Dear Tenant Friend,
We just learned that on Thursday (6/25/09) the NJ Assembly allowed Assemblyman McKeon to make some minor amendments to his water/sewer metering bill A-1628. This usually happens the session before the bill is put up for a vote. There are only two voting sessions left for the Assembly before the summer recess -- Thursday 6/25 and Monday 6/29.
Remember -- This bill would allow landlords to install water "sub-meters" in any tenants apartment, and force the tenant to pay separately for water and sewerage. Since water and sewerage rates are rising much faster than rents, this means your total housing cost will end up much higher, whether or not you use a little less water.
Reprinted below is a coalition letter we just emailed and faxed to all Assembly Members. After you read it, please call your two New Jersey Assembly Members and ask them to oppose A-1628, the landlords' water/sewerage submetering scam bill, both with their vote if it comes to the floor of the Assembly, which is now likely, and with their voice by speaking against it to their colleagues and in their caucus. You should also tell them to sign on as a co-sponsor to our real solution to the water problem, A-3875, sponsored by Assemblywoman Joan Voss (D-38), which would require landlords to replace water wasting toilets and showheads with new water saving units at no cost to tenants.
If you don't know who your Assembly Members are, or have their phone numbers, you can find the information on the New Jersey Legislature website at:
Find the name of the municipality you live in. It says the Legislative District number right next to the town name. If you click on the town name, it sends you to the right part of the Legislative District List. Then click on your Legislative District Number, and you get to see the name, address and phone number of your Senator and two Assembly members.
(For Jersey City and Newark, which have 3 legislative districts each, there is an appendix that will help you figure out which legislative district you're in based on your Ward and Voting District. If you can't figure it out, call them all)
You might also want to call Assemblyman John McKeon (D-27), the sponsor of A-1628, and ask him to withdraw his bill and support A-3875 instead. His phone number is 973-275-1113.
Thank you for your effort.
Matt Shapiro, President
New Jersey Tenants Organization
New Jersey Tenants Organization
389 Main Street, Suite 215
Hackensack, NJ 07601
201-342-3775
201-342-3776 fax
info@njto.org
www.njto.org
What Else Can You Do?
Writer a letter to the editor of your local newspaper and alert others to what is happening. Also let everyone know who is a New Jersey tenant. Have them call their representatives also.
If you have any web sites or belong to any discussion groups, be sure to bring up the subject.
Don't let landlords intimidate you. They are trying to chear tenants out of services, and worse then that, they will make tenants pay for their negligence in maintaining the properties.
You may print this page!
Coalition to Conserve Water Without Harming Renters
c/o New Jersey Tenants Organization
389 Main St., Suite 215
Hackensack, NJ 07601
201-342-3775
201-342-3776 fax
June 20, 2009
Re: A real solution to the water problem in New Jersey --- NOT A-1628
Dear Assembly Member:
First, we urge you to vote NO on A-1628 should it come to the floor of the Assembly, and to speak against it in caucus. We fear that it may be posted soon, because it was amended in an insignificant way on the floor on Thursday, June 19, 2009.
A-1628, sponsored by Assemblyman John McKeon (D-27), would allow landlords to install water sub-meters in tenants' apartments and charge them separately for water and sewerage. As released and amended by the Assembly Environment and Solid Waste Committee, this bill remains riddled with flaws. It will cause the housing cost for the average New Jersey renter, already nearly the highest in the nation, to increase substantially as water and sewerage rates go up faster than rents. With the nation's economy in ruins, with falling incomes and rising unemployment, this is not the time to add an unnecessary financial burden on working families. We are particularly concerned about the adverse effect on lower income renters.
Not only does A-1628 unfairly burden tenants, but it also will likely not save water in the long run, as it completely removes the financial incentive for landlords to conserve water, and they are in a position to save much more than tenants, by quickly and effectively repairing leaks, replacing old water-wasting plumbing fixtures with new efficient models, and controlling their own use in common areas. The measures in the bill to encourage landlords to conserve are ineffective.
There are no penalties or enforcement mechanisms for fixture replacement, and the standard "imposed" for toilets is a water wasting 3.5 gallons per flush (gpf), more than twice the current manufacturing maximum of 1.6 gpf. No thought or mention at all is given to making sure the replacements don't require two or more flushes for effective waste removal, so we could be talking about 7 gpf in the imaginary replacement units. Ridiculous!
The leak repair requirement is silly as well. It requires the tenant to notify the landlord of the leak both verbally and in writing. The landlord then gets one day to "respond" (whatever that means) and SEVEN days to substantially repair the leak. Seven days after the US Postal Service delivers the tenants written notice of the leak. Can you just imagine how many thousands of gallons will be wasted down the drain by just a single landlord taking the full seven plus days to repair a single high flowing leak because, well, the tenant is paying for the water, not the landlord? Does this make any sense?
A-1628 is so riddled with flaws, it would take several more pages to describe them all. Suffice it to say that while giving the outward appearance of protection and conservation, it would in fact not save water in the long run, and would cause great economic harm to the tenants at a time when the economy is in ruins, tenants' incomes are falling, and the rents in New Jersey are nearly the highest in the nation.
If this bill is not passed, eventually, when the price of water and sewerage service gets high enough, landlords, on their own, will replace outdated toilets and showerheads and repair leaks immediately. So no bill at all will likely cause more water to be saved in the long run.
But why wait? We have a better solution than this bill (that's easy - anything is better) or even than no bill at all.
