 40 years ago so I looked it up and I started uh sending emails out some of the people that's in this room know me from the emails um a couple of counsil people some of y'all should have received some emails from me um I had my First National Children's Day in boogatti projects at the time the current mayor was um a council or he was running for Council um he was the only person who donated funds uh he came to me his Aid did and he wrote me a check uh I spent all the money except a penny and when they came to pick up the receipts the man uh said you owe us a penny after he did the calculation so I learned from then how much you had to to be on point about what you was doing my first naal Children's Day took place on the first Friday in October and during that time I was able to contact different organizations that came out and they was in the basement of the projects that basement is no longer available due to flooding and we W up starting a Girl Scout in the projects and 16 years later I continue to do this by myself um I have in the last 16 years received uh $200 from his campaign I believe in 2018 my National Children's Day is a day for all the kids from the ages of 6 months to 18 and if they have any kind of disabilities it's just a day to be kids because once I came back I realized that the kids didn't have too much to do um I grew up in boogatti projects and we had a nutrition lady in her apartment teaching nutrition classes we had different activities to do we felt safe no matter what and my kids came here from wilington North Carolina and they were scared to go outside because this wasn't the same environment that thank you Sonia sorry our next speaker 5.18 Cornelius cornelus not here next speaker 5.19 Gina I didn't see Gina tonight um Ashley is not here 5.20 5.21 bill is not here 5.20 22 Katie Bill's oh Bill Bill's not here I'm sorry you're you're listed as a speaker Katie hi all Katie Brennan I I wasn't prepared to speak again tonight but I I do want to take this opportunity to to say thank you and thank you to all the council members and thank thank you to councilman boano um who's uh who became a champion for this when when we raised it and um I I really appreciate that and I appreciate that this has been fraught and want to celebrate that this is a huge deal um we have continued to work with all of the council members we've continued to work with City Planning as a member of the affordable housing task force as an aable housing professional as a public servant it is a huge deal and it's a major Milestone that will set precedent and I do want to celebrate that but asking for more doesn't negate that and and as Chris said I I want to I want to be sure that as we move forward that we are operating from facts and as somebody who deals with affordable housing development every day of her life I hear a lot of this same concerns over and over again no matter where I am in the state of New Jersey or New York and it's very often this conflation with with density this conflation with you know we need affordable housing we offer a solution no not that way and so my challenge to people is if you're going to say we want more affordable housing and we need to look at how we're going to do it I love to hear your solution for how we do it without building and without having the market help us carry those affordable units because in all my time and my career in this the only other thing I can find is a hell of a lot of money I mean millions and millions of dollars we're talking probably six seven $800,000 an affordable unit that you need so until you make that the mandatory contribution to the trust fund until you make give the land for free to develop the affordable housing and then basically pay for the development and then subsidize the ongoing operating cost so that you can rent it at an affordable rent we're going to need the market to help us build affordable housing so I just I want to start with that and start with the understanding that this ordinance does not change the underlying zoning it does not create new magic development it does not change what is already allowed in the various areas so I I really truly from the bottom of my heart appreciate this and um I think it's going to take a second to sink in but thank you all our next speaker 5.23 Phillip the president BR really my name is Phil Carrington uh I'm kind of annoyed constantly and being insulted by this Administration actually has the um Ste Administration gone Rogue and is indeed corrupt for two years I've been asking a simple question me raise the let me raise the issue uh two years ago I applied for a license I got a disapproval from B Mell and then I got an approval from the cultural Affairs the question then is if you got an approval and a disapproval you should be able to go to some governing body within the city to get an answer to have this matter resolved so I raised the issue for months here couldn't get an answer matter of fact November the 9th 2022 council president W said Phil we're not going to answer you and that that's a plural term which means the executive branch or the administrative Branch the legal branch and the uh judicial branch the Law Department why because not only I asked you then I took the matter to court since no one answer want to answer me we were in Discovery Discovery start March 2nd 2022 2023 and end May the 25th 2024 no one answered including 8 by the way who were uh would also uh defendant none of you answer the mayor didn't answer nobody answer a single Christian now man this is rogish now here here's what these Federal statutes say pertaining to something like that I'm trying to get okay there 18 UC a 42 if a decision is merely wrong it can be corrected on appeal to the governing body or by the court if it's infested with corruption I mean you have to be corrupt if a a black man who's a taxpayer paying all kinds of taxes can't get a single answer you go to court can't get the answer you go to everybody you can't get the answer but the court is even even more laughable we in court now uh the the uh attorney for the city meliss March came there just basically lying I mean I have a license she told the court that I did not have I'm not in intended to get the license in her motion for summary judgment the license is here it's not a mistake it's not operating in bad faith in the black community there a bunch of bull faed liar Britney Murray and all them bunch of bull faed liar that's what I'm about to say yeah thank you turkeys to tell the truth our next speaker 5.24 Stephanie Stephanie here oh oh she's oh that's that's Stephanie that's 5.25 Erica thank you oh she's she walked out 5.26 Pam let's see Pam she's here oh I you must have walked in when I wasn't looking how are you Pam good friend how how are you good good good evening Council Pam Johnson it is important that the antiviolence Coalition received the full support from the city as we prepare to submit our application to bring the community-led crisis response team to Jersey City the Coalition has worked with victim and their families for more than a decade and our response to crisis in Jersey City and in Hudson County have been met with care clinical and therapeutic services and resolve without escalation and we plan to expand on those services with the ccrt we've already received several letters of support from councilman Gilmore Solomon and councilwoman Prince Aron and we hope to receive supporting letters from those additional council members who I did not mention Justice F Drew I received a call from a union in Jersey City and their concerns with late pay poor working conditions and disciplinary actions after reporting such treatment is just the beginning of their concerns some of those employees advised me that they reached out to local government and haven't received support I will speak more about that in upcoming meetings but I want to to remind you that when constituents reach out to for help they deserve a response even if that response does not resolve the issues but it should provide direction towards a solution I also spoke to many residents of Country Village over the weekend who were happy to receive updates regarding Thomas mcgoverin Park and excited to see things move forward with the resolution 1064 because it has definitely been closed for far too long which creates a problem with assessability for residents so thank you councilwoman rley uh lastly I wanted to mention a issue on Princeton Avenue where I reside where there's a bike container that is not utilized and it reminds me of when City bikes were placed there many many years years ago and they weren't utilized as well but taking up space in a street that doesn't have space to take up we have limited space on that side of Princeton Avenue since all of the homes have driveways and to place any structure there doesn't make sense it also serves as a safety hazard since pedestrians can't see around it while crossing the street therefore I'm requesting it be removed and I I'll definitely be reaching out to councilwoman Ridley who has been an ally for us residents on Princeton Avenue to discuss thank you so much have a good night you Pam our next speaker 5.27 Bill evening council members and fellow members of the city my name is Bill Lis a member of Jersey City together and a parishioner of Our Lady of Sorrows and I'm glad to have a few members of the parish with me in support of the issues we're talking about I was also a participant in some of the meetings that were held at City Hall develop the application for the Seabrook Washington Grant provided by the state to meet the needs of individuals who have a mental health or substance abuse issue in our city I came to see by attending some of those meetings we have some very dedicated City officials committed to this issue and while I was glad to see we actually submitted a grant I like many others was disappointed that the final application submitted did not meet the criteria required and was disapproved by the state on a personal note I encourage the council to review the company contracted to submit the Grant and see if they're meeting their standards and if not act accordingly but now we go we grow closer and closer to the one-year anniversary now just two weeks away of the death of Drew Washington who whose mental health needs were not met in a variety of ways and sadly resulted in him being shot and killed by a law enforcement officer so at the moment we have to acknowledge we have failed we must go forward so we at Jersey City together will support the efforts underway by the Hudson County anti-violence Coalition in their submission of a new Grant application hopefully a collaborative effort led by the community with guidance from City officials will have a better result they want to go on record again that Jersey City together will be reviewing the budget of Public Safety to ensure this issue gets its full funding that it deserves not just next year but in years to come and we encourage the mayor and the leaders of law enforcement to speak up and address their own concerns concerns about this issue comfortable saying in those meetings at City Hall I was less than impressed with what law enforcement and what the mayor had done in terms of advocating for this it's my view that if mayor phip and law enforcement really wanted this to happen we would have had it done by now so we're committed to an ongoing effort that the leadership of law enforcement will put in best practices resulting in good productive community policing and I thank the council's support to get this happening thank you thank you our next speaker by28 Edward hello again and um we're coming up on one year that's right it's been almost one year since the Jersey City Police Department responded to a call where they shot and murdered Drew and since then I mean well right after then thank God the antiviolence Coalition along with many other people from Jersey City were there for this family they were there for Drew's family reached out to them and many of us are still there with them still here with them I've been here almost