Don’t Believe The Cynicism, Newark Is On The Rise: Mayor

NEWARK, NJ — Even if Amazon doesn’t choose Newark as the site of its new headquarters, the city has already won an important victory just by being mentioned in the list of finalists. That’s because as recently as a few years ago, there’s no way that Newark would have even made the short list, the city’s mayor says.

During a fiery State of the City Address on Tuesday evening, Mayor Ras Baraka pointed to the Amazon HQ finalist list as just one of many success stories that have been taking place across Newark. (Watch a video of the full speech below)

“Four years ago, if you watched television, listened to the radio, read the newspaper or social media, you would have seen a bleak and negative narrative that was forced upon us and shaped the way people around the country viewed our great city,” Baraka said.

“It was so pervasive that some of us believed it too, and it ripened into cynicism and recklessness. Not all of it was true of course, but it began to take hold. However, just four years later there has been so much progress going on that the media could no longer ignore it.”

Much of the good news has come via the strength, conviction and entrepreneurial spirit of its citizens, Baraka said, singling out several Newarkers for their recent contributions to the city:

• “Newark School Board Student Representative Jordan Thomas, who is graduating from Princeton University this year and will attend Oxford University in England as a Rhodes Scholar in September”
• “Firefighter Paul Leber, a 10-year fire veteran who suffered and is recovering from severe injuries suffered while battling a two-alarm blaze”
• “Police Detective Joe Soares, who refrained from returning fire while executing a warrant, despite being hit in his Kevlar vest, and was able to use his restraint and calmness to apprehend the suspect and prevent a deadly gun battle that would have endangered the life of a woman and young child present at the scene”

Baraka also congratulated graduates of the Hire Newark program, holding the up as examples of the city's tenacious, never-say-die spirit:

• 41-year-old Newark native Alfred Eliot, who had spent his life in temporary jobs and is now a distribution clerk at Newark Beth Israel and an inventory specialist at RWJBarnabas Health
• Kalyah Taylor, a Newark 33-year-old who lost her hair salon and is now a concierge at Clara Maass Medical Center

Here are some other signs that Newark is on the rise, according to Baraka.

Crime at its lowest level in 50 years - “We increased the number of officers walking the beat. We created Community Comstat, and graduated hundreds of civilians from our public safety academy. We created clergy patrols and put two community service officers in every precinct. We created with the help of Rutgers University, the Safer Newark Council that helped us target real crime and not put the entire city under siege.”

Newark expanding its profile as a tech hub - “We have a conscious strategy of making Newark a center of the new high tech economy, the Silicon Valley of the East Coast, and that strategy is already proving successful. We prepare for Amazon, whether we agree with them, or not and if they do not come we prepare anyway for a new tech economy. We put a Nan Tech center in every ward like the one on Hawthorne Avenue. We build a smart city by leveraging our 27 miles of fiber. We use it to reduce crime, create jobs, solve problems and make our city more accessible.”

Local control of public schools regained - “I promised that before this first term was up that our schools would return to the people of this community. On February 1, we celebrated the day when the elected school board finally assumed control of our schools again, and we began the process of looking for our own Superintendent, not one appointed by bureaucrats or Trenton politicians. This path was created because we transformed the environment from destruction and division to problem solving and collaboration.”

City unemployment rate down by 30 percent - “Unemployment is down from almost 12 percent from when I started to single digits of 8 percent, and at one point as low as 7 percent, still not acceptable – which is why we are continuing to push forward.”

National leadership in creating community/police cooperation - “The real story is that Newark police are making less unnecessary arrests while reducing crimes and getting fewer complaints while reducing homicides and robberies. While the rest of the country is talking about the Ferguson effect, Newark passed a Civilian Complaint Review Board. We have increased community engagement, opened a women’s support center with community involvement, implemented alternative policing strategies, and have managed to achieve record highs in crime reduction.”

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Photo: YouTube / City of Newark

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