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"BRICK CITY" THE OFFICIAL NEWARK DISCUSSION THREAD
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Mayor Ras Baraka touts a 'Newark forward' in state of the city
Newark Mayor Ras Baraka delivers his 3rd state of the city address while at the Victoria Theater of New Jersey Performing Arts Center. Monday March 20, 2017. Newark, NJ, USA (Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)
Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
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By Karen Yi | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
on March 20, 2017 at 8:19 PM, updated March 21, 2017 at 9:02 AM
NEWARK -- Taking the stage at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center Monday night, Mayor Ras Baraka spoke of a Newark transformed -- how a city often defined by its violence was emerging as a place for growth and innovation.
"This is our time to show the world what we can do, how to rise out of fire -- all of us -- every religion and every nationality," Baraka, 46, said before a packed crowd. "This is our Newark, Newark 3.0, Newark forward."
In his third state of the city speech since taking office in 2014, Baraka outlined the contours of his changing city -- a new Whole Foods at the remodeled Hahne & Co. building, a coming 22-acre public park in the downtown and a 13 percent reduction in overall crime.
"This has always been the thing that we have allowed others to define us by ... we have had decades of intractable and stubborn crime and violence in our community," Baraka said. "But I am happy to say that we are moving in the right direction."
In a wide-ranging speech, spanning about an hour, Baraka touched on the city's most pressing issues: public safety, development and jobs.
"We are cutting ribbons and doing groundbreakings almost every week," he said before a screen that read "Newark Forward." "We have over $2 billion of construction happening or in the pipeline right now."
With millions of square feet of commercial, residential and industrial development Baraka said change would not come at the expense of current residents.
"We know that there is a cry for affordable housing in this city which is why we are working on Newark's first inclusionary zoning ordinance to ensure that new housing development includes affordable homes and apartments," he said.
'Our city is a sanctuary city'
Baraka took a stab at President Donald J. Trump's immigration policies and reiterated the city's status as a sanctuary city.
Sanctuary cities generally limit their cooperation with immigration officials and Trump has vowed to cut federal funding from such jurisdictions.
"Our commitment to democracy will make us safer and more prosperous, not fear and division," he said. "We are a sanctuary city because it is who we are, our essence, a maker city, full of immigrants and ex-slaves escaping terror in the south."
Among one of the night's highlights, Baraka touted the city's diversity in Spanish and promised to protect undocumented immigrants as the crowd stood in applause and residents representing different cultures joined him on stage.
Essex Co. leaders stand by immigrants despite Trump order
Sanctuary cities, like Newark, are jurisdictions that limit their cooperation with federal immigration agents and could lose federal funding under President Trump's new executive order.
'This is Newark moving forward'
Photos of cranes, renderings and ongoing construction flashed behind Baraka as he rattled off coming retail and housing developments: A new poetry cafe, apartments for those with special needs and veterans transitional housing for women.
"I can go on and on and on," he said, listing more coming projects in once-abandoned buildings. But he said that the city would also ensure residents could afford to live in a changing Newark.
"We are focused on affordable housing," he said. "So when somebody tells you this is the next Brooklyn you say no, this is the next Newark."
Baraka said the city had provided 404 new affordable apartments and an additional 800 were in the pipeline.
He planned to convene a panel of developers and community representatives to make sure the city's development is inclusive and "that this renaissance that all of us have been waiting for, leaves the station with Newarkers on the train."
'Hire. Buy. Live'
With less than 20 percent of jobs in Newark going to city residents, Baraka underscored training programs and partnerships with companies to boost this number and raise living wages.
He said 1,000 construction and permanent jobs were coming to the city and announced a new partnership with businesses, medical institutions, higher education, clergy and workforce development programs called "Hire. Buy. Live. Newark" that would find full-time jobs for 2,020 unemployed residents by 2020. The plan would also push companies to procure locally and spur population growth.
Baraka said the plan was "an unprecedented collaboration for an American city."
'Forward ever, backward never'
Speaking before a crowd of nearly 3,000, that included former governors, state senators and assembly members, Baraka said the city was making strides to reduce crime and be a model for other major cities in the U.S.
He announced a new initiative to put street-level cameras in at least 125 "hot spots" in the city that will allow neighbors to monitor their own blocks -- on their phones and computers -- and make anonymous tips to police.
Baraka said police removed 500 guns off the street last year, as officers rolled out some of those weapons on the stage.
"This is why we need national gun reform policy now in this country," Baraka said pointing to the dozens of guns. He also mentioned the fatal shooting of a 10-year-old boy Saturday when an 11-year-old child was holding a gun that accidentally fired.
As he wrapped up, the crowd was electrified as Baraka talked about moving forward, not backward. One woman chanted, "best mayor in the United States!" Others, led by Baraka chanted, "forward ever, backward, never."
"We have the ability today to chart a path for ourselves that has been the least traveled," Baraka said."We are not letting up, we have just begun and we have so much more to do."
Mayor Ras Baraka touts a 'Newark forward' in state of the city
Newark Mayor Ras Baraka delivers his 3rd state of the city address while at the Victoria Theater of New Jersey Performing Arts Center. Monday March 20, 2017. Newark, NJ, USA (Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)
Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
By Karen Yi | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com on March 20, 2017 at 8:19 PM, updated March 21, 2017 at 9:02 AM
NEWARK -- Taking the stage at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center Monday night, Mayor Ras Baraka spoke of a Newark transformed -- how a city often defined by its violence was emerging as a place for growth and innovation.