bi-weekly since last year and um well the latest report is damning it's terrible it's hard to come before you and you know with a consolator tone if you will because that's undeserving what are you all doing on our dime we fail but that also means that every individual and every family that has had to deal with that same response has had to deal with a militarized response right the threat of being killed many of us we opt out not to call the police because we're so afraid right and so um that's unacceptable all of it is unacceptable I remember addressing Miss Amy I said Miss Amy okay there were some reports about you being interested in the uh 911 and 988 of it all that's very important when we call in I can't okay and also why is it on the community organization to reach out to you why aren't members of this body doing more to build to help build a collaborative relationship between the antiviolence Coalition for instance in every police precin why should that be on the Coalition or the coalition's executive director Pam Johnson why aren't you members of this body helping to facilitate that relationship because as of now there isn't really one much at all every Precinct here needs to recognize the work for instance that the Coalition is doing and groups like The Coalition moving forward respect them in this work and it would go a long way if we had your support in doing so I haven't even had a chance to address again how I feel about your failures with so-called affordable housing cuz right you that that's what this is but my question is what's affordable what's going to happen is it's going to be printed in the newspaper it's going to be a glorious thing right this introduction to mandatory affordable housing but then when it goes up what's really affordable thank you Edward our next speaker 5 29 Kevin evening our time before you for almost two years prepared some of us to help the tenants of Hoboken fight back against an attempt to gut rank control there by Speaker number 75 it took just two meetings to go from a 100% yes vote at the first city council reading to to a 100% no vote along with a strong public statement from mayor Bala against something that would have been horrible for tenants some of those same speakers will speak before you tonight for their 30th and 40th time related to our issue that's just as serious now that we found a way to help a city council to act I hope we will have some better luck before you maybe even a strong public statement of support from mayor fup will come tomorrow I am pleased to report a significant positive development Jersey city has taken a concrete step to work with us this is evident in their decision to reverse their previous stance that sought to block our efforts to intervene in the ongoing US District Court litigation the city's consent allowed us to join the case as a defendant intervenor without the city's opposition this enables us to better support the rent leveling board's ruling which confirmed that Portside and Equity are not entitled to claim an exemption from rent control we want to acknowledge both acting Corporation councel Britney Murray for allowing us to intervene in the state action and Phil Edelman for his efforts to steer us in a more collaborative Direction in the federal action sincerely thank you we hope to build on their efforts for a productive relationship with the city moving forward we anticipate constructive discussions between our attorneys and the city to address the base rent calculation these talks are sure to include councilman Gilmore's observation just yesterday that her landlord continues to violate the landlord identity disclosure requirements even when Gilmore personally presented the law to our landlord these discussions will also likely cover Dina hendon's sworn statement regarding the landlord identity requirement her statement which Peter Baker included in his brief to a New Jersey Court has long been part of the record related to our case I'm confident that once the city revisits its stance significant misunderstandings about the recalculation will be resolved as the city prepares for these discussions now that we're both defendants and the federal case Equity brought I urge a comprehensive review of chapter 26-3 in its entirety it's crucial we don't overlook sections after 26-3 B which have previously been difficult to locate in a few key Communications our shared goal is to fend the ordinance together and I look forward to standing alongside the City on the same side of the v in this legal battle especially regarding highly relevant parts of the ordinance next time we are before you I hope we have more good news to report and I welcome and encourage you to help to see that that happens thank you very much thank you our next speaker 530 Alaska 5.30 next speaker 5.3 31 Kitty 5.32 Renata good evening council members uh I want to start by thanking the city for all the work done on the rent recalculation and to remind you that we are on the same side defending our community's interest even at a federal level level I'm hopeful that this collaboration will continue and lead to positive change but I'm also here to shed some light on a critical issue affecting our community safety and well-being imagine this scenario your daughtered awake by the accurate smell of smoke your heart racing as fire alarms pierce the night you flee your home unsure if something really bad is happening it turns out you can only return a few days later to a nightmare your cherished possessions ruined by black water mold creeping up the walls and the air thick with drywall dust from Hasty repairs this is not a hypothetical situation it is our Liv reality at birs side Towers just a few days ago in the aftermath of This Disaster we were left with many more questions than answers like why they stairways had broken Pipes making the flood situation even worse who is responsible for our safety who should we contact in emergencies the lack of clear landlord identification has left us feeling vulnerable and exposed our city ordinance mandates the landlords provide this crucial information yet in our time of greatest need we found ourselves scrambling to reach someone anyone who could help this isn't just an inconvenience it's a Ser serious safety hazard we don't know who is our main contact inside of port side we don't have a name we don't have apartment number we don't have a direct phone number the trauma of displacement property loss and health risks from mold and construction dust is overwhelming but what compounds our distress is the feeling that we're living in a building where even basic safety Protocols are neglected it is evident that Equity is more concerned with hiring an army of lawyers to make sure their circumvent R control loss than they are with keeping up with basic mendings and saf protocols we are not asking for a special treatment we are simply asking for compliance with the law a law does designed to protect residents Like Us in times of Crisis so council members please you have the power to inforce these vital safety regulations your decision affects real people who are already enduring significant trauma thank you our next speaker 5.33 David David M it's 5.33 just had to make my way through the crowd good evening I'm Dr David Mason this is my fifth time speaking before the council I come again to speak about 260 about Ren control enforcement in Jersey City I come tonight actually encouraged it's a welcome change of pace though I do note that my present optimism is cautiously tempered you've heard about meaningful steps that have recently been taken to begin mitigating the unfortunately ongoing detrimental influence of a law-breaking greedy and ill-intentioned bad acting landlord I want to thank the city council and Bureau I believe this progress is a real show of what can happen when the people speak and the representatives listen I am reservedly heartened to be welcomed uh to sit at the table with the city to be welcomed as partners in our legal efforts against Equity residential this his is being made and we are glad to be joined on the right side of it I look forward to uh to following the continued collaboration between our legal teams I would like to express my sincere hope that the slope of this trend continues to increase to express my sincere hope that the depth of our partnership increases at a growing and not just a stable rate to make this tangible I'd like to express my appreciation to the council for making progress toward a resolved recalculated legal base rate I look forward to the next few weeks while I repres resentatives cooperate and collaborate as partners in this fight to come to true and accurate legal base rate at Portside Towers while we work together to bring Equity residential once and for all into complete and true compliance with the laws of this city in so doing let us together lead the country by example toward a future where being Big and Rich does not mean being allowed to stand on the necks of the people where no one is above the law and greed does not supplant rights in my first ever remarks before the city council many months ago I said quote you can be partners and none of us need stand alone get in it with us and we'll get your backs just as you've got ours I'm encouraged to see this starting to happen we've got the momentum now together I hope this continues and I look optimistically at the next few weeks while this proves to be true thank you next speaker 5.34 Tom next speaker 5.35 Jessica good evening city council um stand here before you today with a sense of cautious optimism and I think I'm echoing what some of the speakers so far have said and at first and foremost I really want to express my sincere gratitude to the city to the lawyer sitting over here to my right because this matters that we're on the right side opposing the Federal action that Equity launched this puts us on the same side together we're taking a significant step forward in our journey so we truly appreciate this support and the show of collaboration it's still been 300 days since the rent leveling board decision was made that made both of our buildings uh acknowledge the fact that they were subject to rent control from the very beginning and so while progress has been slow these recent developments give us hope and we are hopeful that the bureau will work closely with our legal team on the next step ensuring that the accurate information is achieved as this process continues we urge the city to pay close attention to landlord identity disclosure requirements landlords must provide and post contact information for Key Personnel including superintendents and emergency contexts and this information is really critical as you've already heard especially when emergencies occur however Equity has consistently failed to comply with this requirement this isn't just a minor oversight it's it's a serious safety concern and a clear violation of the ordinance as you've heard we had a recent experience that highlights the important of this issue and during this fire and subsequent flood at our building we T faced a terrifying situation we couldn't reach a superintendent or any emergency contacts because Equity hadn't provided this information it was nowhere to be found in emergencies like this or in the recent flooding that we've experienced quick access to these contacts can be a matter of life or death thankfully it wasn't this time but that doesn't mean that it wouldn't be in the future so now that we stand together as defendants against equity in the federal case we have a real opportunity to ensure proper enforcement of all aspects of the ordinance including this critical component the landlord identity disclosure requirements so we remain hopeful that the city will recognize the importance of this issue and take steps to enforce all aspects of the ordinance during the recalculation process and Beyond in closing I want to say I really look forward to continued progress it's been over two years since we started this fight um I felt really hopeful on October 19th 2023 and that hope started to fade