Montclair, N.J. – Councilor At Large Peter Yacobellis acknowledged COVID-19 heroes and shared his vision for Montclair in a wide-ranging virtual town hall meeting Wednesday night that covered topics including rent stabilization, a proposed bike lane to connect with Essex-Hudson Greeway and Montclair’s 3.8 million American Rescue Plan allocation and protections for the LGBTQ community.

Yacobellis opened the presentation portion of the town hall by holding a moment of silence for the 68 Montclair residents who died from the virus since the pandemic began. He also shared the announcement that the council passed a proclamation declaring March 9th COVID-19 heroes day to honor essential workers. He also shared information about obtaining the COVID-19 vaccine and acknowledged some of the council’s accomplishments to date. Yacobellis then shared that Montclair would be receiving $3.8 million from the American Rescue Plan and he shared what the township council would be able to use that money for, saying that the money could help the town make up for lost revenue and prevent the town from having to raise taxes or lay off workers. Yacobellis went on to address rent control issue in town, saying that 70% of Montclair renters are not protected by the rent control ordinance that was passed in 2020 and has since been fought in the courts by the Montclair Property Owners Association. “The current law that was passed last year, that’s on hold right now because of ongoing litigation,” said Yacobellis. “So my thought is, why don’t we try and avoid a costly and divisive ballot referendum and try to negotiate?”