"This is our time to show the world what we can do, how to rise out of fire -- all of us -- every religion and every nationality," Baraka, 46, said before a packed crowd. "This is our Newark, Newark 3.0, Newark forward."
In his third state of the city speech since taking office in 2014, Baraka outlined the contours of his changing city -- a new Whole Foods at the remodeled Hahne & Co. building, a coming 22-acre public park in the downtown and a 13 percent reduction in overall crime.
"This has always been the thing that we have allowed others to define us by ... we have had decades of intractable and stubborn crime and violence in our community," Baraka said. "But I am happy to say that we are moving in the right direction."
In a wide-ranging speech, spanning about an hour, Baraka touched on the city's most pressing issues: public safety, development and jobs.
"We are cutting ribbons and doing groundbreakings almost every week," he said before a screen that read "Newark Forward." "We have over $2 billion of construction happening or in the pipeline right now."
With millions of square feet of commercial, residential and industrial development Baraka said change would not come at the expense of current residents.
"We know that there is a cry for affordable housing in this city which is why we are working on Newark's first inclusionary zoning ordinance to ensure that new housing development includes affordable homes and apartments," he said.
'Our city is a sanctuary city'
Baraka took a stab at President Donald J. Trump's immigration policies and reiterated the city's status as a sanctuary city.
Sanctuary cities generally limit their cooperation with immigration officials and Trump has vowed to cut federal funding from such jurisdictions.
"Our commitment to democracy will make us safer and more prosperous, not fear and division," he said. "We are a sanctuary city because it is who we are, our essence, a maker city, full of immigrants and ex-slaves escaping terror in the south."
Among one of the night's highlights, Baraka touted the city's diversity in Spanish and promised to protect undocumented immigrants as the crowd stood in applause and residents representing different cultures joined him on stage.
Essex Co. leaders stand by immigrants despite Trump order
Sanctuary cities, like Newark, are jurisdictions that limit their cooperation with federal immigration agents and could lose federal funding under President Trump's new executive order.
'This is Newark moving forward'
Photos of cranes, renderings and ongoing construction flashed behind Baraka as he rattled off coming retail and housing developments: A new poetry cafe, apartments for those with special needs and veterans transitional housing for women.
"I can go on and on and on," he said, listing more coming projects in once-abandoned buildings. But he said that the city would also ensure residents could afford to live in a changing Newark.
"We are focused on affordable housing," he said. "So when somebody tells you this is the next Brooklyn you say no, this is the next Newark."
Baraka said the city had provided 404 new affordable apartments and an additional 800 were in the pipeline.
He planned to convene a panel of developers and community representatives to make sure the city's development is inclusive and "that this renaissance that all of us have been waiting for, leaves the station with Newarkers on the train."
'Hire. Buy. Live'
With less than 20 percent of jobs in Newark going to city residents, Baraka underscored training programs and partnerships with companies to boost this number and raise living wages.
He said 1,000 construction and permanent jobs were coming to the city and announced a new partnership with businesses, medical institutions, higher education, clergy and workforce development programs called "Hire. Buy. Live. Newark" that would find full-time jobs for 2,020 unemployed residents by 2020. The plan would also push companies to procure locally and spur population growth.
Baraka said the plan was "an unprecedented collaboration for an American city."
'Forward ever, backward never'
Speaking before a crowd of nearly 3,000, that included former governors, state senators and assembly members, Baraka said the city was making strides to reduce crime and be a model for other major cities in the U.S.
He announced a new initiative to put street-level cameras in at least 125 "hot spots" in the city that will allow neighbors to monitor their own blocks -- on their phones and computers -- and make anonymous tips to police.
Baraka said police removed 500 guns off the street last year, as officers rolled out some of those weapons on the stage.
"This is why we need national gun reform policy now in this country," Baraka said pointing to the dozens of guns. He also mentioned the fatal shooting of a 10-year-old boy Saturday when an 11-year-old child was holding a gun that accidentally fired.
As he wrapped up, the crowd was electrified as Baraka talked about moving forward, not backward. One woman chanted, "best mayor in the United States!" Others, led by Baraka chanted, "forward ever, backward, never."
"We have the ability today to chart a path for ourselves that has been the least traveled," Baraka said."We are not letting up, we have just begun and we have so much more to do."
Mayor Ras Baraka touts a 'Newark forward' in state of the city
Newark88
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The old Bergen st School done burned down. 
Many memories of playing ball on the basketball court
NEWARK FIRE BURNS THROUGH FORMER SCHOOL, FLARES UP TWICE
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EMBED </>MORE NEWS VIDEOS
Dray Clark reporting
Eyewitness News
Tuesday, March 21, 2017 09:21AM
NEWARK, New Jersey (WABC) --
An old school went up in flames Monday night in a three-alarm fire that lit up the sky in Newark.
Heavy fire shot through the roof of the William H. Brown Academy on Bergen Street, which has been permanently closed.
The fire started in two rooms of the building at 11:45 p.m. and firefighters said it appeared to be under control within 30 minutes.