and today I think we have a bit more we know this is a positive step forward um and we're going to end on the right side of this thank you next speaker 5.36 Karen good evening council members my name is Kini I live in Port sou towers as can see and I stand before you as a voice for justice federick Douglas once said power cones nothing without the demand he never did and we never will today we residents of port side towers are making an demand for Justice at side Towers we have faced a perfect storm of calamities fire flooding displacement and health hazards any of these would be a significant hardship but to endure all of this while also dealing with concerns about our safety due to non- compliance with landlord identity requirements is beyond comprehension the law requires clear notification of for landlord but this crucial information has been withheld from us this lack of transparency compromises our safety and ability to address urgent issues effectively in times of Crisis such as the recent disasters we have faced knowing who is responsible for our building is not just a Lial requirement it's a matter of personal security I ask you is this Justice is this Justice to suffer through disaster to lose our possessions to risk our health and then to be told despite that the law clearly states about the landlord ifications you have to live in uncertainty you have the power to uphold the letter in the spirit of the law you can ensure that the proper unification of a landlord is provided as required by ordinance remember behind every regulations is a real person trying to rebild their life a family struggling to replace lost possessions a nly resident dealing with the health impacts of prolonged exposure to construction thus in mode we will stand with the residents who have suffered who have followed the rules who have placed their trust in you in the laws who have sworn that you oppold or you set a present that says even clearly written by laws about landlords andic can be ignored at all the expenses of those who we meant to protect we urge to take action to enforce the the landlord identification requirements and address the safety concerns the residents of for deserve to know who for their homes and their well-being thank you next speaker 5.37 Tara speak tonight as part of and student to the committed group behind me fighting for tenants rights across hold on Jersey City um speak tonight as part of and student to the committed group behind me fighting for tenants rights across Jersey City and New Jersey we're grateful for the city allowing the Portside tenants to intervene in the federal case it's a step towards justice but the journey is not over the recent fire and floods left more than water damage it left all Equity residential tenants with doubts about their safety and the effectiveness of our rent control laws many Port Siders and tenants of equity residential 70 green buildings still live amidst con construction dust and mold with no option to relocate due to skyrocketing rents across the city this isn't just about property damage it's about our health well-being and the fundamental right to affordable housing we applaud the council's recent resolution urging the state legislature to ban rent setting algorithms these tools like real page artificially inflate rents and exacerbate our affordability crisis I ask you to do more on this issue and also consider passing local legislation to ban rent setting algorithms we also need your help to ensure landlords comply with all regulations including the landlord identity disclosure our health and safety depend on it the city must allocate more resources to enforcing existing rent control laws and penalizing Bad actors as we've seen in neighboring Hoboken the fight for fair rank control is ongoing and crucial we must learn from the experiences and proactive ly strengthen our laws before facing similar challenges our community is out of Crossroads we will allow will we allow corporate interests and algorithms to dictate our housing market or will we stand up for the working families that are the backbone of Jersey City thank you for your time and consideration remember an injury to one tenant is an injury to all let's work together to ensure Jersey City remains a place where everyone can afford to live and Thrive thank you our next speaker 5.38 Anna hello um thank you so much um you know I feel similar to all of my neighbors standing behind me and I really um you know feeling optimism and encouragement about recent developments and I want to shout out um council person Gilmore thank you so much very um council person Gilmore you are rock star um you're amazing and thank you so much for coming to our building twice um you came into my apartment my apartment was one of the ones affected by the fire and the flood and to me what's amazing is that council person Gilmore actually responded to us when our building would not I sent um three emails three um three phone calls to our um our manager and didn't get any response um you know and I think to just the landlord identity disclosure is just so so important you know this is beyond rent and really is Public Safety um one of the things that happened on the night of the fire was another fire alarm actually went off at 12:30 a.m. that night too and went off for about 20 minutes inside the building again there's no one to contact at that moment you know we have um well we do have a doorman they are also just as in the dark as we are and um it it was um it was a terrifying experience um it really looked like Titanic in the stairwells um my my daughter is at Camp so she could not be here tonight um she was excited to come home but as soon as she saw our apartment she was just like never mind I'm going back to camp for another week um I wish I could have joined her but again just um thank you for recognizing the seriousness of this um and the importance of the landlord identity disclosure thank you our next speaker 5.39 Emily is Emily here not here okay next 5.40 Judith Judith Fury Rogers the developers have destroyed and redesigned downtown Jersey City they are now working digging up Journal Square residents California's homeless crisis started from shortages of affordable housing is this jersey City's future a person making 75 ,000 can afford $1,800 month rent if they are living in a Jersey City Apartment they're probably not paying 1,800 downtown there is a 90% chance their rent will go up at least at least 20% a year in two years at 20% rent increase this apartment rent will be $2,610 this is over 40% of their salary they will either be evicted or move in with a roommate there is no hope for this person if there is no hope and no apartments for the middle income Group which is very sad this is a new group of homeless people homeless due to housing prices what help will a person who's homeless now have the person who's not making enough to pay $1,800 a month the children on the street we who are mostly black men the children who live long-term in the shelter again mostly black men there's no long-term help thank you to Walker for the free course in plumbing electrical and carpentry to Tina Niles College Prep popups Community Treasures the sad truth is if a Jersey City homeless young person receives apartment help with no long-term career and financial counseling they will be back in the system on the street we must help them everyone not just the black community we have to help all these young people on the street it's so horrible that nobody is helping them that you're they're just going around and around in this system our next speaker 5.41 mark good evening city council it's good to see you again really it is this time I'd like to come back to a theme I began some 9 months ago the security of Portside Towers I'd like to start by thanking each and every member of this Council and the city's legal department for the amendment and clarification of ordinance 28-1 uniform security service for multiple dwellings you've all been part of this yet I should single out a few people massive thanks to John mckin for wording changes to the ordinance that are clear and practical another huge thank you goes to council Gilmore and Erica Walker for their support and encouragement during this long investigation and there's even more good news this week I heard from the city's legal department that after consultation with the city's business administrator we have full clarification of the city Department responsible for enforcement of the uniform security service and so in anticipation of his action I I'd like to thank Joe Barrow director of Code Compliance in the Department of Public Safety who's taken on the responsibility of enforcing this legislation that is critical to my Safety and Security as a tenant of Portside I know that tenants of Portside and of other multiple dwellings in Jersey City will feel safer knowing that the Department of Public Safety has our backs thank you all but especially Frank Gilmore John mckin and Joe Barrow our next speaker 5.42 Sean good evening Council council members um I do believe before I've said I'm a Navy veteran and resident of pide towers in the military we had a saying the chain of command is not a chain of suggestions tonight I'm here because our landlord Equity residential seems to think our City's ordinances and are mere suggestions picture this you're on a naval ship alarms blare there's a fire but when you try to report it there's you're connected to a civilan from another country who doesn't know Port from starboard sound absurd that's exactly what happened during the recent fire in our building in a Navy such a breakdown in communication could cost lives and our homes is no different the ordinance States landlords must be in full compliance with the landlord identity disclosure provision in the military we understood orders full compliance is an open to interpretation it's not a guideline it's a requirement yet where is our chain of command where are the posted contacts for emergencies where is the accountability director Richardson you're our commanding officer in this situation you have a duty not just a job but a duty to enforce this ordinance the law gives you the authority to penalize non-compliant landlords I urge you use it the law is also clear you cannot reward non-compliance it is expressly illegal according to the ordinance in the Navy negligence negligence had consequences why because lives dependent on it our lives depend on your action now this isn't about being punitive it's about accountability it's about ensuring that when we need help we know who to call and that they'll answer in the service we live by leave no one behind I'm asking you to apply that principle here don't leave us behind in the face of corporate negligence your action today isn't just about regulations is about our lives our safety and our faith in local government it's about showing that in Jersey City rules apply to everyone even multi-million dollar corporations remember an emergency seconds count your action or inaction could be difference between a close call and a tragedy council members the choice is clear enforce the law protect your residents show us that in Jersey City Safety trumps profit always thank you our next speaker 5.43 Alex good evening Council my name is Alexandra Comm uh my family and I have been residents at Portside West for a number of years this is not my first council meeting I don't know that I would have had the strength to come tonight if it weren't for this incredibly supportive community of neighbors you see standing beside me if it weren't for them my family and I would be alone we'd be without without support and we'd be very scared words cannot express how thankful I am at this time my family and I have a two-bedroom apartment on the 10th floor where we work from home much of the time I'm coming to you tonight because we have been displaced we have been living out of single room hotels for over a week now having moved three times in less than seven days with no confirmed end in sight as our home has been deemed uninhabitable because