Despite rent hike proposal,
officials consider rollback
Old Bridge council
to consider amendment to ordinance Monday
By sue m. morgan
Staff Writer

Tenants of the numerous apartment complexes in Old Bridge are still hoping local officials will heed their pleas and reject an ordinance that would allow landlords to raise rents annually by 4 percent instead of the permitted 2 percent.

The Township Council voted unanimously at its July 8 meeting to table a vote on an amendment to its rent stabilization ordinance until its next meeting, which is scheduled for Monday night.

Council members, with Councilman Edward Testino being the most vocal, have stated that they would like to explore the idea of rolling back previous rent increases by 2 percent.

The ordinance is supported by the owners of numerous apartment complexes throughout Old Bridge, but its opponents say that if passed, it would effectively end rent control in the township.

Under the proposed amendment, landlords would be able to raise rents by 4 percent yearly, while freezing rent increases for senior citizens at 2 percent.

Testino’s motion to put the ordinance on hold, and his suggestion to explore the feasibility of rolling back rents, as suggested by some tenants, elicited applause from approximately 30 renters in attendance at the recent council meeting.

"I run with the plight of the tenants," Testino said.

"The increase in Social Security is only 2 percent [annually]," Testino added. "I think that is enough. I’d go for a rollback."

Testino was joined in calling for a rollback by fellow Democrat and Ward 4 Councilman G. Kevin Calogera.

Calogera, who stated that he has seen statements filed by complex landlords with the township’s Rent Stabilization Board, said the landlords have incurred profits, and not the losses that some have claimed.

"Their [the landlords’] profits are as high as 31 percent," Calogera said. "I don’t think that represents a hardship on the part of the landlords."

Calogera dismissed the landlords’ request for a 4 percent increase to the rents, which are paid by a reported 8,000 township renters

"I think anything over 2 percent would be excessive. Maybe we could eliminate that down to 1¹/2 percent [increase]," Calogera said.

Apartment complex landlords have stated that they need the 4-percent increase in order to meet rising expenses for maintenance and utilities, according to Stuart Simon, chairman of the township’s Rent Stabilization Board, who addressed the council during a June 24 hearing on the matter.

Tenants, however, have countered that if the council approves the ordinance, it will impose a hardship, particularly among unemployed and disabled residents, and that it will possibly create homelessness.

Irene Clavering, president of the Old Bridge Tenants Association and a 20-year resident of the Nieuw Amsterdam Apartments, told the council that if landlords get their way, any yearly increase a tenant receives in Social Security or disability benefits will be gone. Landlords who own multiple properties are already turning a profit at tenants’ expense, she claimed.

The annual 2-percent increase has been in effect since 1997, Simon has told the council. He has also testified that apartment rents in Old Bridge are the lowest in Middlesex County.