Mysterious Gunshot Pierces Window Of High Rise Apartment On Jersey City Waterfront

JERSEY CITY, NJ — Residents of a high-rise apartment. building in Jersey City are concerned after a bullet pierced a high window on Sunday morning.

The lone bullet went through the window of a 19th-floor apartment facing the Hudson River, a resident said.

According to a Jersey City police spokesperson, around 8:17 a.m., residents of Portside Towers East showed Jersey City police "a shattered window inside a 19th floor unit from what appeared to be a bullet."

The building is located at 155 Washington St.

Police said there were no injuries, and that they're investigating. They did not release any further details.

'Is This An Accident?'

The Portside Towers Tenants' Association president, Kevin Weller, said residents are concerned, especially because they have been fighting with the city and with their corporate landlord for two years about rent hikes.

Portside East and Portside West were erected in the 1990s, and are currently owned by Equity Residential, a large corporate landlord.

Portside West was judged to be under rent control by the city over a year ago, but residents argue that the city is not properly enforcing their own ordinance, and that Portside East should fall under local rent control too.

Equity is suing the city of Jersey City over its rent control ruling.

The controversy is part of the larger issue over corporate landlords raising rents 25 percent or more in parts of the country, and whether local and state laws apply to such an increase.

New Jersey has a law against "unconscionable" increases. Many tenants in Hoboken and Jersey City have been protesting rent increases of 20-30 percent in their buildings, saying they don't want to uproot their families, but did not budget for such an increase. Both towns have rent control laws, but there are situations in which it's unclear if they apply.

The U.S. Justice Department is currently investigating whether RealPage software, which is used by some corporate landlords, has resulted in collusion rather than competition on apartment prices — leaving a tenant who is priced out of one building in his or her city without the option of finding another at a lower price. READ MORE: 3 Large Corporate Landlords File Suit Against Hoboken And Jersey City Over Rent Control

Renters from Portside Towers have attended numerous town meetings and hearings to fight their increases, including the most recent City Council meeting Wednesday, June 12.

Weller said, "[We don't know] whether or not this has anything to do with the rent control fight although it's concerning, obviously."

He said, "It could have come from the water, or a higher up point like the rooftop or a higher-up floor. People are anxious. People are scared. They want to know if this has anything to do with what we're doing [about the rents]. Is this an accident? It may well have been. People who are already on edge are understandably anxious."

Weller also noted that just last week, he received a notice saying his rent would be increased to $7,011 per month. Back in 2022, he was paying $4,534 monthly, he said.

Read prior reporting here: 3 Large Corporate Landlords File Suit Against Hoboken And Jersey City Over Rent Control