Newark Mayor Shares Success Stories In 2025 State Of City Speech

NEWARK, NJ — Newark Mayor Ras Baraka recently presented his 11th annual State of the City address, highlighting the year’s headlines in housing, crime, finance, education, health, arts and technology.

Baraka gave his speech prior to the Easter holiday weekend at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (watch the video here, and read the full text of his address here).

In his address, Baraka described Newark as a city that has always fought “an uphill battle” – with the odds stacked against it.

“But look what we have done in spite of it all,” Baraka encouraged. “Look how good you look, Newark, and how far you have come. Look at the things you have accomplished.”

Some of the benchmarks and data shared by the mayor’s office includes:

FINANCE

The mayor said the city has been making efforts to save costs, while improving the quality of life for its municipal team members.

Baraka’s office shared the following financial updates:

• Moody’s credit rating for Newark upgraded from Baa2 to Baa1, reflecting improved fiscal health and investor confidence
• City maintained 15 percent fiscal reserves without reliance on state aid or deficit financing
• City saw a 2.12 percent increase in total revenues from $940 million to $960 million

“We secured $8 million to reduce employee health care costs, saved $4 million on prescription costs and announced at our all-city meeting yesterday that we are taking steps to embark upon Reference-Based Pricing for health care that would significantly reduce their out-of-pocket costs and costs to our overall budget as well,” he added.

The Newark City Council, which operates separately from the mayor's office, gave a green light to a $968.15 million municipal budget last year – the city's largest-ever spending plan. It came with a tax increase of 2.3 percent for local homeowners.

• See Related: Newark Council OKs City Budget: Tax Hike, Library Update

In 2024, the average Newark resident paid $7,238 in property taxes on a home valued at $190,334 (not including credits and deductions).

• See Related: Here's How Much Newark Homeowners Pay In Taxes (2025 Update)

PUBLIC SAFETY

“Crime is continuing, by God’s grace, to trend downward,” Baraka said, noting that homicides are down by 23 percent and auto thefts are down by 35 percent. See Related: Violent Crime Rises In Newark – But Is Still Lower Than Past Decades

“We are continuing to expand our precincts and further train our officers,” the mayor continued. “We are improving technology — better equipping our officers, and improving public safety response times. We are continuing to strengthen our community relations and removing barriers between law enforcement and residents.”

Other public safety stats shared by the mayor’s office include:

• 48 new police recruits and 80 new firefighter recruits
• Opening of the Metro/9th Precinct downtown
• Opening of the William Mobile Ashby Community Care & Training Center, which is a shared space for the community that also serves as a training hub for police officers, firefighters, and social workers
• Re-established state-certified Newark Police Academy after a 15-year absence. This state-of-the-art facility features the latest technology, including a 300-degree virtual, immersive, and interactive training system
• Transitioning to a digital radio communications system for Police and Fire divisions
• Office of Violence Prevention and Trauma Recovery (OVPTR) fielded more than 2,800 client referrals from Newark’s Police Division. The OVPTR launched the Summer Safety Initiative, invested $13 million in Community Partner Capacity, and funded 37 community organizations to provide specified trauma-based support to city residents.
• The Brick City Peace Collective served 50 high risk youth through their Peace Academy, helped 60 students graduate debt-free through their Guaranteed Education Program, and received the Silver Certification from Bloomberg Philanthropies for their data-driven public safety model

Baraka also honored police officer Jairo Rodriguez and police sergeant Joseph Azcona, who were killed earlier this year in the line of duty.

• See Related: Police Officer Shot Dead In Newark, Teen Arrested (What We Know So Far)
• See Related: Newark Cop Accused Of Fatally Striking Fellow Officer With Car

HOUSING

Housing has been a constant hot-button issue in New Jersey’s largest city, which has a present need of thousands of affordable housing units, according to the state’s latest round of quotas.

Here are some of the year’s highlights, the mayor’s office said:

• 505 affordable units received Certificates of Occupancy by the end of 2024, with 1,381 affordable units approved citywide.
• Newark Housing Tracker was launched, enhancing transparency in the City’s affordable housing pipeline.
• 124 city-owned properties were sold, generating $3.6 million in revenue to fund future housing projects.
• The City was awarded a $4 million Housing and Urban Development grant to support Inclusionary Zoning Ordinance (IZO) compliance and housing affordability initiatives.
• Live Newark Program was expanded, awarding 54 home improvement grants and 20 closing cost grants, boosting homeownership.
• Equitable Investments in Newark Communities program awarded 48 parcels to 16 community-based developers, creating 374 new affordable units.
• Newark’s IZO program, First Dibs, ensured that more than 80 percent of the IZO units produced are housing Newark residents (188 units in 11 projects).

Meanwhile, the city continues to make progress on the chronic homelessness that has been taking place in Newark over the past years, Baraka said.

According to the mayor:

“We continued our Housing First strategies around homelessness and we expanded our Path Home texting service. We grew our outreach team to include a metro division with psychiatric treatment and counseling services with the help of our community partners. We expanded the time to 24 hours. And are in the process of partnering with the Newark Alliance and NJ Transit to develop an outreach team just for Penn Station Newark, and that’s not all. We have joined with Newark Housing Authority to identify and begin to put our chronically homeless in 200 apartments renovated by the city of Newark. And we have already begun to move people in.”