Firefighters and fire marshals remained at the scene.
At 2:38 a.m., there was a new report from firefighters that there was a fire in the midsection of the building, said Newark Fire Chief Rufus Jackson.
"The fact it is such a large building may be why the fire grew so fast before we got a chance to stretch our lines and extinguish the fire," said jackson. "Then, the weather is cold, so we have to avoid slip and falls and injuries from our firefighters."
Firefighters stretched water lines for several blocks.
Some furniture and books were left in the school, which is currently closed.
3-alarm fire in Newark burns through former school
Many memories of playing ball on the basketball courtNEWARK FIRE BURNS THROUGH FORMER SCHOOL, FLARES UP TWICE
EMBED </>MORE NEWS VIDEOS
Dray Clark reporting
Eyewitness News
Tuesday, March 21, 2017 09:21AM
NEWARK, New Jersey (WABC) --
An old school went up in flames Monday night in a three-alarm fire that lit up the sky in Newark.
Heavy fire shot through the roof of the William H. Brown Academy on Bergen Street, which has been permanently closed.
The fire started in two rooms of the building at 11:45 p.m. and firefighters said it appeared to be under control within 30 minutes.
Firefighters and fire marshals remained at the scene.
At 2:38 a.m., there was a new report from firefighters that there was a fire in the midsection of the building, said Newark Fire Chief Rufus Jackson.
"The fact it is such a large building may be why the fire grew so fast before we got a chance to stretch our lines and extinguish the fire," said jackson. "Then, the weather is cold, so we have to avoid slip and falls and injuries from our firefighters."
Firefighters stretched water lines for several blocks.
Some furniture and books were left in the school, which is currently closed.
3-alarm fire in Newark burns through former school
Newark88
Superstar
Newark officials praise PATH $1.7B airport extension plan that includes new station
There will be a new PATH station serving the public in Newark's South Ward, built as part of the commuter rail line's extension to Newark Liberty International Airport, under a vote by the Port Authority authorizing $57 million in planning and design work on the extension project. (Photo by Steve Strunsky | NJ Advance Media)
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Satellite
NEWARK -- Newark officials are applauding a decision by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to include a new PATH station in Newark's South Ward in plans to extend the commuter rail system to Newark Liberty International Airport.
"I thank the Port Authority Commissioners for keeping the PATH extension on track," Mayor Ras Baraka said in a statement Sunday evening. "This is another step forward for a project that will have an enormous impact on Newark's economy and that of the region. In addition to spurring housing and economic development of the Dayton neighborhood, the new South Ward PATH transportation hub will provide increased access to jobs for Newark residents."
On Thursday, the Port Authority Board of Commissioners voted to authorize $57 million for planning and design work on the proposed 2-mile extension of the PATH system from Newark Penn Station to Newark Liberty.
ADVERTISING
The extension, estimated to cost a total of $1.7 billion and be completed in 2026, would provide a direct link from the World Trade Center PATH station in Manhattan and points in between to the airport monorail, which would then carry passengers, airport employees and others to the terminals.
In announcing the approval of the planning funds, the Port Authority specifically noted that, barring environmental or other obstacles, the extension project would include a new PATH station in Newark's South Ward.
"Subject to completion of the environmental review process and project authorization by the Port Authority board, the project would include a new station in Newark's South Ward Dayton Street neighborhood," the Port Authority said in an announcement of Thursday's vote.
PA backtracks, says South Ward station still in PATH plans
Port Authority officials said the station, to be built across the tracks from the NJ Transit airport station near Weequahic Park, remains a key part of the proposed PATH extension
Thursday's action including the new station follows an episode in January that angered Newark elected officials and forced the bi-state agency to retract statements by two of its executives. On Jan. 17, the executives testified during a legislative hearing in Trenton that a new South Ward station would not be included in the project due, after all, to physical constraints.
Word of the testimony angered proponents of the new station, including Baraka, South Ward Councilman John Sharpe James, and state Sen. M. Theresa Ruiz (D-Essex). They and others envision the new station as a key to redevelopment of the South Ward's Dayton/Seth Boyden neighborhood, just east of Weequahic Park, where Frelinghuysen and Haynes avenues meet.
Ruiz is a member of the Joint Legislative Oversight committee, before whom the executives were testifying about the PATH extension and other projects in the Port Authority's 10-year, $32 billion capital plan, and she and other committtee members immediately expressed their concerns. Baraka and James soon followed suit, issuing angry statements demanding the South Ward station be included, and the next day the Port Authority assured them it would be.
An agency official who insisted on anonymity told NJ Advance Media at the time that the executives had confused talk of a South Ward station with a separate, defunct proposal to construct a station near South Street in Newark's Ironbound neighborhood.
Officially, project documents refer to the South Ward station as the Dayton Street Neighborhood Station, the official said.
Newark officials praise PATH $1.7B airport extension plan that includes new station
There will be a new PATH station serving the public in Newark's South Ward, built as part of the commuter rail line's extension to Newark Liberty International Airport, under a vote by the Port Authority authorizing $57 million in planning and design work on the extension project. (Photo by Steve Strunsky | NJ Advance Media)
Map
Satellite
NEWARK -- Newark officials are applauding a decision by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to include a new PATH station in Newark's South Ward in plans to extend the commuter rail system to Newark Liberty International Airport.
