BAYONNE -- Hudson County Superior Court Judge Hector Velazquez ruled in favor of the City of Bayonne recently, saying that petitions filed to overturn changes to the city’s rent control ordinance were invalid – but he also gave those filing the petition 14 days to gather new signatures that will allow the matter to be voted on as a public referendum in November.

The court ruled the petition circulated by Bayonne Tenants Organization wasn’t completed correctly and its deficiencies weren’t corrected.

The Bayonne City Council passed changes last year that would void rent control on an apartment once the current residents move out.

To stop the city from implementing the ordinance, the Tenants’ Organization gathered more than 1,000 signatures, but these were rejected because the name of the organization and those gathering the signatures were not on the top of each page, a technicality that the city claimed did not guarantee that those signing the petition knew what the petition was about.

Howard Moskowitz said organization members have been out on the streets since Saturday gathering signatures to correct the error.

“But we are also filing with the appellate court,” he said, saying that the group is believe the ruling was wrong. “We don’t want this happening to anybody else.”