Page 23 - RE-NJ

Courtesy: Jersey City Press Office
the city grow and solve its budget
shortfall,” said Wendy Paul, the
group’s executive director. “A
welcoming investment climate means
adding supply
to meet the
demand for
more housing
and stabilizing
housing prices.
In turn, this will
generate more
tax revenue
Wendy Paul
and support
additional community amenities
benefiting the whole of Jersey City.”
Founded in 2021, JCAOA spent its
initial years addressing challenges
stemming from the pandemic, from
the rent freeze on many of the city’s
apartment buildings in 2020 to
slowdowns in permitting and rising
construction and labor costs, Paul
said. It had a more public launch
about two years later, with a broader
mission of protecting property rights,
advocating for fair and balanced
housing policies and providing
resources and education to property
owners, managers and housing
providers.
Its leaders — which also include
executives from LeFrak, Veris
Residential Inc., Dvora, Cara Squared
and Gotham West — watched intently
during a mayoral campaign in which
landlords were squarely in the
crosshairs. That included Solomon’s
calls to make developers pay their
fair share and mandate that all major
new projects include at least 20
percent affordable housing, as well
as cracking down on alleged pay-to-
play tax abatements capping rent
increases.
Yet LoPiccolo believes much of that
ire was meant for “a few bad actors”
in and around Jersey City, though
he declined to be specific. Most
developers and landlords “do good
RIPPLE EFFECTS
The race to become Jersey City’s
next mayor was undeniably
contentious when it came
to then-Councilman James
Solomon’s stance on developers.
Wendy Paul knows that well,
noting that the “the temperature
just continued to rise” amid calls
to make housing more affordable
while placing the blame on
landlords.
things in the community,” he said,
serving as the type of stakeholder
that can lend a hand to a new
administration.
The JCAOA sought to make that
clear in early February when it
welcomed Solomon for a meet and
greet with members. According to
the organization, the gathering was
positive and marked by a willingness
to cooperate, echoing the group’s
stance during mayoral transition.
“To me, it’s refreshing to just change
administrations and get new blood
in government,” LoPiccolo said in
an interview in mid-December, later
adding: “I believe it’s an opportunity
for us to form a new relationship with
a new government, a new mayor, new
council people and help them to see
where we can meet in the middle,
because right now we are in the midst
of dealing with a housing crisis, not
just in Jersey City, but in America.”
He feels JCAOA is “up for the
challenge” to help Solomon tackle the
crisis, “but in a balanced way.”
The veteran builder, whose pipeline
also includes a 70-unit project in
Journal Square that broke ground last
fall, sees a window of opportunity
with interest rates ticking downward
and construction costs stabilizing.
Jersey City Mayor James Solomon spoke in early February after his office released a
report revealing a $250 million budget deficit.
™ 21
Moving past the campaign
means working together to
not only expand the housing
stock but expand employment
opportunities, she said.
“This housing crisis needs to be
front and center for all of us,
not just the builders, not just
the new administration, but
from a job creation perspective
and an economic development
perspective,” said Paul, executive
director of the Jersey City
Apartment Owners Association,
“because there are a lot of jobs
that are waiting in the wings
once we partner and continue to
do this work that we’ll be able
to contribute to not just getting
more units online, which is
the number one priority, but to
provide opportunities for other
jobs — from the trades to the
local restaurant that is on the
ground floor of a retail space of a
building.”
In the meantime, he said JCAOA and
the industry at large has “many, many
resources” that it can contribute to
broader public policy issues. The
organization has floated the idea of
helping City Hall fund a third-party
expert focused on studying and
improving traffic patterns and safety,
he said, highlighting a concern that is
all but universal among residents and
businesses.
“It’s one of the biggest complaints,”
LoPiccolo said. “We’d be very happy,
though, to contribute to that study
and be a part of it.
“And that’s just to open the door and
really to send the signal to the city
that we are your partner, we want to
work with you to make Jersey City a
better place — because, at the end of
the day, what are we working for? We
want to work in a great environment.
We want to be happy with what we’re
doing. We’re professionals, and when
we get up to go to work every day,
whether you’re in government or
you’re building real estate, you want
to love what you’re doing.” RE
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