"I thank the Port Authority Commissioners for keeping the PATH extension on track," Mayor Ras Baraka said in a statement Sunday evening. "This is another step forward for a project that will have an enormous impact on Newark's economy and that of the region. In addition to spurring housing and economic development of the Dayton neighborhood, the new South Ward PATH transportation hub will provide increased access to jobs for Newark residents."
On Thursday, the Port Authority Board of Commissioners voted to authorize $57 million for planning and design work on the proposed 2-mile extension of the PATH system from Newark Penn Station to Newark Liberty.
ADVERTISING
The extension, estimated to cost a total of $1.7 billion and be completed in 2026, would provide a direct link from the World Trade Center PATH station in Manhattan and points in between to the airport monorail, which would then carry passengers, airport employees and others to the terminals.
In announcing the approval of the planning funds, the Port Authority specifically noted that, barring environmental or other obstacles, the extension project would include a new PATH station in Newark's South Ward.
"Subject to completion of the environmental review process and project authorization by the Port Authority board, the project would include a new station in Newark's South Ward Dayton Street neighborhood," the Port Authority said in an announcement of Thursday's vote.
PA backtracks, says South Ward station still in PATH plans
Port Authority officials said the station, to be built across the tracks from the NJ Transit airport station near Weequahic Park, remains a key part of the proposed PATH extension
Thursday's action including the new station follows an episode in January that angered Newark elected officials and forced the bi-state agency to retract statements by two of its executives. On Jan. 17, the executives testified during a legislative hearing in Trenton that a new South Ward station would not be included in the project due, after all, to physical constraints.
Word of the testimony angered proponents of the new station, including Baraka, South Ward Councilman John Sharpe James, and state Sen. M. Theresa Ruiz (D-Essex). They and others envision the new station as a key to redevelopment of the South Ward's Dayton/Seth Boyden neighborhood, just east of Weequahic Park, where Frelinghuysen and Haynes avenues meet.
Ruiz is a member of the Joint Legislative Oversight committee, before whom the executives were testifying about the PATH extension and other projects in the Port Authority's 10-year, $32 billion capital plan, and she and other committtee members immediately expressed their concerns. Baraka and James soon followed suit, issuing angry statements demanding the South Ward station be included, and the next day the Port Authority assured them it would be.
An agency official who insisted on anonymity told NJ Advance Media at the time that the executives had confused talk of a South Ward station with a separate, defunct proposal to construct a station near South Street in Newark's Ironbound neighborhood.
Officially, project documents refer to the South Ward station as the Dayton Street Neighborhood Station, the official said.
Newark officials praise PATH $1.7B airport extension plan that includes new station
Newark88
Superstar
Congrats to lil bro Al-Quadin Muhammad on being drafted to the NFL
Former North Ward Scorpion/Brick City Lions Player Chosen to Play for New Orleans Saints
Apr 30 2017 - 12:11pm
The New Orlean Saints selected Miami defensive end Al-Quadin Muhammad (196th overall) a Newark native and former North Ward Scorpion (Brick City Lions) athlete.
Muhammad was chosen by the Saints using their final draft pick in the sixth round of the 2017 NFL Draft according to reports.
Muhammad as a Hurricane had seven sacks in his career and made other contributions to the team reports said.
Miami, Muhammad totaled 60 tackles, and a forced fumble to go along with the seven sacks according to NFL.com
The Saints, attempting to fill voids in two of their defensive end positions, selected Muhammad on Saturday evening.
Muhammad has served the Newark community well by assisting youth to continue striving for the best in academics and athletics during several mentoring sessions and free football clinics held in the city.
A 13th Avenue Elementary School graduate and Don Bosco Prep grad, Muhammad stated that he is focused on suiting up for the Saints this coming fall.
Former North Ward Scorpion/Brick City Lions Player Chosen to Play for New Orleans Saints
Apr 30 2017 - 12:11pm
The New Orlean Saints selected Miami defensive end Al-Quadin Muhammad (196th overall) a Newark native and former North Ward Scorpion (Brick City Lions) athlete.
Muhammad was chosen by the Saints using their final draft pick in the sixth round of the 2017 NFL Draft according to reports.
Muhammad as a Hurricane had seven sacks in his career and made other contributions to the team reports said.
Miami, Muhammad totaled 60 tackles, and a forced fumble to go along with the seven sacks according to NFL.com
The Saints, attempting to fill voids in two of their defensive end positions, selected Muhammad on Saturday evening.
Muhammad has served the Newark community well by assisting youth to continue striving for the best in academics and athletics during several mentoring sessions and free football clinics held in the city.
A 13th Avenue Elementary School graduate and Don Bosco Prep grad, Muhammad stated that he is focused on suiting up for the Saints this coming fall.
Newark88
Superstar
Yea all the townhouses in the city were once projects at one time (ie Prince st, Stella Wrights, Hayes Homes, Hill Manor, Columbus Homes in the North Ward, etc)
This is crazy to me, I pass this area all the time and never realized it look liked this. It's all townhouses now.
Shoutout to Newark, always fun.
