Once Forgotten, Newark Is On The Rise: Mayor Presents 'State Of City'

NEWARK, NJ — Newark used to be a “forgotten stone” in the foundation of New Jersey. Now, the state’s largest city is finally coming into its own as a “corner stone” – and it’s due to the hard work of an entire community, its mayor says.

Newark Mayor Ras Baraka presented the annual State of the City address on Tuesday evening at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, touching on issues such as housing, public safety, economic development and technology (watch video footage below or view it online here).

The mayor also had some words of encouragement for any Newark resident who has heard people trash-talk their city – and is getting sick and tired of it.

“We have so much to be proud of, Newark,” the mayor urged. “Don’t listen to those that wake up to revise your history, to make you believe we are not on our way.”

“Ask yourselves why some go to great lengths to convince us that we don’t mean much in Newark, or that we are not making progress, that we are not smart enough or prepared,” Baraka continued. “They attempt to isolate us into caricatures, then say we are lethargic, powerless, our voter turnout too low, as if voter turnout across the state is soaring. But they are going to find out soon how creative we are, how much power we wield in our hands, how strong our grandmother’s prayers are, how much influence we have and how many family and friends we have in this state across nationalities – from Cumberland County to Warren County.”

“What we do in Newark is a labor of love,” Baraka said. “We are the forgotten stone that has now become the cornerstone. The stone the builders rejected is now that stone you need to stand on, the stone you depend on.”

• See Related: Baraka Says He Will Lift 'Working People' If Elected As NJ Governor

Need proof that New Jersey’s largest city is on the rise? Here are some positive developments that took place in 2023, the mayor said.

HOUSING

When the average cost of a home is $350,000 dollars, and the average income is around $35,000 dollars, there's a "wealth gap" that needs to be addressed, Baraka insisted.

In the past year, the city has been "trying to build rafts so our people won’t drown from the increased wealth becoming more concentrated in a few people’s hands making it difficult to live in this state," the mayor said.

Some local achievements include:

• Updated and adopted the recommended Newark Zoning & Land Use Regulation to allow for more density and to revitalize the city’s neglected corridors.
• Strengthened the Inclusionary Zoning Ordinance that requires developers of 15 units or more to set aside 20 percent of their units to be affordable for low- and moderate-income families.
• Equitable Investment in Newark Communities (EINC) initiative expands affordable homeownership by developing or rehabilitating single and multi-family homes that residents can own or rent at affordable prices. In 2023, 16 sites were identified.
• More than 12,000 housing units built downtown or submitted applications for construction.
• Reallocated $921,000 to help 69 families avoid eviction this year.
• Expanded Live Newark Program, to provide up to $20,000 for down payment or closing costs and $40,000 for repairs to homeowners.
• Guaranteed Income Pilot infused $5.1 million into local economy and directly impacted 430 Newark families.
• Newark Land Back put 52 properties back into productive use to assist city residents with path to homeownership.

PUBLIC SAFETY

Baraka said that the city is seeing its lowest crime statistics in 60 years. Part of the success has been a re-envisioning of Newark's approach to public safety, which is being viewed as a public health issue, and not purely a punitive one. Read More: Newark Is Becoming A Safer Place To Live, 2023 Crime Stats Show

The mayor pointed out that the city has redirected money to create the Office of Violence Prevention and Trauma Recovery, with social workers in every precinct.

"This year we made considerable investments in our community-based violence intervention partners which resulted in a 50 percent increase in mediations of conflicts, along with therapeutic services, and crisis intervention," Baraka said.

Newark crime reductions in 2023 included:

• Burglaries down 16 percent
• Auto theft down 24 percent
• Non-fatal shootings down 36 percent

Other statistics include:

• 61 new police officers hired this year
• $3 million allocated to community partners to provide therapeutic and crisis intervention services including mental health, emotional support, and substance abuse counseling
• More than tripled the number of Public Safety community engagement events
• Secured more than $5.4 million in federal grants for new Fire Division staff and equipment
• Hired nine new firefighters
• Plans to hire an additional 70 to 100 new Firefighters in 2024

“We tripled the number of community engagement events across the city and increased our high risk intervention capacity by investing in nine separate partners and we are doing the same around domestic violence. While some still try to find ways to undermine or belittle this work, the federal government has opened their Office of Violence Prevention and so has the state following our achievements. We are invited around the country to help to other cities create what we are doing here. We are leading the way in Newark and we have so much to be proud of,” he added.

