Statement in Response to Lawsuit to Stop RTC
For Immediate Release: July 28th 2023
Contact righttocounseljc@gmail.com
The Right to Counsel JC coalition is not surprised by Ron Simoncini’s baseless and frivolous lawsuit meant to slow down the implementation of much needed aid for Jersey City’s housing crisis.
The Mount Laurel legal decisions made in the New Jersey Supreme Court give municipalities the right to do what they would like with money raised for the affordable housing trust, including utilizing the fees for administrative purposes like distributing the Right to Counsel program.
Landlords and property owners are already favored by the system, the law, and are more often than not already represented in housing court. This is about balancing the scales and joining 20 other jurisdictions that have also passed RTC.
The will to fund our right to counsel with a fee that many other cities in New Jersey have also raised is a political decision. We plan to primarily organize a mass movement of tenants to bring public political pressure on these shady real estate actors, but also fight the suit and win.
We cannot let a few rich and powerful real estate players determine policy that impacts the over 70% of people who rent in our city.