our apartment was the epicenter of the fire last Wednesday on August 7th that led to the serious flooding in the building this was on the eve of our wedding anniversary needless to say our plans for that evening and the coming days were changed dramatically the fire started in the closet meant to house our washer and dryer unit despite what Equity residential may have claimed to my neighbors that the quote fire was so small there isn't even a report close quote my family and I were home and witnessed the entire event I can assure you this was a significant fire where it is a miracle that no one was immediately hurt it's been captured in photos and documented in a report filed by the fire department since the fire my life has been a storm of stress which has exacerbated medical conditions and continues to disrupt my family's life this has been made significantly worse by factors that I feel compelled to share with you today first there's the fire itself how it's started and how Equity has handled it to put it bluntly their response has been appalling we were trapped in our stairwell with our neighbors surrounded by water with no working elevators despite our desperate requests for information not one person from Equity would tell us what was happening days went by before we received even the most basic updates and to this very moment no one has even broached the subject of rent or utility rebates with us they simply tell us we'll discuss this later but it doesn't stop there Equity has taken the mistrust and badwill they've accumulated over the years by charging illegal rates while reducing services and made everything 100% worse they had the opportunity to demonstrate care and responsibility as their attorney Derek Reed tried to convince you but the truth is he lied and Equity has been anything but transparent as has been demonstrated in this real life active and ongoing crisis that has not only affected me but at least 10 or more floors of residents throughout the building if this isn't enough of an example I'm not sure what would be they've held crucial information about our apartment and compensation were entitled to I can't begin to express the fear and concern I have about being made whole without a lengthy process of all our furniture and belongings that were exposed to black water moisture for days and dirt and debris and chemicals as an Indescribable amount of people ripped up our floors and and belongings not protected or cover your time is up thank you want to thank councilman Gilmore thank you so much for coming we really appreciate your support it has it means a lot I my time is up guys I really need you to pay attention to the three minutes you're not being fair to the rest of the speakers that are listed here so when we say time is up time is up if you do it again I'm just going to mute you next speaker 5.44 Barbara good evening sorry good evening city council this speech will be much much shorter than I original Ally planned I've been coming to these meetings for two years now two years speak at this Podium as a very dissatisfied voter living in Portside Towers but now I understand that there's Hope on the horizon I hear that it looks as though this city council is determined to do its job and make the rulings of Jersey City a reality while I'm always hopeful the best I can do here is to commit to a wait and see I hope this is my last time standing at this Podium speaking about the Portside Towers red control travesty I hope thank you in advance for your efforts in the days ahead to make that hope a reality next speaker 5.45 Daniel good evening City Council Members I wanted to thank you for the steps the city has taken to support us tenants particularly by not opposing our intervention in the federal case Equity residential filed against the city following the rent leveling board's unanimous decision last October that our building Portside Towers is subject to rent control at this point we're all on the same side defending against Equity residential and as you all know we tenants have been waiting for a rent calculation from the city to ensure that our rents are set at a legal rate and to that end we look forward to the office of landlord tenant relations working with our lawyers to ensure the recalculation aligns with the rent Control Ordinance I also want to thank uh City Attorney John mckin for working with us and incorporating our feedback by clarifying sections of the ordinance regarding 247 uniform security and for confirming that this ordinance ordinance 28-1 is enforced by the office of Code Compliance in the Department of Public Safety there have been numerous instances in which I've come home to Portside towers with the front door wide open no one at the front desk uh this is a security concern and creates the potential for intruders to enter the building so I look forward to this ordinance being enforced so that we do have the 247 uniform security to Pro protect the safety of us tenants uh furthermore as you heard since the last city council meeting both a fire and a flood occurred at Portside towers and as you heard some tenants have had to stay in hotels due to the damage to their unit and as you heard it was a pretty traumatizing experience for many people by law each tenant is required to be notified of our community service director's direct phone number and apartment unit so that we can get in contact with them in the case of an emergency port side has not provided us with this information so as a result tenants affected by the recent fire and recent flood were not able to contact our community service director putting their safety at Great risk Equity residential is required by law to post this contact information for key personnel and their failure to do so is illegal and extremely dangerous again I thank you for your support in our efforts thus far and I look forward to your continued support as we address the ongoing issues that are still affecting us tenants thank you next speaker 5.4 Jennifer bring the mic up to you Jennifer well my name is Jennifer Kesler I live at Portside Towers uh with my family it's my first time speaking tonight and I'm here thank you as a mother who is deeply concerned for the safety of my loved ones and my neighbors uh on on Sunday June 9th a bullet pierced the window of my 19th floor apartment my son's room shattering the peace we thought we had in our own homes we showed the Jersey City police the shattered window and evidence of the bullet that could have taken a life our building located at 155 Washington Street should be a place of safety but after this incident how can any of us feel safe what makes us even more troubling is the ongoing failure of our landlord to comply Jersey City's rent Control Ordinance the law clearly states that my landlord must provide tenants with the name address telephone number of our super so he can be reached at any time in case of an emergency the super should have the authority to make critical decisions during such emergencies yet in the midst of a life-threatening incident we had no direct contact information um no one to call for immediate help instead we were left to rely on our coner who were often performing duties away from their desk and who were not certified emergency workers or remote call centers that are Poss possibly around the world while seconds take by uh but the negligence doesn't stop there Jersey city ordinance 28-1 mandates that every building with 100 or more units must have a uniformed security guard on duty 247 ensuring the safety of our residents and their property we have no uniform Security on site leaving us vulnerable to exactly the kind of d that struck on June 9th um as a mother I am terrified terrified that the next bullet might find its Mark terrified that the next emergency will find will again find us without support and security we deserve the lack of compliance with these critical ordinances is not just a legal failure it's a failure to protect the lives of the families who call Portside Towers home I urge the council to take immediate action inforce the laws that are meant to keep us safe ensure that our landlord fulfills their legal thank thank you next speaker 5.47 Liv hi everyone my name is live alone I live in Ward B thank you councilman priner for your support I think you really played a clear role in units at 429 Bergen Avenue getting an inspection from the office of co-compliance it feels good to know that our landlord cannot continue to ignore apartments that flood when it rains have roaches in the dishwasher and have AC units that don't work in the dead of the summer of course the inspection did reveal more to investigate the inspectors themselves suspect structural damage we're concerned that there is hidden extensive water damage that threatens the stability of all floors we're also worried about the presence of mold and suspect these factors altogether are contributing to the building's roach infestation councilman pener I can tell you care about the homes in your ward and throughout Jersey City for that matter we now need your support again in scheduling a construction inspection to find out the extent of the structural water damage I've tried myself but it seems scheduling must be done by our landlord I probably misinterpreted because I don't believe our landlord should be in charge of investigating its own neglect they were given the chance when my neighbors and I put in numerous maintenance requests that went ignored thank you again for your support thus far councilwoman we believe it has and will continue to make a difference next speaker 5.48 Eric good evening City Council Members why is rent control so important why do we need it I am of hearing how hearing how supply and demand will create the right market price just leave it to the market according to economic theory that only applies to a market without any imperfections meaning one party does not have any advantage over the other that is not the case for the rental market there is a big difference between a new tenant and an existing tenants renewing a lease a new tenants might get lucky and get a mar market market price well at least before real page created their price in cartle and destroyed what little was left of a functioning Market but let's put aside a real page illegal pricing cartle for now for existing tenants a move can cost thousands of dollars and weeks of packing not to mention all the frustration balancing a move with a full-time job and family obligations landlords know that most tenants will not move every year so existing tenants usually get a minimum of 10 to 10 20% increase and this was before Real Page entered the market now there seems to be no limit for the increases this is extra rent they can expect because of a market imperfection because most of us cannot just toss all of our belongings in a bag and move out for free in a moment if only a third of tenants move every year this is a huge extra profit for the landlords better for them to only once a few years apply the market price to new tenants then offer it every year for all tenants so please let's get the rent control we have in this city enforc that brings a lot of benefits for the communities here our son it brings diversity people with different income levels can afford to live here people who stay tends to care more for their community unities people have more money to spend locally on goods and services instead of going of giving it to greedy landlords outside of the city let's do this together for the love of our city thank you next speaker 5.49 Suzanne thank you next speaker five 50 Peter next speaker 5.51 Joel members of the Jersey City count Municipal Council I was going to talk a lot more about what my neighbors have already talked about but I'll add instead I'll add another instance where the lack of onsite security lack of on-site maintenance uh put a Jeopardy during the afternoon of July 29th while walking on Washington Street I noticed that an access gate between the street and the Portside Towers Courtyard was unlocked and children were running through it I I noticed