Passaic tenants protest skyrocketing rent and poor conditions
PASSAIC, N.J. (PIX11) – Together as one, members of Make The Road New Jersey joined renters in Passaic as they formed a tenant union.
They marched as they voiced concerns about poor conditions and skyrocketing rent at the apartment building at 919 Main Avenue; among them, was Felix, an immigrant from Mexico.
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"I moved to this building a long time ago and since then, none of my problems have been fixed," said Felix through a translator.
Another tenant who did not wish to appear on camera invited us inside her apartment. Members of Make The Road pointed out the uneven stairs outside the unit, and inside, holes in the walls, and mold in the bathroom. Out back, they say, are potentially dangerous conditions where tenants take out their trash.
Tenants here have also highlighted the issue of rent, which some say has increased hundreds of dollars over the last few years.
"We've had hundreds of evictions in the past couple of years," said Maria Montesinos of Make the Road New Jersey, "and our immigrant Latino community cannot take it."
They're asking the building's owner, Alex Perez, to fix conditions they call inhumane.
"We're demanding that he listens to his tenants with our tenant union," said Montesinos. "We're urging all corporate landlords to fix conditions in their apartments."
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Passaic Mayor Hector Lora says the owner has historically been responsive in fixing issues. "As of right now we have no open complaints in 2024 at City Hall," said Lora.
Perez's company, AP, Inc., released a statement:
"Our company considers all resident concerns very seriously. All inquiries are handled in a prompt and professional manner. Our tenants are vital to our global operation and business model. It is unfortunate and entirely unnecessary that a few of our residents have targeted our company on multiple occasions and felt the need to formally escalate their matters. However, we are confident that after a full exposition of the facts that we will be fully and completely exonerated."
Mayor Lora says the building has averaged around 6 complaints per year, which is typical for a building of its size. He says tenants with complaints should take them to City Hall.
