Rent-controlled tenants in Elizabeth, New Jersey won a years-long legal battle on Election Day after voters approved a measure that restores a $20 cap on future rent increases, at least for a year.
City leaders have tried to eliminate the cap for years, saying it was outdated, but affordability advocates in a city with a where roughly half the population is foreign-born said the cap is still needed for a community struggling in the margins.
“The rents continue to climb and are just incredibly unaffordable,” said Nedia Morsy, the director of Make the Road New Jersey, a group that advocates for immigrants and the working class…