and I reported this to the concierge of both Towers at 8:30 that same evening six hours later I well and well after Sunset I noticed the gate remained unlocked and Unchained this is a gate that is about 20 yards from the Korean War Memorial where we have often watched drug deals take place children are playing in the courtyard and it doesn't take anything to get from there to the Courtyard I immediately informed a concierge who unsuccessfully tried to contact the super I also contacted residental recy residential's 24-hour emergency service number and I spoke to an agent who tried to be helpful but he was not local probably not even in the country all he could do was contact local management again the concierge couldn't do that I mean he was unable to make make that connection and uh the the 24-hour guy couldn't provide me with any assurance that our homes would be protected that night while the concierge was looking for and ultimately found a suitable replacement lock and chain to secure the gate the front desk of our building was not attended on Sunday August 11th the gate was again unlocked unsecured and left that way until one of my neighbors reported it without access to on-site emergency support and 24-hour uniformed security both of which are mandated by Jersey city ordinances how can these security breaches be handled safely thank you our next speaker 5.52 Anna hi hi I live in a 24 unit rent controlled building in Jersey City Heights I've lived there for 10 years in April of this year summ Avenue Ventures and Golden Sky Management bought my building and took over the property since then they've been a huge headache we don't have a qualified super which is illegal they haven't shared an emergency 24/7 contact number with all of the tenants recently the stairwell and hallway lights went completely out and people had to come home from work into pitch darkness and the hot water was shut off too my pregnant neighbor had to walk up four flights of stairs in the dark my other neighbor said she was forced to take a freezing cold shower when I called my neighbor who is cosplaying as our fake super she was slurring her words and had no solution only complain that everyone is calling her the next morning I had to call pscg to find out that the landlord hadn't paid their electric bill since April they never even bothered to put the commercial meter in their name that's why it was shut off then I had to spend time calling management to tell them to pay their bill I have a full-time job and a sick puppy to care for not only do I not have the bandwidth for this but this has caused me to burn out last week I spent 20 hours of my time fighting to protect my building from the various constructive eviction attempts they threatened to come and physically remove everyone's air conditioners from their windows and find us $100 removing our ACS during a heatwave would have caused health issues like heat stroke is a legal habitability issue and legally speaking would have been considered a constructive eviction I had to waste hours of my time calling and emailing for help thank you councilman s for your help but we also don't have a consistent janitor for our garbage area which is also illegal there's garbage overflow shards of glass and construction debris everywhere they threatened to throw tenants belongings from the basement storage if they didn't start paying 100 to 200 a month for it they also lied to the health inspector and blamed the garbage area mess on tenants to cover up the fact that they wanted to pay the prior maintenance guy only 80 cents an hour to maintain a 24 unit buildings garbage area they also tried to charge us numerous fees illegally they even made up a pest control fee there's a reason why harassment is illegal it's psychological warfare and has a lasting impact on people it affects people physically too it activates the nervous system and disregulated you one of my neighbors voiced concerned that they might try to start a fire to get rid of the rent controlled tenants and blame it on the old building many neighbors have already received sketchy texts asking them to relocate because the owner wants to renovate the building the intimidation is affecting people how can you feel safe and comfortable at home in an environment like this it's not fair every time I get a new text from them my heart races and my blood pressure Rises it's very stressful living like this I want them to leave me alone our next speaker 5.50 three Aaron right uh good evening council members tonight I'm here to talk about the weight of home home it's such a small word for something that carries so much meaning it's where we laugh cry dream and grow it's where we're supposed to feel safe but for everyone at Portside Towers the concept of Home has become heavy so heavy Imagine A Child's favorite stuffed animal soaked in Black water from the flood Beyond saving picture Family Photos warped in moldy years of memories fading away think of an elderly neighbor coughing from drywall dust as Equity decides it isn't bad enough to relocate them while work is being done these aren't hypotheticals these are our realities and on top of this weight we carry another burden the crushing load of illegal rent increases every month we're forced to pay hundred sometimes thousands more than we should money that could go towards replacing what we've lost towards medication for that elderly neighbor towards creating new memories to replace the ones we've lost we're not just talking about dollars and cents here we're talking about dignity about Justice about the right to feel secure in our own homes when I look at my neighbors I see resilience I see strength but I also see exhaustion the kind of bone deep weariness that comes from fighting not just disaster But A system that seems designed to work against us and yet there's a glimmer of hope the city's decision to allow us to intervene in the court case has rekindled our faith it's a step towards Justice a sign that our voices are finally being heard thank you council members you have the power to nurture this fragile Hope by ensuring the bureau's recalculation aligns fully with the ordinance you can transform this glimmer into a beacon show us that our trust isn't misplaced that the law truly protects everyone not just the powerful we want home to feel light again to be a place of joy not anxiety where we can walk through our doors and breathe easily knowing we're paying a fair price for the roof over our heads please don't let this hope be crushed when the dust of the recalculation settles stand with us fight for us show us that in Jersey City home still means something sacred and that the law is a shield for the vulnerable not a sword for the mighty thank you next speaker 5.54 Julia the express my own and like does not reflect the opinions of my employer businesses I'm associated with first of all I want to deeply thank you all for being here and listening to us I don't take your time for granted I don't take your tiredness for granted and I don't take your health for granted I moved about seven months ago in 100 Warren straight over seven months here are a couple of examples of the hazards that my family have been experiencing electrical Hazard number number one our switchboard was malfunctioning we contacted Equity to request servicing we were denied those servicing and the electrical switchboard got changed only when my apartment had no electricity so only when there was a real emergency they decided to fix it posing our family at risk of being electrocuted or getting on fire second one mold Hazard we had a leak behind our washing machine would like to point out that we are the apartment adjacent to the apartment that got fire guess where near the washing machine and when we pointed that out we were first told there was no League we were Imagining the water coming to our faces after a while they decided to finally remove the washing machine and they thought that a great place to store it while they were fixing the problem was in the hallway towards our bedroom room so for 6 weeks we've been leaving with a washing machine in the obstructing AIS from the bedroom to exit the building it was finally fixed today emergency evacuation Hazard let along the leak of water in the stairs that could have made me trip if I tried to escape the building I was not able to escape my apartment when the fire alarm went off I was in the bedroom I struggled to open the door to go to the balcony when I was on the balcony I smelled gas I got scared I have never smelled gas on a 10th floor before especially my apartment doesn't have gas as an electrical stove so I called the emergency line of equity and I had someone remotely respond to me they still have not contacted me for an explanation this in s months so I would like to and everybody here in this room my neighbors they are the reason why I felt safe that day they are the ones that responded to my text messages and told me that the hallway was not on fire I was stuck on my balcony and I didn't know what to do and who help me is here so I would like to ask you a question if your father was living abroad with cancer and you were living like this how would you feel it would be a bit too much to handle thank you our next speaker 5.55 Brendan good evening council members my name is Brendan I'm a resident of Portside Towers I want to talk about a marathon not a real one but the marathon we've been running together for almost two years now you know how marathons work right Runners start together they run for a long time and then they crossed the Finish Line well we've been running this Marathon together you the council us the tenants we started when we first came to you about rank control that was the starting line we ran and ran coming to meetings speaking up sharing our stories that was the long part of the race now we're near the Finish Line we can see it but the Finish Line isn't just a line on the ground it's something important it's the bureau's recalculation of our rent this Rec recalculation is like the metal you get at the end of the real marathon it's a proof that we ran the race and finished it right but for the metal to be real it needs to be made of the right me needs to be the right way for a recalculation to be right it needs to follow the law or rent Control Ordinance we've been running this race together we've shared the hard Parts the good parts now as we're about to finish let's make sure we do it right let's make sure the bureau follows every part of the ordinance and when they do the r recalculation if they do we'll have the prize of our hard work well the calculation that's fair and legal it will show that in Jersey City we follow rules even when it's hard after we cross the finish line together we can stand side by side to defend our ordinance in court we'll be like a team that finished the race together and now we get to show off the pretty metal our next speaker 5.56 John hello again hope you're well um I'd like to Echo what the previous speakers have already said we're grateful for the coll collaboration with the city that's taken place and resulted in the recent positive developments so thank you again I'd like to talk about another recent example involving residents and city council Representatives coming together to bring about a positive outcome that is the recent vote to prevent what would have essentially gutted rent control as we know it in Hoboken I know it's Hoboken but it affects all of us I promise you this is relevant uh the resolution that was put forward was a result of a petition to get residents to support a change to the rent control laws The Architects of the petition used what can be described as at best questionable tactics misleading residents into signing while keeping largely hidden the horrible truth of massive rent increases and essentially incentivizing landlords to mistreat and Bully existing tenants to move out it's even been alleged that some people had no idea how their names even made onto the petition as the mayor of Hoboken said the city was bullied into holding this vat to avoid