The below responses are the unedited responses of Mayor Ravi Bhalla to the Better Blocks New Jersey LD-32 questionnaire.
Bhalla is seeking the Democratic nomination on June 10 for LD-32. He and Katie Brennan are running on the same slate.
Land Use Reform
1. Do you support statewide zoning reform to allow multi-family housing in areas currently zoned exclusively for single-family homes?
• Strongly Support X
• Support
• Oppose
• Strongly Oppose
Please explain your position: We are in a critical housing shortage regionally and we need to prioritize making it easier to build.
2. Would you vote to legalize Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) statewide, overriding local bans or restrictions?
• Yes X
• No
Please explain your position: Yes, mother in law apartments will allow us to start overcoming our housing shortage, but it is one of several steps we need to take
3. Would you vote to legalize single-stair buildings statewide, overriding local bans or restrictions? If yes, do you support four-stories or some higher number? If no, why not? • Yes X
• No
Please explain your position: Yes and at four stories. By going to single stair we’ll reduce the footprint of the build and open space for additional units.
Transit-Oriented Development (“TOD”)
4. Should the state preempt local zoning laws near major transit stations to allow “by-right” development of multi-family or mixed-income housing?
• Yes X
• No
• Depends
Please explain your position: Yes, we need to prioritize transit neighborhoods, the easier we make it for people to use public transit the more likely they are to use it which will reduce our congestion and car pollution.
5. A developer has proposed a 1,000 unit (150 designated income-restricted affordable units and 100 workforce units for artists) apartment building at 150 Bay Street in downtown Jersey City. This development would also include a new public school for Kindergarten through Sixth Grade, a public plaza, and no parking spots. Do you support this project? If yes, would you support more projects like this within half a mile of PATH or NJ Transit HBLR stations in (or near) your legislative district?
• Yes X
• No
Please explain your position: Yes mixed use buildings that blend residential, commercial and public goods are necessary in our growing communities.
6. Would you back legislation that removes minimum parking requirements near transit (within half a mile) to reduce housing production costs and promote TOD?
• Yes X
• No
• Depends
Please explain your position: With one parking lot we can build a multi-family building that could serve to reduce our housing shortage. We need to reduce our dependence on cars and increase our public transit across NJ.
7. Should the state provide funding or tax credits for municipalities that adopt pro-housing zoning reforms near transit?
• Yes X
• No
• Depends
Please explain your position: A tax credit/ funding is a great way to move the needle on municipalities that have not done their fair share of combating our housing crisis by providing a carrot to bring municipalities on board.
Housing Affordability and Public Land Use
8. Do you support ending the 30-year exemption on rent control for new rental buildings? • Yes X
• No
• Depends
Please explain your position: The 30 year exemption on rent control is too long and is not enforced. We need to prioritize lowering the rent control timeline and creating better enforcement mechanisms
9. Do you support defining what “unconscionable” means with respect to rent increases? If yes, how – or at what rate – would you define the term “unconscionable” and if no, why not? • Yes X
• No
• Depends
Please explain your position: Yes, and it is necessary to establish a definition that takes market variables into account and necessitates only minimal revisions over time.
10. Do you support using surplus state or local land (such as government-owned parking lots, disused buildings, etc.) to build affordable or mixed-income housing?
• Strongly Support X
• Support
• Oppose
• Strongly Oppose
Please explain your position: Yes, we definitely need to prioritize working with municipalities to identify surplus land opportunities and create actionable plans to transform them into low-income and workforce housing.
11. Do you support banning institutional ownership of single-family homes or multi-family homes under four units?
• Strongly Support X
• Support
• Oppose
• Strongly Oppose
Please explain your position: Yes, too many residents have been priced out and displaced from their communities as large, unaccountable corporations continue to buy up single-family and small multi-family homes.
12. Would you support funding a state-led expansion of the housing choice voucher program to give low-income residents more housing choice?
• Strongly Support X
• Support
• Oppose
• Strongly Oppose
Please explain your position: Yes, wages have not kept pace with the rising cost of housing. We must ensure that those who work in our communities can also afford to live in them.
13. Would you vote for legislation requiring municipalities to meet minimum housing production targets, including affordable housing, as a condition of receiving certain state funds?
• Yes X
• No
• Depends
Please explain your position: Yes, this is a regional problem and requires a regional solution if Hoboken and Jersey City work to solve the issue but other municipalities near us don’t we aren’t being effective at fixing our housing production.
14. If you had to choose between an expansion of state-led housing choice voucher program and funding the production of affordable housing units, which would you choose? • Housing choice voucher
• Affordable housing production X
Please explain your position: As we increase the number of affordable housing in the region rents will stabilize and reduce.
15. Would you vote for legislation that bans junk fees in rental agreements like broker fees statewide?
• Yes X
• No
• Depends
Please explain your position: Yes and would sponsor, hidden fees inflate the cost of housing.