Newark88
Superstar
My hood. Elizabeth Ave
This is bigNewark officials praise PATH $1.7B airport extension plan that includes new station
There will be a new PATH station serving the public in Newark's South Ward, built as part of the commuter rail line's extension to Newark Liberty International Airport, under a vote by the Port Authority authorizing $57 million in planning and design work on the extension project. (Photo by Steve Strunsky | NJ Advance Media)
Map
Satellite
NEWARK -- Newark officials are applauding a decision by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to include a new PATH station in Newark's South Ward in plans to extend the commuter rail system to Newark Liberty International Airport.
"I thank the Port Authority Commissioners for keeping the PATH extension on track," Mayor Ras Baraka said in a statement Sunday evening. "This is another step forward for a project that will have an enormous impact on Newark's economy and that of the region. In addition to spurring housing and economic development of the Dayton neighborhood, the new South Ward PATH transportation hub will provide increased access to jobs for Newark residents."
On Thursday, the Port Authority Board of Commissioners voted to authorize $57 million for planning and design work on the proposed 2-mile extension of the PATH system from Newark Penn Station to Newark Liberty.
ADVERTISING
The extension, estimated to cost a total of $1.7 billion and be completed in 2026, would provide a direct link from the World Trade Center PATH station in Manhattan and points in between to the airport monorail, which would then carry passengers, airport employees and others to the terminals.
In announcing the approval of the planning funds, the Port Authority specifically noted that, barring environmental or other obstacles, the extension project would include a new PATH station in Newark's South Ward.
"Subject to completion of the environmental review process and project authorization by the Port Authority board, the project would include a new station in Newark's South Ward Dayton Street neighborhood," the Port Authority said in an announcement of Thursday's vote.
PA backtracks, says South Ward station still in PATH plans
Port Authority officials said the station, to be built across the tracks from the NJ Transit airport station near Weequahic Park, remains a key part of the proposed PATH extension
Thursday's action including the new station follows an episode in January that angered Newark elected officials and forced the bi-state agency to retract statements by two of its executives. On Jan. 17, the executives testified during a legislative hearing in Trenton that a new South Ward station would not be included in the project due, after all, to physical constraints.
Word of the testimony angered proponents of the new station, including Baraka, South Ward Councilman John Sharpe James, and state Sen. M. Theresa Ruiz (D-Essex). They and others envision the new station as a key to redevelopment of the South Ward's Dayton/Seth Boyden neighborhood, just east of Weequahic Park, where Frelinghuysen and Haynes avenues meet.
Ruiz is a member of the Joint Legislative Oversight committee, before whom the executives were testifying about the PATH extension and other projects in the Port Authority's 10-year, $32 billion capital plan, and she and other committtee members immediately expressed their concerns. Baraka and James soon followed suit, issuing angry statements demanding the South Ward station be included, and the next day the Port Authority assured them it would be.
An agency official who insisted on anonymity told NJ Advance Media at the time that the executives had confused talk of a South Ward station with a separate, defunct proposal to construct a station near South Street in Newark's Ironbound neighborhood.
Officially, project documents refer to the South Ward station as the Dayton Street Neighborhood Station, the official said.
Newark officials praise PATH $1.7B airport extension plan that includes new station
Newark88
Superstar
Behind the 7 police shootings in Newark over the past 7 months
Updated May 08, 2017
Posted May 08, 2017
By Jessica Mazzola | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
NEWARK — A New Jersey community only recently massaging a decades-long strain between its police department and citizens is reacting to several police shooting incidents over the past few months.
Law enforcement officials say the five men who have been shot and killed by Newark police were allegedly armed or engaging in criminal activity when they died. Other non-fatal shootings have occurred during alleged robberies and other crimes.
Activists and experts say the shootings have not necessarily hurt the relationship between the police department and the community.
“It’s a multi-dimensional issue. You have to take each case individually,” said Larry Hamm, president of the People’s Organization for Progress, one of the most active area organizations focused on protesting police use of force.
When someone dies, "it doesn’t automatically mean the police were in the wrong,” Hamm said.
Over the past seven months, NJ Advance Media has reported on three non-fatal police shootings in Newark, and four more in the city that have resulted in five deaths.
Here's a closer look at the incidents:
(Facebook)
Najier Salaam and George Richards-Meyers
The two 18-year-olds were shot by police on Sept. 30, 2016, after five officers started pursuing three teens wanted in two robberies that had occurred earlier that day. According to authorities, the three led police on a chase that included several collisions, and the car speeding toward an officer. Police said they fired after hearing gunshots, and believing the driver was pointing a gun at them. The only weapon recovered from the car was a BB gun that looked like a real gun.
A grand jury voted in March not to indict the five officers involved in the shooting. The incident and ruling prompted a fight from family members and few small rallies in the city.
(Scudder photo courtesy of Facebook; Photos of the scene Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)
Talif Scudder
Police allegedly shot at the 30-year-old Irvington man after he shot and critically injured a 16-year-old boy in the city’s West Ward on Nov. 23, 2016. Scudder was pronounced dead at the scene, authorities said. The teenager survived, but was hospitalized with injuries. The two police officers were not hurt.
This shotgun was recovered at the scene of the police-involved shooting in Newark April 6, 2017, according to a source. (Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)
Kenneth Francis
Police responded to a Hunterdon Street residence on April 6 after someone reported a man with a shotgun. Authorities said Francis, 37, pointed the gun at officers, and police shot at him when he refused to drop it. Authorities said Francis shot at officers, as well, but did not hit any. Francis was pronounced dead at University Hospital after the shootout.
(Courtesy Facebook)
Hakim McNair
McNair, 23, was armed when police approached his parked car on April 25, authorities have said. A document obtained by NJ Advance Media alleged he pulled his gun out as officers approached. After he was shot by an officer, McNair tried to drive away, hitting several police cars before crashing, the document revealed. He was transported to University Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, officials have said.
Newark Police and investigators from the Essex County Prosecutor's Office investigate a shooting along Broadway on February 1, 2017. (Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)
Non-fatal shootings
Police in Newark have also been involved in three non-fatal shooting incidents over the past several months.
On Feb. 1, officers fired an unknown number of shots when they interrupted a shootout at Bloomfield Avenue and Garside Street. On Feb. 27, an officer shot in the arm a man who was carrying a gun and refused to drop it, authorities said. On May 3, police shot and injured a man who allegedly attacked them during a robbery.
Panasonic donated 15 car mounted and 65 body worn cameras to the Newark Police Department. (Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)
Little information released
Experts say video recordings of other police-involved deaths across the country in the past few years have contributed to large-scale reactions from communities.
In many of the Newark incidents, “the public knows very few facts,” said Jenny Brooke Condon, an associate professor of law at Seton Hall’s Center for Social Justice and director of the school’s Equal Justice Clinic. In many of the national cases that incited outrage, video footage of the incidents led people to question the interaction, she said, noting that Newark police are in the midst of beginning a federally mandated body and dashboard camera program.
She called a subdued reaction from a community that has not seen a video of an incident “rational.”
“I think it’s to the public’s credit, not immediately responding until there is evidence in the public record that something went wrong,” she said.
(Paul Milo | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)
City officials say the department has a relatively low use of force rate. According to statistics in a December 2016 report released on the NPD’s website, officers discharged their guns eight times in 2016, and used deadly force three times during the entire year.
No federal agency currently tracks deadly police use of force statistics. According to a Washington Post count, there have been eight fatal police shootings in New Jersey so far in 2017, including two in Paterson, a city with about half the population of Newark's. In all of 2016, there were 12 fatal police shootings in New Jersey, the report counted.
The Newark police department’s use of force procedure is one of the many policies being reworked under the watch of a federal monitor installed in the city last year to carry out a long list of federally mandated reforms in the NPD.
Though the new policies are not yet in place, Hamm suggested the relationship between police and the community is already on the mend.
Since the monitor has been in place, Hamm said the People’s Organization for Progress hasn’t had anyone from Newark approach it complaining of police brutality. Previously, “we were getting a new Newark family once a month, or so,” he said.
In an optimistic progress report released by the monitor last week, a survey of residents found 35 percent of people have “a lot” of trust in city police, and 38 percent have some trust.
(Robert Sciarrino | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)
'No winners'
When interviewed after each shooting, James Stewart Jr., president of the Newark Fraternal Order of Police, said the officers in the incidents got involved in already violent situations in an effort to protect the community.
After McNair's shooting, Stewart said the officers "probably saved someone's life."
When asked about the community’s response to police shootings, Public Safety Director Anthony Ambrose pointed to the balance between using deadly force and protecting the community.
“We never want to use it,” he said. “But, we have to make sure to protect officers, and protect third parties.”
And, Ambrose pointed out, fatalities after police altercations are difficult for both the family members of the victim, and for the police officers involved.
“There are no winners in these situations,” he said. “There are no happy endings.”
Behind the 7 police shootings in Newark over the past 7 months
Updated May 08, 2017
Posted May 08, 2017
By Jessica Mazzola | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
NEWARK — A New Jersey community only recently massaging a decades-long strain between its police department and citizens is reacting to several police shooting incidents over the past few months.
Law enforcement officials say the five men who have been shot and killed by Newark police were allegedly armed or engaging in criminal activity when they died. Other non-fatal shootings have occurred during alleged robberies and other crimes.
Activists and experts say the shootings have not necessarily hurt the relationship between the police department and the community.
“It’s a multi-dimensional issue. You have to take each case individually,” said Larry Hamm, president of the People’s Organization for Progress, one of the most active area organizations focused on protesting police use of force.
When someone dies, "it doesn’t automatically mean the police were in the wrong,” Hamm said.
Over the past seven months, NJ Advance Media has reported on three non-fatal police shootings in Newark, and four more in the city that have resulted in five deaths.
Here's a closer look at the incidents:
(Facebook)
Najier Salaam and George Richards-Meyers
The two 18-year-olds were shot by police on Sept. 30, 2016, after five officers started pursuing three teens wanted in two robberies that had occurred earlier that day. According to authorities, the three led police on a chase that included several collisions, and the car speeding toward an officer. Police said they fired after hearing gunshots, and believing the driver was pointing a gun at them. The only weapon recovered from the car was a BB gun that looked like a real gun.
A grand jury voted in March not to indict the five officers involved in the shooting. The incident and ruling prompted a fight from family members and few small rallies in the city.
(Scudder photo courtesy of Facebook; Photos of the scene Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)
Talif Scudder
Police allegedly shot at the 30-year-old Irvington man after he shot and critically injured a 16-year-old boy in the city’s West Ward on Nov. 23, 2016. Scudder was pronounced dead at the scene, authorities said. The teenager survived, but was hospitalized with injuries. The two police officers were not hurt.
This shotgun was recovered at the scene of the police-involved shooting in Newark April 6, 2017, according to a source. (Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)
Kenneth Francis
Police responded to a Hunterdon Street residence on April 6 after someone reported a man with a shotgun. Authorities said Francis, 37, pointed the gun at officers, and police shot at him when he refused to drop it. Authorities said Francis shot at officers, as well, but did not hit any. Francis was pronounced dead at University Hospital after the shootout.
(Courtesy Facebook)
Hakim McNair
McNair, 23, was armed when police approached his parked car on April 25, authorities have said. A document obtained by NJ Advance Media alleged he pulled his gun out as officers approached. After he was shot by an officer, McNair tried to drive away, hitting several police cars before crashing, the document revealed. He was transported to University Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, officials have said.
Newark Police and investigators from the Essex County Prosecutor's Office investigate a shooting along Broadway on February 1, 2017. (Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)
Non-fatal shootings
Police in Newark have also been involved in three non-fatal shooting incidents over the past several months.
On Feb. 1, officers fired an unknown number of shots when they interrupted a shootout at Bloomfield Avenue and Garside Street. On Feb. 27, an officer shot in the arm a man who was carrying a gun and refused to drop it, authorities said. On May 3, police shot and injured a man who allegedly attacked them during a robbery.
Panasonic donated 15 car mounted and 65 body worn cameras to the Newark Police Department. (Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)
Little information released
Experts say video recordings of other police-involved deaths across the country in the past few years have contributed to large-scale reactions from communities.
In many of the Newark incidents, “the public knows very few facts,” said Jenny Brooke Condon, an associate professor of law at Seton Hall’s Center for Social Justice and director of the school’s Equal Justice Clinic. In many of the national cases that incited outrage, video footage of the incidents led people to question the interaction, she said, noting that Newark police are in the midst of beginning a federally mandated body and dashboard camera program.
She called a subdued reaction from a community that has not seen a video of an incident “rational.”
“I think it’s to the public’s credit, not immediately responding until there is evidence in the public record that something went wrong,” she said.
(Paul Milo | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)
City officials say the department has a relatively low use of force rate. According to statistics in a December 2016 report released on the NPD’s website, officers discharged their guns eight times in 2016, and used deadly force three times during the entire year.
No federal agency currently tracks deadly police use of force statistics. According to a Washington Post count, there have been eight fatal police shootings in New Jersey so far in 2017, including two in Paterson, a city with about half the population of Newark's. In all of 2016, there were 12 fatal police shootings in New Jersey, the report counted.
The Newark police department’s use of force procedure is one of the many policies being reworked under the watch of a federal monitor installed in the city last year to carry out a long list of federally mandated reforms in the NPD.
Though the new policies are not yet in place, Hamm suggested the relationship between police and the community is already on the mend.
Since the monitor has been in place, Hamm said the People’s Organization for Progress hasn’t had anyone from Newark approach it complaining of police brutality. Previously, “we were getting a new Newark family once a month, or so,” he said.
In an optimistic progress report released by the monitor last week, a survey of residents found 35 percent of people have “a lot” of trust in city police, and 38 percent have some trust.
(Robert Sciarrino | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)
'No winners'
When interviewed after each shooting, James Stewart Jr., president of the Newark Fraternal Order of Police, said the officers in the incidents got involved in already violent situations in an effort to protect the community.
After McNair's shooting, Stewart said the officers "probably saved someone's life."
When asked about the community’s response to police shootings, Public Safety Director Anthony Ambrose pointed to the balance between using deadly force and protecting the community.
“We never want to use it,” he said. “But, we have to make sure to protect officers, and protect third parties.”
And, Ambrose pointed out, fatalities after police altercations are difficult for both the family members of the victim, and for the police officers involved.
“There are no winners in these situations,” he said. “There are no happy endings.”
Behind the 7 police shootings in Newark over the past 7 months
Newark88
Superstar
Video of Downtown Newark (Broad and Market) back in the 20's.
Newark88
Superstar
The lil homies be murking off on them bikes
Newark88
Superstar
Swinging a sledgehammer, Newark mayor helps launch warehouse redevelopment
Newark Mayor Ras Baraka led city officials and developers from Edison Properties in what might be called a wall-breaking ceremony on Tuesday afternoon for the Ironside Newark project, redevelopment of the old Newark Warehouse Company building into 450,000 square feet of retail and commercial space in the city's downtown section, between the Prudential Center arena and Penn Station. (Photo by Steve Strunsky | NJ Advance Media)
Steve Strunsky | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
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NEWARK -- In what could be called a wall breaking ceremony for a warehouse redevelopment project, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka hoisted a sledgehammer and laid into a 4-foot-high section of cinder block wall.
Dressed in a suit and hard hat, Baraka took several wacks at the demonstration wall, before finally breaking through, prompting cheers from dozens of city officials, developers and other onlookers inside the 108-year-old Newark Warehouse Company on Edison Place.
Over the next 18 months, Newark-based developer Edison Properties will transform the vast concrete warehouse into a 456,000-square-foot commercial and retail center, just across Mulberry Street from the Prudential Center arena, and a few blocks from Newark Penn Station.
"It felt good," Baraka said of the pounding he gave on the wall, carrying the sledgehammer as a memento of the occasion. "It released some of the tension that builds up."
The warehouse conversion is yet another development or re-development project Baraka has helped launch as mayor, presiding over a building boom in the city's downtown section fueled by the ongoing economic recovery and, the mayor said, his friendly attitude toward business as a source of jobs and local economic growth.
Edison Properties will receive a 30-year tax abatement on the warehouse project worth $1 million, said Baye Adofo-Wilson, the city's director of economic and housing development.
Designed by global architects Perkins Eastman, the $80 million privately financed warehouse redevelopment project will feature modern, loft-style and penthouse office space on its six upper floors, with a rooftop green space offering views of Manhattan, Edison said. The building will be linked to the city's Newark Fiber fiber optic network providing high-speed internet access.
The 1907 concrete warehouse, also known as the Central Graphic Arts Building, overlooks a broad expanse of parking spaces that Edison is in the early stages of redeveloping into a park to be named Mulberry Commons.
Baraka said Ironside and Mulberry Park will anchor the rebirth of an area of the city's downtown between Broad Street and McCarter Highway, west of Raymond Boulevard. The redeveloped warehouse, he said, will be an ideal location for the kind of technology companies Newark is seeking to attract or nurturing in its tech incubators.
Adofo-Wilson said it would be about 18 months before the first tenants of the redeveloped warehouse would move in.
On Tuesday, project participants and boosters gathered on an broad, vacant floor of the warehouse, listening to speakers as renderings of the redeveloped space appeared on video monitors.
Michael Sommer, Edison's executive vice president of development, called the poroject a "truly unique opportunity" for businesses seeking space, with the availability of low-cost, hi-speed internet service, as well as Newark's highway, and mass transit.
"Since Edison's beginnings in Newark more than 60 years ago, the company has remained deeply committed to the city and its success," Sommer said in a statement. "We could not be happier to announce this groundbreaking project."
Swinging a sledgehammer, Newark mayor helps launch warehouse redevelopment
Newark Mayor Ras Baraka led city officials and developers from Edison Properties in what might be called a wall-breaking ceremony on Tuesday afternoon for the Ironside Newark project, redevelopment of the old Newark Warehouse Company building into 450,000 square feet of retail and commercial space in the city's downtown section, between the Prudential Center arena and Penn Station. (Photo by Steve Strunsky | NJ Advance Media)
Steve Strunsky | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
NEWARK -- In what could be called a wall breaking ceremony for a warehouse redevelopment project, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka hoisted a sledgehammer and laid into a 4-foot-high section of cinder block wall.
Dressed in a suit and hard hat, Baraka took several wacks at the demonstration wall, before finally breaking through, prompting cheers from dozens of city officials, developers and other onlookers inside the 108-year-old Newark Warehouse Company on Edison Place.
Over the next 18 months, Newark-based developer Edison Properties will transform the vast concrete warehouse into a 456,000-square-foot commercial and retail center, just across Mulberry Street from the Prudential Center arena, and a few blocks from Newark Penn Station.
"It felt good," Baraka said of the pounding he gave on the wall, carrying the sledgehammer as a memento of the occasion. "It released some of the tension that builds up."
The warehouse conversion is yet another development or re-development project Baraka has helped launch as mayor, presiding over a building boom in the city's downtown section fueled by the ongoing economic recovery and, the mayor said, his friendly attitude toward business as a source of jobs and local economic growth.
Edison Properties will receive a 30-year tax abatement on the warehouse project worth $1 million, said Baye Adofo-Wilson, the city's director of economic and housing development.
Designed by global architects Perkins Eastman, the $80 million privately financed warehouse redevelopment project will feature modern, loft-style and penthouse office space on its six upper floors, with a rooftop green space offering views of Manhattan, Edison said. The building will be linked to the city's Newark Fiber fiber optic network providing high-speed internet access.
The 1907 concrete warehouse, also known as the Central Graphic Arts Building, overlooks a broad expanse of parking spaces that Edison is in the early stages of redeveloping into a park to be named Mulberry Commons.
Baraka said Ironside and Mulberry Park will anchor the rebirth of an area of the city's downtown between Broad Street and McCarter Highway, west of Raymond Boulevard. The redeveloped warehouse, he said, will be an ideal location for the kind of technology companies Newark is seeking to attract or nurturing in its tech incubators.
Adofo-Wilson said it would be about 18 months before the first tenants of the redeveloped warehouse would move in.
On Tuesday, project participants and boosters gathered on an broad, vacant floor of the warehouse, listening to speakers as renderings of the redeveloped space appeared on video monitors.
Michael Sommer, Edison's executive vice president of development, called the poroject a "truly unique opportunity" for businesses seeking space, with the availability of low-cost, hi-speed internet service, as well as Newark's highway, and mass transit.
"Since Edison's beginnings in Newark more than 60 years ago, the company has remained deeply committed to the city and its success," Sommer said in a statement. "We could not be happier to announce this groundbreaking project."
Swinging a sledgehammer, Newark mayor helps launch warehouse redevelopment