a referend in November some council members said they were considering voting yes given as it was seen to be the letter of two evils but cometh the hour come with the people uh I couldn't make it to that meeting but a group of people behind me joined the speakers at that meeting and that's one of the reasons I wanted to bring this up to publicly acknowledge their efforts and thank them for standing up for a cause which would have had a massive impact on the local community yes uh having listened to all the concerns of the residents those council members who are ready to vote Yes yes changed their position and it was voted down by 9 N well that's 90 although that fight isn't over it has brought to light what was really at stake and hopefully residents will be better prepared to make an informed decision in any future referendum main reason I'm talking about this is because we know it's highly likely these special interest groups are going to try a similar move here in Jersey City if and when they put it toward put it forward to Residents and City officials we want to make sure ready I'm confident that you our Representatives will do the right thing and publicly call out any underhand tricks any misleading petitions obfuscation you'll fact check questionable claims by special interest groups you'll ensure your constituents are well informed of exactly what is being put to them and the consequences to their livelihoods should anyone try to introduce damaging amendments to rent control laws and as always you can rely on this group to be there willing to do whatever we can to work with you to help that cause cheers our next speaker 5.57 Mel hello uh so there has been a lot of thanks going around tonight uh we're definitely very extremely pleased to be on the same side of the city in the face of equity's wrongdoings I also definitely want to thank particularly Michelle and Kevin and many of the supporters behind me um and back at Portside for their tiess efforts which have brought us to the progress that we are finally seeing today so thank you everyone as we enter this next phase and as we look for you to you for continued support I'd like to remind you of who Equity are and how they actually treat the residents they claim to care about I think we've had at least four speakers here tonight on the edge of Tears this is what living in an equity building brings you to and in case you thought it was going to bring up the most recent fire and flood um I'm not I was one of the lucky ones and whereas that is definitely one of the most serious disasters we've had it is just the most recent in a veritable string of issues that Portside is not only unprepared for but unlikely to remedy in a timely and satisfactory manner I will reference back to a speech I made in January of this year um I I said we have drafts mold rats mice maintenance requests even emergencies for substantial Le and inability to use bathrooms are ignored left for hours days sometimes weeks Equity is operating with a skeleton maintenance staff has this changed absolutely not all of the above are still issues I myself came home recently to no water in the bathroom I checked for an email or some communication from Equity that this was scheduled nothing so I attempted to log the issue in the app I was directed to an emergency number I did get through I spoke spoke to someone who assured me they would send someone as soon as possible 20 minutes later the water was back on we had running water in the bathroom I called the number back as is only polite this time I could not get through since then no one has come to check no one has called or emailed to confirm to let us know what happened is everything all right is the water safe and due to my call being basically into the void I have no real record of this issue this allows Equity to continue to not inform us anything and be lacking in their care of our community so please continue this trajectory of support for your consist constituents let's ensure Equity are made to follow the local laws that affect our very basic standard of living and yes I'm in a very privileged position to call it that but what we're paying for is not only substandard it is illegal let's please put a stop to it our next speaker 5.58 Shannon good evening council members I'm Shannon a nurse and resident of Portside Towers tonight I'm speaking as someone who understands the critical nature of emergency protocols so imagine this you're in a hospital undergoing a life-saving procedure suddenly there's an emergency at the hospital but when the medical team calls for help they reach a call center in another country precious minutes tick by as the teams struggle to explain where you the patient are and what's happening but as others have said tonight this isn't just a hypothetical it's exactly what we faced during the recent fire at Portside in healthcare we say time is tissue every second counts in an emergency but Equity residentials failure to comply with landlord identity disclosure requirements is costing us those critical seconds our city ordinance clearly states that landlords must be in full compliance with identity disclosure requirements full compliance not partial not almost full yet we've never seen our superintendent contact information or emergency numbers posted in our building as required by law the insult to our safety is profound the ordinance couldn't be clearer about the importance of landlord identity disclosure it's too late for our landlord to comply for all the years they've ignored this obligation but enforcing the ordinance now you could finally compel them to follow the law and prioritize resident Safety Council Members your decision to enforce all of the ordinances isn't just about legal technicalities it's about setting a precedent that says in Jersey City we prioritize residents safety over corporate convenience it's about showing that our laws have teeth and that no Corporation is above them no amount of money lets you ignore the law by enforcing this ordinance you're telling every residents that their safety matters their voices are heard and that their elect elected officials stand ready to protect them the choice is simple and its impact is profound will you stand with the resident who elected you or with a corporation that can't be bothered to follow basic safety protocols we're counting on you to make the right choice our lives may depend on it I want to say a special thank you to uh my neighbors who are speaking for the first time tonight we are a vocal group and many uh folks tell us that they're a little afraid to come to city council we just want to assure them these guys are nothing to be afraid of thank you our next speaker 5.59 David good evening um I've been up here a few times talking about Portside and equity and I've been a little harsh on the city and uh on the lenord tent Relations Board um so I want to say tonight I am grateful um that there has been forward motion on rent recalculation and that the city didn't oppose uh the Portside tenant association joining the federal case I'm hopeful that the city will have a constructive a productive working relationship with port side tenants going forward as several people have mentioned at Port said we've recently experienced a fire and flooding and uh occasional gunshot through a window um which have revealed that Equity is in violation of several requirements which have nothing to do with the rent issue um including the availability of uh emergency contacts and it's important to make sure that Equity comes into compliance with all applicable ordinances and regulations uh not just the rent control I'm also concerned that if as as the rent you know issue proceedes that if they're rent coming in lowers which we're hoping is going to be the case that they are going to use that as a pretext to cut back the services even more um and I ask you to stand with us to make sure that that doesn't happen thank you our next speaker 5.60 then good evening wow so much has happened during the P I feel like these late night hosts coming back from vacation Monday night trying to catch up with all the political events that happened in the last three weeks the only difference this here is absolutely not funny we already heard about the fire and the flood in the vest Tower when I got home that day the firefighters has just arrived some neighbors assembled in the lobby as the elevators were not running everybody was wondering what happened we would have wondered for a very long time if it wasn't for our tenant association and the WhatsApp group the only person available from Portside was the coner as you can imagine he was not at his desk trying to best to his ability to coordinate one person from Portside no building security who who could help coordinate with authority because we don't have it no one from building management showed up in the 30 minutes I was down there I heard later from others even an hour later no one from Portside management was there he could also not call anyone directly we heard it already but it got worse after it was declared safe to go up I and some others took the stairs elevator still not running the floor was very slippery water all over imagine this scenario and we heard it earlier if you in an aacreation what happens if there is a full ACC evacuation this is not just any stairs it is the emergency exit when I got higher than the floors where the actual fire was there was even more water how was that possible turns out the water came from multiple leaps leaks in the sprinkler main pipes the system that should make the building more secure brought even even more danger to Residents also the fire panel is in error mode on a regular basis last time was just La last weekend when it said ground fault active I looked up the failure code and the instruction says the groundfold trouble indicates that there is a problem with the electrical wiring this requires immediate attention as it can cause the fire alarm system to malfunction and there is risk of fire that was 5 days after the fire we just had it goes on until the error code is resolved there must be fire watch yes what none was present the lack of invest and maintenance that Equity demonstrates every day does not only impact the vent system the elevators the appliance apartments and more it also impacts life saving building equipment all of the above and more we heard it earlier and Equity is still charging illegal inflated rents on top of that now that we are standing together as defendants in the federal G against Equity we have a real opportunity next speaker Sonia hello again I'm here tonight to talk about the horrific impact of the fire and flooding of the West Tower last week specifically I want to talk about my neighbor Zab Zab who lives on the eighth floor of the West Tower here's how she summarized her situation I returned from a trip on August 9th 2 days after the fire and flooding the next day I woke up with a headache and had difficulty breathing properly even the water tasted different my headache continued over the weekend and still had and I still had troubled breathing then on Monday two people came to my apartment one of them had an equity label on his T-shirt they told me we don't want to break your wall so we will put this dryer unit here until Friday and then they left I didn't even have the opportunity to ask why I was also scared because I didn't know what was happening and I was home alone at that time I texted my neighbors to see if anyone knew what was happening some of them said that the same thing was placed in their Apartments so I thought it might be normal however I was surprised that they they installed a very loud machine that emits heat runs Non-Stop and uses my electricity despite this I still didn't receive a clear explanation another issue is that the vent in the guest room doesn't work it's been like this since we moved in and Equity has been stalling us with no solution so far without a working vent the air quality was very poor I had to open the balcony door but during the daytime in summer it's unbearable overall last