The year in public safety hasn't been without tragedy, however, the mayor said, calling for a moment of silence in memory of two firefighters who lost their lives in a cargo ship blaze last July: Captain Augusto Acabou and Captain Wayne Brooks Jr.

• See Related: Videos Show Fatal Ship Fire At Port Newark; Investigation Continues

HOMELESSNESS

Baraka also touted the city's recent 57.6 percent reduction in its unsheltered population, a big change for a city that routinely leads the county in people experiencing homelessness. Read More: Newark Sees Huge Drop In Unsheltered Homeless Population, State Says

According to Baraka, other encouraging statistics include:

• Moved 21 percent of Hope Village shelter residents to permanent housing
• Acquisition of $2.9 million grant to provide crisis services to individuals experiencing mental health emergencies

NEWARKGO

Baraka said the city's shared e-scooter and bike program continues to be a success.

More than 2,000 affordable scooters and bicycles throughout city provided transportation to nearly 75,000 riders for more than 1 million rides, he said. Read More: E-Scooters, Bikeshare Are Here To Stay In Newark, Mayor Says

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

According to Baraka, Invest Newark - the city's economic development corporation - logged the following achievements in 2023:

• Offered nine training sessions in 2023 for 500 current and future entrepreneurs
• Executive Business Accelerator and Small Business Stronger classes had 25 graduates. These graduates employ more than 100 full-time employees, over 70 part-time employees, and more than 50 contractors.

Meanwhile, the city's Summer Youth Employment Program also saw success last year, Baraka said:

• More than 100 paid interns joined Mayor’s Internship Program to learn about city’s inner workings, shaping the next generation of Newark leaders.
• Program secured more than $2.7 million in private and state funds.

In addition, the mayor’s Raise Your Voice Academy brought together 80 youth through a 15-week urban education and social justice curriculum to equip youth with leadership and management tools to create new leaders in Newark, he said.

ARTS, CULTURE

"The noblest function of art is to oppose what is ugly," the mayor said, quoting his father, poet Amiri Baraka.

Here are some achievements and notable milestones from the city's arts community, he said.

• Created an Arts and Education District, which has provided residents and visitors with a central location for cultural programming and arts education.
• Creative Catalyst Fund awarded 402 grants totaling more than $2.2 million to individual artists and cultural organizations citywide.
• City facilitated the commissioning of more than a dozen murals and installed the Harriet Tubman Monument in Harriet Tubman Square.
• City invested in restoring Newark Symphony Hall’s Terrace Ballroom.

RECREATION, AND SENIOR SERVICES

Other advancements have been made in the city's recreation and senior services divisions, Baraka said:

• More than half a million activity touches through a wide range of recreation programs including the Summer Enrichment Program, senior chair aerobics, and boxing tournaments.
• Division of Senior Services partnered with Alvin Ailey Dance Theater to provide seniors with dance classes and flexibility training.
• The Latina Empowerment Brunch, Newark Latin Festival and the Hispanic Heritage Month Celebration all achieved record-breaking attendance, honored prominent residents for professional and personal achievements and awarded thousands of scholarship dollars to city students from every ward.

HEALTH AND EDUCATION

Here are some highlights of health and education news in Newark, the mayor said:

• Former President Barack Obama designated Newark as one of four cities in the entire country to be selected as a My Brother’s Keeper Model Community, with Newark honored for keeping young men and boys safe from violence.
• City commissioned an advisory board and comprehensive report entitled “An Assessment of School Enrollment Systems in Newark, NJ: Exploring Potential Paths Forward” to improve the enrollment process.
• Newark Citywide Prenatal to Third Grade 10-point Plan was rolled out to improve literacy rates.
• Reading Under the Stars annual summer program created multi-sensory experience for students and encouraged reading and literacy.
• Opened Mary Eliza Mahoney Health Center at Speedway, in the Speedway Elementary School in the West Ward.
• Increased children’s lead screening by 43 percent; achieved a 52 percent decrease in lead-related cases for children; saw a 36 percent increase in families receiving food assistance and a 193 percent increase in children receiving immunization services.

TECHNOLOGY

Other advancements were made in the technology arena, Baraka said:

• Invest Newark and the Office of Information Technology has expanded internet access that, to date has resulted in more than 700 public housing units gaining access to Newark Fiber.
• Newark Builds Newark provides residents with training for in-demand 21st century careers in virtual reality, sustainable offshore wind energy construction, drone piloting, and fiber optics development.
• In partnership with Rutgers-Newark, public Wi-Fi expanded to include Harriet Tubman Square and Halsey Street.

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