16. Would you vote for legislation that bans applications like RealPage from aggregating rental price data?
• Yes X
• No
Please explain your position: Yes and would sponsor. These algorithms allow corporate landlords to act like a cartel. They collude to jack up rents and then pretend it’s just the market at work. See mine and Katie’s statement here.
Green Space, Resilience, and Smart Growth
17. Should new development projects be allowed to build more densely if they fund or provide nearby public green space or parks?
• Yes X
• No
• Depends
Please explain your position: Yes, its a win-win, more housing and more green space in our community.
18. Do you support the Caven Point Protection Act for Liberty State Park? • Yes X
• No
Please explain your position: Yes and it needs to be passed as soon as possible, we need to protect our greenspace from development. As a long time supporter of LSP, we need to protect the natural greenspace and ensure its remains public and accessible.
19. Would you support legislation that prohibits the use of any state park as a venue for professional sports and protects all state parkland from commercial development and stadium construction?
• Yes X
• No
• Depends
Please explain your position: Yes and would sponsor. We need greenspace that is untainted by development. Any stadium or commercial development will dramatically change the landscape of these greenspaces forever.
Street Safety and Highway Policies
20. If elected, will you champion or co-sponsor legislation that advances Vision Zero statewide?
• Yes X
• No
Please explain your position: Yes and co-sponsor/ champion. Through Vision Zero Hoboken has seen 7 years of no traffic fatalities. It works, its cost effective and its a common sense policy solution. We need to 1. Prioritize state support to municipalities for Vision Zero, 2. Work with NJ Vision Zero to create an action plan for the state and 3. Work to develop a website hub for vision zero on the NJ.gov website that has accessible information on how to implement Vision Zero and the status of the project across the state.
21. How would you describe your position to the New Jersey Turnpike Extension highway widening and replacement program?
• Strongly Support
• Support
• Oppose
• Strongly Oppose X
Please explain your position: The Turnpike expansion is a disastrous project that will increase traffic in our neighborhoods and continues to prioritize cars over pedestrians, cyclists, and public transportation. Its costs are continually rising, and it represents a policy failure on all fronts for Hudson County. Instead, we should redirect these funds toward public transit—improving PATH service times, developing rapid bus transit, and expanding the Light Rail.
22. Would you introduce or sponsor legislation that allows the New Jersey Department of Transportation and the New Jersey Turnpike Authority to implement dynamic, demand-based variable tolling (commonly referred to as “HOT Lanes”) for express lanes on I-78, Garden State Parkway, and the New Jersey Turnpike?
• Yes X
• No
Please explain your position: Yes, HOT lanes help reduce pollution, generate additional revenue, and alleviate traffic congestion
23. Do you support New York’s Congestion Pricing?
• Yes X
• No
Please explain your position: Yes and it was a mistake from the Murphy Administration to not take the settlement and invest it into better public transportation.
24. If any group, organization, or continuing political committee that supports or benefits from the Turnpike Extension were to support your campaign directly or indirectly, would you return the money and disavow the support?
• Yes X
• No
Please explain your position: Yes and have been actively not taking money from turnpike interests and developers profiting from the renting algorithm
Public Transportation Access & Affordability
25. Would you support reallocating funds from highway expansion projects to enhance public transportation infrastructure and services?
• Yes X
• No
• Depends
Please explain your position: Yes, for far too long we’ve purged our transit budget for highway needs, we are years behind where the state should be for transit.
26. Would you support incentivizing Hudson County and local municipalities with state funding to implement bus rapid transit lanes for NJTransit on select county or local roads like John F. Kennedy Blvd?
• Yes X
• No
Please explain your position: Yes, JFK is highly congested and in urgent need of bus rapid transit and traffic calming measures. I will actively advocate and apply pressure on the County Commissioners to take meaningful action.
27. Do you support the implementation of the Corporate Transit Fee—a 2.5% tax on corporations with net incomes over $10 million—as a dedicated funding source for NJ Transit?
• Yes X
• No
• Depends
Please explain your position: Yes, we need to fund our transit system and work on expanding service.
28. If you had to choose between transferring funding from 1) the New Jersey Turnpike Authority / NJDOT highway fund, 2) implementing a corporate transit fee, or 3) raising the sales tax to fund transit, which policy would you implement? You may only choose one. • Option 1 X
• Option 2
• Option 3
Please explain your position: Ideally, its a mix of option 1 and 2: we need to stop the Turnpike expansion project and redirect those funds into public transit and we need to implement the corporate transit fee.
Commitment to Urban Vitality Issues
29. Will you meet with Better Blocks New Jersey to shape legislation and priorities in Trenton?
• Yes X
• No
30. Is there anything else we should know about your policies regarding housing, transit, street safety, or public parks?
Candidate Information
Candidate Name: Ravi Bhalla
Campaign Name: Ravi Bhalla for NJ
One response to “Mayor Bhalla Completes the Better Blocks Questionnaire”
[…] candidates are running on three different slates in the June 10 primary. Katie Brennan and Mayor Ravi Bhalla are running as independent Democrats for the People. Assemblywoman Jessica Ramirez and Councilman […]