night due to the noise and poor air quality I couldn't sleep first thing in the morning I had to pack my luggage and leave the apartment is not safe to stay in this situation has affected me emotionally financially and physically I'm very disappointed with our management once again so far s's words only one example of all so many careless treatments ignorance of tenants rights and concerns Miss or rather non-communication threats to our physical and mental health and most importantly another displaced neighbor who was forced to leave their home this could have been prevented Equity has been neglecting maintenance for decades I don't want to keep s's CL closing remarks to our group from you as they give me hope thank you for your help and support the best part and sometimes the only good thing about living in Portside as our supportive neighbors who are always aware and ready to help my hope also comes from the fact that the city and us are now on the same side thank you for not opposing our intervention in the federal case and thank you Frank Gilmore for coming to Portside twice since the fire and really holding the tenants agenda we are ready to continue this with you our next speaker 5.62 Drew good evening council members my name is Drew Kinowski a resident of Portside Towers East and I'm here to talk about scars not the kind you can see but the kind that run deep beneath the surface at Portside Towers we're living with invisible scars that never seem to heal there's a scar of uncertainty from waking up each morning wondering if today is the day another pipe will burst or another will crumble there's the scar of disappointment from watching our community once vibrant and close nit Fray at the edges as neighbors are forced out by illegal rent hikes there's the scar of frustration from countless unanswered maintenance requests from living in conditions we wouldn't wish on anyone and then there's the deepest scar of all the one that comes from feeling voiceless from shouting into a void as our rights are trampled and our dignity eroded these scars change us they make us doubt they make us hesitate they make us us wonder if the concept of home is just a luxury we can no longer afford but recently a glimmer of hope appeared the city's decision to allow us to intervene in the court case was the first ray of sunshine after a long dark storm it whispered to us that maybe just maybe our voices were finally being heard council members you have before you a chance to be the healers the bureau's recalculation isn't just about adjusting numbers it's about mending trust it's about restoring faith in the system it's about starting the long process of healing by ensuring this recalculation aligns fully with the ordinance you're not just correcting a financial wrong you're acknowledging our struggles you're validating our experiences you're showing us that the Hope we've cautiously embraced isn't misplaced I look at my neighbors the teacher who can no longer afford school supplies for her students the retiree who skips meals to make rent or the nurse who works double shifts yet still falls behind and I see people desperate for a chance to heal but you've given us A New Hope don't let this hope fade don't let it become another scar on our already wounded Hearts show us that in Jersey City we don't abandon our neighbors in the time of need We rise to the occasion we do what's right the power to continue this healing is in your hands the recalculation aligned with the law is the first step towards recovery please take that step with courage and conviction thank you our next speaker 5.63 Michelle good evening as we close our speaking block tonight I Echo Kevin sentiments about the positive step Jersey city has taken in allowing us to intervene in the US District Court litigation this move towards collaboration is encouraging and we sincerely appreciate Mr adelman's effort and steering Us in this direction however as we look forward to working alongside the city to defend our rank Control Ordinance I must address some pressing issues that continue to affect our community I'd like to thank councilman Gilmore for his recent visits to Portside following a deeply alarming incident that resulted in a fire and significant flooding Flames occurred when Equity employees tried to install a washer unit into a 24 volt Outlet minutes after water exploded from an old unit that was being removed the resulting fire triggered the sprinkler system causing at least eight floors of flooding also trebling just next door a washer unit blocked the main bedroom's exit for weeks instead of being installed all due to a known water valve issue this is not just negligence it's a shocking disregard for tenant safety what's even more troubling is that during the emergency because our landlord continues to not be in full compliance with the landlord identity disclosure requirements we were unable to contact our super directly instead we were linked to a calling uh a calling center that was in a remote unknown unknown location equity's non-compliance significantly delays emergency responses it puts my neighbors and family at grave risk of dangers your ordinance is designed to prevent you cannot reward our landlord endangering Us by overlooking the disclosure requirements I will quote directly from your ordinance our landlord must quote be in full compliance with the landlord identity disclosure uh provision contained within the statement do not allow the bureau to violate this section of the ordinance that has now put so many of us at risk for our lives these events underscore the urgent need for stricter oversight and enforcement of both safety regulations and tenant protection laws as we move forward with our discussions with the city these critical concerns must be a top priority considering our new position as defendants alongside the city I want to express our eagerness to work together in upholding the rank Control Ordinance I'm certain our upcoming discussions will thoroughly examine all prerequisites necessary to ensure we can jointly represent to the court how Jersey City is following its own laws and sworn statements thank you if we can clear the aisle so we had more speakers to come up next speaker 5.64 Corey good evening Council I'm here to speak on behalf of commissioner Bill o day and he would like to speak on a few issues this evening the first is the Thomas McGovern Park as chair of the county parks committee I want to lend my knowledge and expertise and experience to where I see this project currently stands somebody on the city administrative side did drop the ball likely last year and caused the Del since April through there has been a refocus on the playground splash pad and park there has been progress made which hopefully continues as one of your resolutions tonight demonstrates the equ the acceptance of funds and final sign off by the NJ Department of Environmental Protection on the $932,000 state Grant should enable the playground and splash park to move ahead and he supports the awarding of a contract to an approved State vendor to undertake the playground and splash pad portion of the project work can start quickly which is critical it has been closed too long the other phase of the project needs to move ahead and one final round of the public input before the design is finalized and work is awarded would be very helpful if the city needs additional funding for this project count on me to help from the county side I would also strongly suggest that the city reach out to to the trust of public land and invite them in the second issue he'd like to touch base on is the elevators that remain broken for several months or breaken down frequently at different buildings throughout the city he urges the city council to do several things first support Senator McKnight's legislation that will create access to more elevator inspectors as well as funding for affordable senior housing that needs elevator Replacements we continue to hold weekly rallies outside of impacted buildings and these rallies are bringing Real Results I want to recognize the civil rights lawyers and attorney general Matt plen for their involvement in taking on buildings that delay the repair or or replacement more elevator inspectors are needed in this city the third and final issue is pretty short and simple in regards to port side towers and rent control cases illegal rent increases I again urge the city council to hire its own lawyer in this in this case clearly the legislative branch and the executive branch have different positions in this dispute and that has inherit conflicts that is all thank you next speaker 5.65 Denise you uh thank you Council Members First of all God bless you all for being here listening to everybody I've been here for the past four hours as well four and a half hours and it's just amazing to see you being so attentive uh to the audience and I'm grateful for you uh God Bless the people here talking about their problems it makes my problem about Thomas McGovern Park ordinance 10.6 4 almost small but to me it's something that's very important because it's been over a year that our park has not been functioning and we have kids I have three myself that have not been able to play in the park and it's sad especially when you see all the wonderful Parks across Jersey City that have not only been renovated once but multiple times so it's nice that we're finally getting some movement and I do want to thank councilwoman Denise Ridley for all your efforts I'm very grateful that you are making this an important topic to your constituents in Country Village also want to thank uh director mlin I know she's been a integral part of this effort as well as director Patel but I would be remiss if I did not voice some of my concerns I did listen to the Caucus meeting the other day and there was discussion about replacement in kind for what's existing at the park and I want to make sure that we're just not getting a clear lift of what's there and putting it put back into place I've have seen plans of what was expected to be done in the park uh from last year and it was amazing and I don't want to Short change our community and our children with a park that's not as cool and as wonderful as what I see across this great City I do want to make sure that as much as this resolution is passed that we are also taking into account what is being put into this park and trying to make it as great as possible Country Village is awesome I love it I think it's one of the best places in Jersey City to live and I just want to make sure that that Park ref reflects the greatness of that area so in doing so I really just want to ask that we make sure that as much as this resolution is passed that we make this project the greatest project it can be and done correctly and that the children are given what they deserve thank you very much for listening to me this evening have a great night thank you next speaker one second Sean Denise I just want to say thank you thank you for staying too and uh invoicing your concerns cuz I think you might be the only resident here so thank you very much for representing okay our next speaker 5.66 Kevin I believe he left next speaker 5.67 Rose hi good evening um sorry I've never I've been here before so I'm a little nervous but I just wanted to say um good evening council members uh my name is Rose Murray um my comments this evening pertain to the ordinance of um 24-72 um it's an ordinance between the city and the SDA uh regarding the lease of a lot on igy Avenue for the purpose of temporary parking for Via cars um I just wanted to speak about it because uh I been a teacher in the Jersey City Public Schools since 1998 and I started out at uh ps28 um I remember uh council member sa I gu remember you were like eighth grade I think um I hope your family is okay okay um and uh I just wanted to speak about um you know how anyone who's lived here long enough enough knows that the Jersey City Public Schools was the first school district in the entire nation to uh be occupied by a state and when that takeover occurred the