We have a simple solution that will save an incredible amount of water (and waste water) without harming tenant families or landlords. A-3875, sponsored by Assemblywoman Joan Voss, would:
Require every landlord (not just the ones who want to install meters) of a multiple dwelling to replace every water wasting toilet and showerhead within 12 months without passing the cost on to the tenants.
Specifically, each toilet which uses more than 1.6 gpf or which frequently requires two flushes to work, would be replaced by one that uses at most 1.6 gpf and which actually works with a single flush (the earliest and least expensive models often take two flushes, which is counterproductive). Each high flow showerhead would be replaced by a low flow showerhead.
Landlords who do not comply would face stiff fines of $1000 per toilet and $500 per showerhead. Every apartment would be inspected and the fines enforced. There would be compliance.
Of the 1.1 million apartments in New Jersey, we conservatively estimate that this would result in toilet and showerhead replacements in 500,000 to 750,000 apartment units, subtracting newer buildings which already have this equipment, apartments in 1 or 2 unit structures (not multiple dwellings), and apartments where broken fixtures had to be replaced. Since each fixture would normally use at most 1/3 the water of the older units, each of the apartments would end up using about 1/2 of the water formerly used. That's an incredible amount of water saved.
In short, this bill would end up saving about half the water (and waste water) used in at least 500,000 apartment units, perhaps 9 billion gallons a year, without increasing tenant housing costs, without undermining rent control, and without harming landlords, who will get their money back and more in lower water and sewerage costs and tax write-offs. It is a "win" for everyone (although not quite the windfall that the landlords would like to have).
Again, we urge you to vote NO on A-1628, which is about money, not water, and speak against it in caucus, should it come before the Assembly. More than that, please do everything in your power to make sure that A-1628 does not get posted. Talk to your colleagues and to the Speaker. A-1628 should be sent back to committee.
And please support and co-sponsor instead our very real water conservation solution A-3875. Our solution would likely solve New Jersey's water problem for the foreseeable future.
Sincerely yours,
Matt Shapiro
President
New Jersey Tenants Organization
389 Main Street, Suite 215
Hackensack, NJ 07601
Amy Goldsmith
State Director
New Jersey Environmental Federation
1002 Ocean Ave.
Belmar, NJ 07719
Jeff Tittel
Director
New Jersey Sierra Club
145 West Hanover Street
Trenton, NJ 08616
Jon Shure
President
New Jersey Policy Perspective
137 West Hanover St.
Trenton, NJ 08618
Bob Master
Legislative and Political Director
CWA District 1
1030 St. Georges Ave.
Avenel, NJ 07001
Eva Bonime
Executive Director
New Jersey Working Families Alliance
30 Clinton St., 3rd Floor
Newark, NJ 07102
Evelyn Liebman
Director of Organizing and Advocacy
New Jersey Citizen Action
One Port Center
2 Riverside Drive, Suite 632
Camden, NJ 08103
David H. Weiner
President
CWA Local 1081
60 Park Place, Suite 504
Newark, NJ 07102
Marcia Marley
President
BlueWaveNJ
139 Union Street
Montclair, NJ 07042
Edward Martone
Director of Public Education and Policy
New Jersey Association on Correction
986 South Broad St.
Trenton, NJ 08611
The Reverend Bruce H. Davidson
Director
Lutheran Office of Governmental Ministry in NJ
176 West State St.
Trenton, NJ 08608
Madeline Corredor
Family Site Manager
Family Connections Inc FSC
170 Scotland Rd.
Orange, NJ 07050
Ray Stever
President
New Jersey State Industrial Union Council (IUC)
56 Vineyard Rd.
Edison, NJ 08817
Reverend Matthew Cimorelli
Pastor
Living Waters Lutheran Church
60 Redwood Terrace
Flemington, NJ 08822
Lewis Hurd
Chairman
Universal Improvement Association
P.O. Box 6248
Plainfield, NJ 07062
Sherryl Gordon
International Vice President / Executive Director
AFSCME NJ Administrative Council 1
2930 South Broad Street
Trenton, NJ 08610
Nancy S. Woods
President
Interreligious Fellowship for the Homeless
479 Maitland Avenue
Teaneck, NJ 07666
Telissa Dowling
Housing Advocate
NLIHC.org
P.O. Box 24215
Jersey City, NJ 07304
Susan Fichtner
Northern Ocean Habitat for Humanity
Board of Directors
1201 Rt. 166
Toms River, NJ 08753
Elizabeth Louise De franco
Bridgeway
84 Park Ave., E-114
Flemington, NJ 08822
Marlene Lao-Collins
Director of Social Concerns
New Jersey Catholic Conference
149 N. Warren Street
Trenton, NJ 08608
Rev. Diane Riley
Outreach and Educational Coordinator
The Apostles House
18 Grant Street
Newark, NJ 07104
Francis E. Dolan
Executive Director
Catholic Charities Diocese of Trenton
383 West State Street
Trenton, NJ 08618
George Hunt
Convenor
Gray Panthers of South Jersey
c/o George Hunt
43 Village of Stony Run Apt G
Maple Shade, NJ 08052-2143
James E. Harris
President
New Jersey State Conference
NAACP
P.O. Box 1706
Montclair, NJ 07042
David McCann
Executive Director
SEIU New Jersey State Council
555 Route 1 South
3rd Floor
Iselin, NJ 08830
What to Do:
