Today, Mayor Ravi S. Bhalla and local tenants in Hoboken called on Bozzuto CEO and President Toby Bozzuto to reconsider unconscionable rent increases imposed on hundreds of residents in buildings owned and/or managed by the Bozzuto Group. Tenants have been faced with rent increases of up to 30 percent in the Artisan, Park + Garden, Bexley, and more, all owned and/or managed by the Bozzuto Group, a company listed as having revenues of $2.4 billion by Forbes in 2022.
“While market conditions have impacted both landlords and renters in various ways, the city is committed to creating and maintaining affordable housing through our local ordinances, to help prevent displacement whenever possible,” said Mayor Bhalla. “While I appreciate that a number of landlords are working cooperatively with tenants to help achieve this goal, rent increases in certain buildings of up to 30 percent are completely unreasonable and unconscionable, and only serve to price residents out of their apartments and residences. I’m directly asking the Bozzuto Group, as well as any and all landlords considering massive rental hikes, to show some compassion and decency and work with existing tenants on rates that are reasonable and appropriate.”
According to Bozzuto’s Corporate Social Responsibility statement on their website, they seek to make “a tangible difference in communities facing homelessness and housing challenges”.
In a letter to Mr. Bozzuto, Mayor Bhalla followed up on Bozzuto’s Corporate Social Responsibility statement and asked: “What type of ‘tangible difference’ does a 30% rent hike make for residents in your buildings, and how do these unconscionable increases combat housing challenges?”
The Bozzuto Group was harshly criticized by the Mayor of Park Ridge, New Jersey in 2022 for applying similar, unconscionable rent increases to residents of “The James”, a 240-unit building in Bergen County.
Jamie and Matt Burkhard are parents of two young children who have lived in Park + Garden for eight years. The Bozzuto Group has imposed a 30 percent rent increase on the Burkhards for their three-bedroom apartment, which equates to a $1,518 per month increase, or $18,216 per year. Jamie and Matt made a direct appeal to CEO Bozzuto:
“All of this comes down to one simple request of Bozzuto, and its CEO, Toby Bozzuto: please be reasonable. Please don’t drive us out of our homes. Please don’t drive our kids out of their schools. Please understand how we feel and find a more appropriate increase rate that aligns with the historical increases we’ve accepted each year for the past 8 years. The Bozzuto mission states, in part, that they have ‘a sincere commitment to understanding and fulfilling the needs of our customers’. Please understand our needs, and fulfill them. Make good on your commitment.”
Jamie and Matt’s letter to CEO Bozzuto can be found in full, by clicking here.
“I join Mayor Bhalla and call on Bozzuto and its CEO to live up to Bozzuto’s Corporate Social Responsibility statement, treat their Hoboken tenants fairly, and rescind their unconscionable rent increases,” said 5th Ward Councilman Phil Cohen. “I expect Bozzuto will reconsider their actions to do right by my constituents, but if not, I call on the City to pursue all appropriate legal remedies to protect Hoboken’s residents.”
Bozzuto owns and/or manages the following buildings in Hoboken: the Courtyard at Jefferson (800 Jefferson St.), the Harlow (1330 Willow Ave.), the Juliana (600 Jackson St.), Park + Garden (1450 Garden St.), the Artisan (1100 Jefferson St.), and the Bexley (1300 Clinton St.).
Mayor Bhalla’s second full letter to CEO Toby Bozzuto, is below:
April 11, 2023
Toby Bozzuto
CEO, The Bozzuto Group
6406 Ivy Lane, Suite 700
Greenbelt, MD 20770
Dear Mr. Bozzuto,
I write to you again to ask you to have some decency and compassion for those residents who are being unjustly imposed unconscionable rent increases in buildings owned and/or managed by your corporate real-estate company, the Bozzuto Group.
As I have recently communicated to you, there are hundreds of residents in several apartment buildings under control of the Bozzuto Group who are facing a dilemma imposed by your company, that no one should have to deal with: pay rent increases of up to 30% or find another place to live. Many of these tenants also faced double digit rent increases last year. To be clear, this is not just one or two individuals who have received these massive rental increases. These are a mix of families with children attending our schools, local business owners, young professionals who are looking to set down roots, residents who have lived in the building since it came online years ago, and many more.
To be frank, you should be deeply troubled by the actions of your company. Your unjust rent increases, which equates to tens of thousands of dollars each year for many of these residents, are completely unreasonable, and to be frank, are acts of corporate greed. In my previous communication I asked you to work with the residents to come to reasonable rent increases, such as adjustments in line with the Consumer Price Index (CPI), that do not unfairly burden residents and families, many of whom simply cannot afford these massive increases. While I understand you initially did not find merit to this request, I am directly asking you again to reconsider.
According to Forbes, Bozzuto’s revenue in 2021 and 2022 was $2.4 billion each year, and in 2020 it was $2.3 billion. No doubt, you and your executive leadership team have reaped millions of dollars of those revenues. It’s all the more shocking that despite these massive profits, you are attempting to squeeze even more money out of the good, hardworking residents that you and your company claim to care so deeply about.
I refer you to your own website, which lists your “pillars” of Corporate Social Responsibility:
The core of Rise by Bozzuto revolves around making a tangible difference in communities facing homelessness and housing challenges.
My question for you: What type of “tangible difference” does a 30% rent hike make for residents in your buildings, and how do these unconscionable increases combat “housing challenges”?
Through our powerful culture and unique expertise in development, construction, management and homebuilding we elevate communities and lives.
My question for you: How, specifically do 30% rent increases elevate communities and lives, if they’re priced out of their residences?
Our supporting pillars are youth development and social & environmental impact.
My question for you: What type of social impact do you think takes place to those residents facing up to a 30% rent hike?
I refer you to a desperate plea from a resident, Jamie Hersch Burkhard, who along with her husband, live with their two young children in Park + Garden, a building owned and/or managed by your company. Like her neighbors in this building, Jamie and her family simply cannot afford a drastic 30% increase in rent, which equates to a $1,518 increase per month, or $18,216 for the year. She implored you in a letter she wrote to you this week that I ask you to read in full, which I’ve also attached to this communication. Here’s a quick snapshot, which I thought was especially telling:
Our son is in the Hoboken public school system and we fear pulling him away from the community and friends he loves at Brandt. Our daughter just started at a daycare we chose because of the proximity to our home. We’ve watched beloved neighbors and friends leave our building over the past several months because they couldn’t afford to stay with these absurd increases.
All of this comes down to one simple request of Bozzuto, and its CEO, Toby Bozzuto: please be reasonable. Please don’t drive us out of our homes. Please don’t drive our kids out of their schools. Please understand how we feel, and find a more appropriate increase rate that aligns with the historical increases we’ve accepted each year for the past 8 years.
I am once again making a final appeal to you, to show some decency as a corporate executive, and to once and for all do the right thing. I hope you’ll reconsider these unconscionable rent increases, so you can indeed live up to your “Corporate Social Responsibility” statement of “making a tangible difference in communities facing homelessness and housing challenges”.
Please note that my office has tried repeatedly to attempt to schedule a time to speak with you, however your employees have not accommodated this request, and have not returned calls to my staff. I am respectfully asking for a time that you can speak with me, so we can move forward in a cooperative manner that addresses the concerns in this letter.
I thank you in advance for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
Ravi S. Bhalla
Mayor, City of Hoboken
