Monday, January 20, 2014

Of Renters and Landlords

During the administration of the late Mayor Albert T. McWilliams, two hundred residents took part in an examination of the city and developed a strategic plan for its future. One of the stated goals for betterment was to reduce the number of renters in Plainfield.

How times change. Almost all the new development proposals over the past eight years were for apartments. Among them were 148 on West Second Street, 80 behind the old senior center, 12 on Park Avenue, 32 in two projects off Gavett Place, 85 on Lot 9 and the most controversial of all, 600 on the Muhlenberg campus. Perhaps the harbinger was the conversion of the former Tepper's department store to 75 rental units.

The highly-touted condo complex dubbed "The Monarch" failed to attract sufficient buyers for its 63 residential units over the new Senior Center, and about two-thirds are now rentals.

Where there are rentals, there must be landlords. While many are well-intentioned, the city learned a lesson when the city's formerly most prominent landlord, David Connolly, was found guilty of defrauding investors in 2009. Connolly had acquired more than 20 multi-family apartment buildings in the city, and the collapse of his empire affected hundreds of renters as well as the investors.

The Connolly story broke after residents complained about a nonworking elevator in a five-story building a stone's-throw from City Hall. For a brief time, the plight of renters was front-and-center, with promises of assistance from then-Mayor Sharon Robinson-Briggs and others.

About half of all housing units in Plainfield are rentals. Without knowing their rights under the state Tenant-Landlord law, renters may be told they must provide their own refrigerators and stoves. They are supposed to be told where their security money is banked. If a landlord fails to provide heat or make repairs, tenants should not fear retaliation if they seek help from the city's Inspections Division.

As more apartments are developed in Plainfield, elected officials must be willing to serve the needs of renters as well as homeowners. Landlords may not live here, but the renters do, and they vote. If they were once considered an undesirable element, the quantity of proposed rental units indicates they are now wanted, especially for TOD (Transit-Oriented Development) projects near the city's two train stations. When planners talk about "critical mass" to rejuvenate the downtown and blocks around the Netherwood station, they are talking about renters.

Even if city officials still want to disregard this population, 2014 may well be the year when renters - the 49.8 percent - demand attention. Stay tuned.

--Bernice

4 comments:

  1. Thank you. Bernice. I have been a renter in Plainfield for 30 years. I got the petition started at 606 Crescent Ave. To complain about Connley and his slim lord ways. We had to get Assemblyman Green to get Sharon moving. She ignored our letters and calls for years. We did a great thing for Plainfield as renters were ignored by those in power. I'm proud to be a Plainfield renter.

    Bob Bolmer

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  2. I give Mark Spivey's news coverage the credit for bringing the Connolly situation to the forefront. I must say the new landlords in my own building are excellent. Well, as excellent as a landlord can be. ;-) That aside, Bernice is right -- Plainfield has a heck of a lot of renters and we do indeed vote.

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  3. Where are the apartments with the good landlords? 1106 Park Avenue must have been purchased by some of Connelly's friends because it is quickly becoming a slum. A building manager and super live on premises and you can't get them to do anything to keep the place up, so you say, call inspection, yeah right? they come out and do absolutely nothing, cracked ceiling in apts and common area, broken railings, garbage all around, driveway in disrepair, holes in side of bldg for cats and raccoon to come in and out. God forbid something happens before 8am or after 5pm, manager and super tell you they work 8-5 so reach out to them during working hours. Where oh where are the good landlords?

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  4. Mapp administration - where are you? The first thing that needs to be done is clean up this city. Not hard to do if the people in City Hall do their jobs. I believe Eric Jackson is in charge of this. He has his hands full, but I believe that he will get things rolling.

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