Let me start by saying that the word “luxury” is often used by developers to put a positive spin on their proposed plans to help in getting them passed. After all, luxury housing sounds much more appealing than housing units. Thus is the case with the old snuff mill in Helmetta. Luxury housing less than 100 feet from railroad tracks that get used several times a day? Like my grandson would say, “You’re kidding me, right?”
Now let’s look at what is going to happen. When the developer can’t rent all the units, he will go to court and say he needs to fill all the units to pay for the project. Enter Section 8 housing, low income housing that is subsidized by the government. This means that the developer is guaranteed money from the government. When the residents who moved in under the guise of luxury see this, they move out, leaving more room for Section 8. Before you know it, you now have a low-income high-rise and its associated problems of a higher crime rate and more violence. Helmetta must now raise taxes to pay for more police officers. Homeowners’ insurance rates will go up because of the higher crime rate. Housing prices will start to fall because of the “neighborhood.”
Does this sound unrealistic? One only has to go as far as New Brunswick or Perth Amboy to understand that this is a very possible scenario. But don’t look for the high-rise buildings. They caused so many problems that they were razed years ago. Can two big cities be wrong or is this history repeating itself?
My heart goes out to the residents of Helmetta who thought they were receiving a bag of gold, but instead had the wool pulled over their eyes. How can a mistake like this happen? Who forgot to do their homework? Maybe a more important question that should be asked is, Who got the bag of gold?
I. Cohen
Monroe