Hoboken Housing Authority board tables $25,000 trash-bin fix, will ask city to pay first

HOBOKEN, N.J. — The Hoboken Housing Authority’s board on Thursday put off spending about $25,000 to redesign new trash enclosures meant to fight rats, after commissioners argued the City of Hoboken should pay for it.

The board voted to table the change order until next month, with four commissioners voting yes on the motion to table and three abstaining.

What it means for residents

The project replaces open trash cans around HHA buildings with larger enclosed containers. Staff said residents would drop bags through a roughly 24-by-32-inch self-closing opening on the sidewalk side, while garbage crews would empty the containers from a locked door on the street side.

The original contract is about $170,000, and officials said it will be reimbursed through the city’s Community Development Block Grant money, leaving the authority’s net cost at zero. The change order would not be covered. “The $25,000 would be the first dollars to come out of our money for this project,” one official said.

Executive Director Marc Recko said the trash access doors were built facing the wrong side, and the contractor is paying to fix that. While the contractor fixes the doors, Recko asked for a price to move the openings and add self-closing doors so rodents can’t get in. Since the contractor has to do both at once, tabling puts the whole job on hold, officials said.

The debate

One commissioner questioned whether the new doors would hold up, pointing to broken building doors that come up at almost every meeting. Another said residents need to be taught how to use the bins and recycle before they arrive.

Then the discussion turned to who should pay. “It’s a citywide problem. If it was anywhere else in the city, they would be paying for it,” one commissioner said. “It was their idea to put that in our property.”

Speaking to Vice Chair Erica Seitzman, one commissioner said, “You and I both know that if this was happening uptown, they would find the money.”

Supporters said the bins are one more tool against rats and that no single step will solve the problem. Maintenance staff said rat holes around the grounds keep reappearing even after crews fill them with gravel and concrete.

The board tabled the change order. The vote: Chair Barbara Reyes, Jean Rodriguez, Seitzman and Carmen Vega voted yes; David Edwards, the Rev. Anthony Forbes and Matthew Testa abstained. Officials said they will ask the city whether it will cover the cost.

Earlier in the meeting, Councilman Ruben Ramos said the authority has received $6.3 million in city Community Development Block Grant money since 2016, about 70% of the city’s total in that period.

Watch the full meeting on the Hoboken Housing Authority’s Facebook page.

Image: Hoboken Housing Authority meeting video on Facebook.