state created the school construction company or authority which then morphed into the school developments Authority and it was to handle all capital upgrades and construction of new schools and so uh this meant that the city of Jersey City did not need to um take out bonds for new schools and so forth however um the SDA uh as a teacher and um for over 25 years um I can say that they have failed miserably in fulfilling their obligation and um that is why uh it is uh my um why I just wanted to speak on the record about although this lease is only $1 it is just mindboggling that they are actually um they actually own land um their land owners in a city that they um in which they short changed the school schools and so with covid uh many of my students and many of my colleagues and staff that you know work um a lot of us were hesitant to come back for for a multitude of reasons but one of them was because of the conditions of of this you know it was not the janitorial staff no it was we did not have proper HVAC systems we did not have you know a lot of um did not have um air conditioning and we were you know using we had to wear masks and so um I just wanted to I just wanted to express that thank you okay sorry sorry just about the how they have cars thank you all right our next speaker 5.68 Pam I think Pam left next 5.69 Jessica I think she left as well next speaker 5.70 Nishant I think left 5.71 man left next speaker 5.72 Amed not here next speaker 5.73 Melody not here next speaker 5.74 Miriam left thank you next speaker 5.75 Ron I believe he left too and Eric 5.76 left and not on your speakers list but did sign up before the meeting started 5.77 Marta not here oh hold on no Elizabeth 5.78 5.78 when you're ready thank you guys I'm so sorry to keep you I'm sure you were ready to go home by now um so thank you for staying I was the last minute right in I had no intention of being here tonight I go to bed at 8:30 with my toddler every night um but after what I experienced today I thought it was important that I come to give you a glimpse into what we deal with every single day with Equity um councilman Gilmore want to appreciate or thank send my appreciation to you um for coming to the building yesterday I'm actually passing out the photo that I showed you yesterday this is what they pulled out of my apartment so they came in I live on the seventh floor they cut this itty bitty tiny hole and pulled out a bunch of this stuff now the gentleman there blessed his heart I'm like is that mold he was like I cannot confirm nor deny that that is mold and I was like okay is this mold elsewhere he's like I cannot confirm nor deny that I also saw mold in your hallway okay is there more mold I cannot confirm nor deny that your entire building is covered in mold thank you sir um so as part of it I obviously emailed Equity had a few conversations um most recently they told me hey no problem we've removed it you're great we're going to go ahead and patch up your wall sent an email last night you absolutely do not have permission to enter my apartment do not patch that hole if there's mold in this itty bitty little square there's mold in that entire wall today I receive an email from a woman named Anna she doesn't work at at Portside as far as I know Anna says hey Bowerman is a licensed mold remediator not inspector remediator paid by forside at this time we do not have evidence of mold in your apartment I sent them this photo before I verified with Bowman all the affected areas have been removed to make you feel more comfortable our service team can reinspect the home and take new moisture readings I'm at work I didn't respond 3:15 Anna follows up oh hey I'm writing with an updated plan for your apartment the fans are scheduled to be removed today a new sheetrock installation will be done tomorrow I didn't see the email didn't respond 3:50 it's like 30 minutes later someone named Emily who's Emily chimes in on the Chain will you be home tomorrow morning a member of our Equity team ower restoration will stop by your apartment in the morning and take additional moisture readings if you're not home tomorrow no worries we'll come on Friday we will not close up the wall until we meet with you literally 10 minutes later Emily follows up again after speaking with Bowerman they indeed closed your walls today after they deemed your apartment dry our vendors properly licensed blah blah blah specialized in blah blah blah literally the same paragraph they sent to every single Equity resident so as you can imagine I'm a little ticked off I'm angry I left work early here I am um my husband and I have been joking since we moved in the week before my daughter was born this apartment is making us sick now it's just the kids now the kids start school oh pneumonia bronchitis no big deal I'm convinced this is what we are all living with in our walls and Equity is not taking any responsibility for it please help thank you okay council members that concludes our public speaking portion of the meeting I'm now going to move on to our petitions and Communications any questions or comments on item 6.1 through 6.44 hearing none officer communication 7.1 through 7.21 bring none or reported directors 8.1 through 8.11 and council members we're going to invert the order of claims and resos there are there's a resolution that has to be approved before um we um adopt the claim so we're going to approve the res those first and then do the claims last with that being said council members are going to be taking a vote on items 10.1 through 10.13 with the exception of one two and three which were approved earlier and just confirmation from the ba that 10.4 will be withdrawn that is correct the uh family couldn't make it tonight so we want to wait when they can come back in order to reintroduce it so with that being said council members again it's items 10.1 through 10.13 with exception of one two three and four 1 through three were approved earlier four was withdrawn council person priner I for all council person bajano council person SLE I for all council person Solomon hi for all council person Gilmore hi council person Dees council person Rea I and council president Pro Temp Ridley I items 10.1 1 through 10.13 with the exception of 10.4 which has been withdrawn are approved 80 with council president wman absent on to our next set of resolutions items 10.14 through 10.24 again that's 10.14 through 10.24 council person priner I for all council person Bano council person salai I for all council person solom hi council person Gilmore hi council person Dees hi on all council person Rivera hi and council president Pro Temp Ridley I items 10.14 through 10.24 are approved 80 council president Waterman absent on to our next set of resolutions items 10.25 through 10.35 10.25 through 10.35 council person priner for 102 six I want to thank the department of infrastructure for helping us move the Westside SK Street skate Department um project along um I forall Council P council person Bano council person SLE I for all council person Solomon no on 1028 I I and the rest you council person Gilmore I council person the I council person Reber I and council president prot temp Ridley I okay if you can just allow me to recap items 10.25 through 10.27 are approved 80 with council person council president Waterman absent item 10.28 is approved 71 with council person Solomon voting no and council president wman absent items 10 .29 through 10.35 are approved 80 council president Waterman absent on to our next set of resolutions items 10.36 through 10.45 I believe the ba will address the Council on a couple of those items the administration is going to recommend withdrawing 1039 through 1042 these are the EDC items as mentioned at caucus and another Council had a few questions and we want to have the chance to actually meet with the uh the department and flush All Those Questions out before vote on them so withdraw those and bring them back once you a chance get those answers so council members with that being said we're going to be taking a vote on items 10.36 through 10.45 with the exception of items 10.39 through 10.42 which have been withdrawn council person priner I for all council person bajano council person SLE hi for all council person Solomon hi council person Gilmore what we're going from 10.36 through 10.45 with the exception of 10394 41 and 42 which have been withdrawn okay I council person Dees I council person Rivera I and council president Pro Temp Ridley I items 10.36 through 10.45 with the exception of 10.39 through 10.42 which have been withdrawn are approved 80 with council president wman absent on to our next set of resolutions items 10.46 through 10.57 again that's 10.46 through 10.57 council person priner I for all council person Bano council person CLE I for all council person Solomon I council person Gilmore I council person Dees council person Ribera I and president prot tempor I items 10.46 through 10.57 are approved 80 council president Waterman absent on to the balance of our resolutions items 10.58 through 10.65 10.58 through 10.65 council person Prince are I council person bajano I can't hear you he said yeah on no on 1061 and 10.62 61 and 62 yes and I on the rest yes thank you council person SLE I for all council person Solomon hi for all council person Gilmore I council person Dees hi council person Reber hi and council president prot temply uh for 64 I just want to again thank um Patel and our Ba's office for helping to find up money you to director mlin as we continue to work through issues in the park and U make sure that we won't start with replacing the playground and splash pad and then move on to the remainder of the park as proess so thank you to everyone for your hard work with that Evo I on all okay items 10.58 through 10.60 are approved 80 with council president Wardman abson items 10.61 and 62 are approved 71 both of them approv 71 councilman Bano voting no items 10.63 through 65 are approved 80 with council president bman absent wait wait wait we do that we have the claims and addendums number one two and three you guys did not pay attention when I said we had to invert the order so again we're taking the vote on claims and addendums number one two and three I am as tired as you guys on that council person priner Hi council person bajano council person SLE hi council person Solomon council person Gilmore hi council person Dees hi council person rera Hi and council president protm Ridley I claims and addendums number one two and three are approved 80 with council president wman absent I will now entertain a motion to just let's give it one second Gilmore has something to say yeah two quick questions for Brittney um so Britney in a rare occasion and I don't foresee this happening but I just want to know if if if port side and Equity agrees something needs to be changed in a calculation will we have the authority to change that or no the bur what was the last thing huh what was the last word you said the barrel I'm talking about uh direct orome if if because you said it's in review now so in this weird instance where the both both of them agree um that this should be changed would they will we still be able to do that or would it still have to go to court we can talk about it offline okay all right we're in court right now so all right and the next thing is who who manage or overseas the the them supposed to having a uh super information available who oversees that who do we contact as it relates to that what division what office be anybody could be Code Compliance could be the municipal prosecutor um director Richardson's office as well High code any anybody Fire official okay motion second third so I have a motion to adjourn at 10:49 p.m. by council person Riva seconded by council person Cay all in favor of the motion to adjourn at 10:49 p.m. all council members present by acclamation please say I I we are out of here at 10:49 p.m. thank you so much everyone present and everyone watching at home remember Teamwork Makes the DreamWork have a great night stay safe get home safe get some get some sleep Sean