NJ tenants organize to address housing crisis: 'We are here today'

ELIZABETH, N.J. (PIX11)-- A town hall meeting was held in Elizabeth to address the housing crisis some tenants have endured for years.

Dozens of people arrived at the headquarters of "Make The Road NJ," a local organization devoted to addressing the state’s housing crisis.

“We believe every tenant deserves to live with respect and dignity and also with safe house, and we have not seen that, and that’s why we are here today,” said Eliana Fernandez, organizer director for Make The Road NJ

Elizabeth resident Indira Palma says that hasn’t been the case for her. She said the building where she lives has roaches, water leaking from the ceiling, and old elevators that have stopped working for months at a time, making it difficult to get to her fifth-floor apartment.

And that’s not all.

“From mold to broken windows, garbage not being picked up, a lot of humanity within their houses, sometimes there’s no electricity, and in the winter, there is no heat,” added Fernandez.

Mariana Velasquez has had a similar experience; she said her building has mold, and she worries for her son, who has asthma but feels trapped at the moment.

“I can’t move to pay more; I can’t afford it,” she said.

Many tenants face this problem nowadays. That’s why Make the Road NJ and the Center for Popular Democracy held this forum to organize tenants by providing information on filing complaints and creating tenant unions. They believe that the community can empower itself to make a change through education.

“Regardless of where people work, where they come from, their race, their background, they should be able to have a roof over their heads,” Eliana Fernandez added.

Make The Road NJ is also helping tenants in Passaic and Perth Amboy who have unfortunately been caught up in very similar living situations.