LONGTIME HOBOKEN RENTER ABOUT TO LOSE HIS HOME

UPDATE 15 September 2023:

GOOD NEWS. This GoFundMe is now on hold. The Judge in Jeff's case, Amaconn v. Hoboken Rent Leveling Board & Jeffrey Trupiano, has granted a stay.

This means that, at least until the appeal hearing, Jeff's rent has now been set at its previous, lower rate, and his financial need is no longer as dire as it's been up to now.

But the case is still not over, and will be heard in an appeals court at a later (unknown) date. We at HFHA want to thank every single person who has donated to help Jeff, and we will keep you all updated as the case progresses. Thanks again to one and all.

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Many of us in town know Jeff Trupiano quite well from his longtime service as a nutritionist at Basic Foods and, previously, the Hoboken Farmboy.

Jeff has been under relentless attack by his landlord for several years now. His case has been bouncing between the courts and the Hoboken Rent Board but is now coming to an unconscionable head.

Jeff‘s rent is currently being subjected to an uncapped “hardship increase.” In 2017 the landlord petitioned the Rent Board to grant it this increase to raise Jeff’s rent by $2800 a month on top of his existing rent.

Had the Board approved the increase, Jeff’s rent would be higher than most one-bedroom luxury rentals in Hoboken.

In short, the landlord is doing everything it can to evict Jeff, and right now a judge is giving the landlord everything it wants, including mythical “retroactive rent” payments all the way back to 2017. This is cruel and unusual punishment. It’s nothing short of sadism.

The judge is giving the landlord a rent increase of almost three thousand dollars a month, in addition to the existing rent and back payments, resulting in a rent far higher than any renovated one-bedroom unit could ever command, even in Hoboken’s overheated rental market.

Jeff’s fifth-floor walkup is almost completely un-renovated. The apartment has holes in the walls, and appliances, windows and floors that have never been maintained.

But it’s his home, and it is subject to Hoboken’s rent control laws.

We repeat: His unit is subject to Hoboken’s rent control laws that are intended to protect tenants from unconscionable rent increases.

But here’s the thing: Should the landlord prevail, this case could set a precedent that will likely result in the decimation of the Tenant Protection Act of 1992, which provides protected-tenant status to all seniors (over 75), low-income, disabled and veterans in Hudson County and throughout the entire state of New Jersey.

Your donation will help cover ongoing and mounting court costs and Jeff’s massively increased rent and his punishing retroactive payments. Want more info? Contact us at hobokenfairhousing.org

Jeff Trupiano needs our help, so PLEASE DONATE WHAT YOU CAN.

Remember: YOU COULD BE NEXT.