• See Related: Newark Is Trying To Give A ‘Path Home’ To Its Homeless
• See Related: There’s A New Plan To Address Homelessness At Newark Penn Station

EDUCATION, HEALTH AND WELLNESS

“We are breaking generational cycles of poverty, and creating real hope in the lives of our young people,” the mayor said, pointing to successes like the city’s “Guaranteed Education” program – which now has 60 students on track to graduate with debt-free college degrees.

• Read More: Newark Experiments With ‘Guaranteed College Education’ Program
• Read More: $1.5B Newark School Budget Proposed (See Early Details)

Other statistics shared by the mayor’s office include:

• Mary Eliza Mahoney Health Center patient visits increased by five percent overall from 2023 to 2024, and the center’s dental practice has seen a 106 percent increase in patient visits year over last year
• The Health Center’s Denture program was established in March 2024 and provides affordable dental care. To date, more than 800 dental procedures have been completed
• Number of children served at the Immunization Clinic increased by five percent in 2024
• WIC (Women, Infants, and Children) Program provides essential food assistance, nutritional counseling, and breast-feeding support to women and families, with infants and children up to age five. Program enrollment increased by five percent in 2024 and number of clients served rose by 12 percent
• Childhood Lead Exposure Program performs home inspection for lead paint hazards. Number of inspections rose by 20 percent from 2023 to 2024 and number of homes that received assistance increased by 22 percent
• Mammography in Motion, a mobile medical/breast cancer-screening program of University Hospital, began in April 2024. Since then, more than 500 women have been connected with the program, accounting for 25 percent of women screened throughout Newark
• Uber Health, implemented in April 2024, provides direct transport to and from medical appointments. With the support of Robert Wood Johnson Health, the Mary Eliza Mahoney Health Center has been able to schedule transportation for 6,605 patients to date at no cost to patient or health center

ENVIRONMENT

Baraka said the city has acquired eight electric garbage trucks, is rolling out a “Cool Roofs” program to reduce energy costs and mitigate urban heat, is allocating $50,000 for youth led sustainability projects, and is investing in urban farming to battle food insecurity.

The city’s other accomplishments this year include:

• Planted more than 150 trees alongside Newark residences across all five wards. An additional 150 trees were planted by the NJ Tree Foundation and the South Ward Environmental Alliance in collaboration with the City.
• Wrapped up the Nourishing Newark Community Grant Program, which was created in 2022 to address food insecurity intensified by COVID-19. In total, the program awarded 12 local nonprofit organizations more than $1.5 million.
• Partnered with the Department of Public Works to acquire eight new electric vehicle garbage trucks, helping to reduce emissions and improve air quality.

CITY INFRASTRUCTURE, WATER

Baraka said that the city has “exceptional water quality,” with lead levels “well below the EPA safety threshold of 15 parts per billion.”

The Newark Pequannock Water Treatment Plant is nearing completion of a $23 million upgrade, which will increase water production capacity to 60 million gallons per day, he said.

The mayor didn’t elaborate on the city’s ongoing battle against lead water contamination, which remains a “national model” of success despite two arrests last year.

• See Related: Newark ‘Confident’ In Lead Pipe Replacement Program, Despite Arrests

ARTS AND CULTURE

“Here In Newark, we are using art to expand our economy, to create jobs and opportunity, to be inclusive and leverage our diversity, to lift our spirit and to inform our direction,” Baraka said.

The mayor elaborated:

“The expansions of NJPAC and the Newark Museum of Art, combined with the Lionsgate Film and TV Studio, are expected to generate $1 billion in economic impact. Besides those milestones, we are still going strong with our Creative Catalyst fund that has supported over 500 local artists with millions of dollars in grants, which allowed Newark to be listed as the eighth most vibrant arts city in the country. This includes countless public arts projects about 75 murals in collaboration with project empty space.”

Baraka also highlighted the selection of Newark’s first official “poet laureate,” which took place earlier this year. Read More: Meet Newark’s First ‘Poet Laureate’; City Launches New Program

Other milestones that took place over the past year include:

• Kaboom Park completed and City won New Jersey Recreation & Park Association Playground Design Award for Hunterdon Park & Playground, renamed as Chamblee Square Park
• Public pools attracted 9,502 patrons in Summer 2024
• Phase C of Riverfront Park opened, adding new public spaces, an amphitheater, and food kiosks to revitalize the waterfront
• City’s first Poet Laureate program created to promote the literary arts and provide poetry-writing workshops
• City hosted North 2 Shore Festival and Newark Arts Festival, two of state’s largest performing arts festivals
• Expansion of NJPAC and Newark Museum of Art began

TECHNOLOGY

According to the mayor’s office, some recent technology-related milestones for the city have included:

• Provided internet service to 25 businesses and 1,600 Newark Housing Authority units.
• 34,000 households received an Affordable Connectivity Program internet discount.
• Wi-Fi coverage expanded on Rutgers University-Newark campus.
• Connected Hope Village 2 with free high-speed internet and donated seven refurbished computers, benefiting 25 residents.
• Implemented 811 One Call across Newark Fiber operations to reduce disruptions and increased reliability for residents and businesses.

COMMUNITY INITIATIVES

The mayor’s office also shared some recent community projects that have made a positive difference in the city:

• Newark People’s Assembly purchased 1,000 doorbell cameras for their Doorbell Camera Initiative, which seeks to empower communities to organize against crime.
• Encouraged formation of 50 new block associations and re-engaged inactive ones.
• More than 15 neighborhoods have been involved in the citywide Community Clean-up initiative so far, and more than five tons of garbage collected from city blocks, corridors, and public parks.

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