On the afternoon of Saturday, November 1st, tenants at 429 Bergen Ave held a rally to announce that they are beginning a rent strike.

Liv Malone, President of the Bergen Grand Tenant Association of Jersey City Tenants Union, outlined the tenants’ reasons for striking: “Roach infestations, mice infestations, missing kitchen appliances, charging a hundred dollars for late rent when Jersey City’s maximum is thirty-five, random four hundred dollar court fees in your portal when you never been to court, charging market rate rent without an exemption from rent control.”

The building, located on Bergen Avenue on the city’s West Side, is rent-controlled and was purchased by the current landlord, Bergen Ave Investments (Amir Ben-Yohanan). In addition to months without heat for some units, the association said, "Ben-Yohanan has failed to make needed repairs, provide kitchen appliances, and call in pest control for mice and cockroaches."

In the winter of 2024-2025, city inspectors from Jersey City’s Quality of Life Taskforce issued citations to the landlord after his other Jersey City property, owned through a different LLC (West of Hudson Realty Group), 35 Kensington, after the tenants went six weeks without heat.

Malone said: “Here’s what I think: if we are bleeding financially, they should bleed financially. There have always been more tenants than landlords, more of us than them. When we move this way, understanding our power, withholding our rent money, anticipating their reaction and empty retaliation tactics, landlords are put back in check.”

Eli K, organizer in Jersey City Tenants Union, said: “Amir Ben-Yohanon is a slumlord. Tenants at 35 Kensington went the whole month of December without heat, tenants at 150 Belmont don’t have heat right now. He’s overcharging you all, he’s not fixing anything, but he’s got money to build this new development over on Communipaw. We’re here to come after everyone, every single landlord who is taking the fruit of our labor, half our paycheck just for us to have a roof over our head. But Amir in particular is a blight on tenants and we want him to hear loud and clear that this is gonna stop… We know what buildings this man owns, we are gonna be talking to those tenants. If he’s your landlord come talk to us.”

Joel Brooks, Ward B city council candidate and member of the Democratic Socialists of America, said: “I was a rent control tenant for nine years and it took me almost that length of time to actually pay the legal rent. The system is broken for tenants in Jersey City. There’s two sides, there’s tenants and there’s landlords. We are the majority in Jersey City, we’re going to flex our muscles. Tenants all over Jersey City, you can organize in your building. All it takes is knocking on the doors of your neighbors, a few over for coffee, Jersey City Tenant Union - talk to them.”