Newark Municipal Council Regular Meeting – December 20, 2023

The Newark Municipal Council held its regular meeting on Wednesday, December 20, 2023, at City Hall (920 Broad Street), convening at 6:30 PM and adjourning at approximately 10:18 PM. The agenda included a citizen hearing, first-reading ordinances, public hearings on second-reading ordinances, and numerous resolutions. Councilman Ramos was absent; several members were absent for parts of the meeting. No meeting minutes were available.

Consent Calendar

• Routine budget resolutions (7R1a–g) were adopted, including: a FEMA firefighter staffing grant of $5,346,639.60; a New Jersey State Navigator grant of $115,000; 2024 temporary emergency appropriations of $200,828,567 (operating) and $87,745,516 (debt/capital); a CDBG appropriation of $6,851,649; an external transfer of funds; and cancellation of 2023 appropriations.
• Central purchasing resolutions (7R1h–j) were adopted: a vehicle cooperative purchasing agreement of $4,600,000; procurement software not to exceed $111,957.40; and lawn maintenance services not to exceed $750,000. Councilman Gonzalez abstained on 7R1h.
• Business administrator items (7R1k–n) were adopted: MOUs with Clinton Hill Community Action ($124,850) and Newark Alliance ($111,760) for food security planning; grandfathering of lifetime health benefits for twelve Pequannock Water Treatment Plant employees; and an engineering services contract with Gary Toth ($100,000).
• Private sale/redevelopment resolutions were adopted in groups, with deferrals for 7R2a/b, 7R2o, and 7R2s. Notable projects included affordable housing, mixed-use developments, and neighborhood commercial uses. Several council members sponsored individual items, and some abstentions were recorded.
• Special Improvement District budgets for Bergen/Lyons/Clinton ($410,425.56) and Partnership West ($500,000) were introduced; a $7,018,184.30 Passaic Riverfront grant was accepted; and a planning consultant amendment raised the contract to $155,000.
• Engineering items: 7R3a (dockless vehicle program) was deferred; 7R3b–e were adopted, including the citywide paving change order and NJDOT freight impact fund applications for Raymond Boulevard ($6,475,212) and Ferry Street ($3,074,950.50).
• Health and community wellness grant (7R5a, $115,000) was adopted.
• Law department professional services contracts (7R6c–t) were adopted as a block; Councilman Silva was absent for that vote. Settlement 7R6b ($525,000) was adopted; 7R6a and 7R6u were deferred.
• Mayor’s office items were adopted: Rutgers mobile outreach contract ($142,500) and SAMHSA crisis response grants ($727,740).
• Recognition and condolence resolutions (7R8a/b) were adopted; 7R8b was amended to add Tony Ann Carino and then adopted as amended.
• Firefighter grant (7R9a, $5,346,639.60) was adopted.
• All 28 Water and Sewer Utilities professional engineering contracts (7R12a–ab) were adopted.
• Appointments: Fadja Robert-Carr (Caribbean Commission), Jennie Crespo (FQHC Board), and Jamir Tuten (FQHC Board) were confirmed; 8c was deferred.

Public Comments & Testimony

• Nadirah Brown: Criticized the daytime meeting change and lack of listed speakers; said she cannot afford to live in Newark and challenged the city’s accountability.
• Deborah Salters: Claimed the clerk’s office obstructed a resident’s sign-up; called for support for residents policing their own neighborhoods; criticized violence-prevention organizations and police response.
• Lisa Mitchelson-Parker: Denounced the administration and unions; demanded project labor agreements and said Newarkers should file complaints with the inspector general.
• Felicia Alston-Singleton: Accused the Newark Housing Authority of corruption and evictions; advocated for affordable housing at 30% AMI.
• Munirah El-Bomani: Called for a federal audit, rent freeze, and eviction moratorium; accused officials of corruption and mismanagement.
• Yusuf Shabazz: Reported unsafe conditions at St. Mary’s Village, including unauthorized apartment entries and a fire with no alarms; requested help forming a tenant association.
• Donna Jackson: Criticized police reporting, overtime abuses, mold/code enforcement failures, and sanitation issues; said families are suffering from a food-stamp hack.
• George Tillman Jr.: Cited the first-source linkage ordinance and argued the administration is not enforcing Newark resident hiring requirements on incentivized projects.
• Opal R. Wright: Read from the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform law about energy regulatory conflicts; her time expired before completing comments.
• Gee Cureton: Demanded compliance reports on a judge’s June 29, 2023 orders for Georgia King Village; cited continued rats, flooding, mold, and over 75 evictions.
• Debra Mapson: Reported an eviction of an 89-year-old at St. Mary’s Village; accused Daniel Spiegel/KS Group of racism and mistreatment of displaced residents.
• Linda MacDonald Carter: Argued tax abatements are extractive and discriminatory against black and brown residents, citing fiscal justice research.
• Micauri Vargas (NJ Institute for Social Justice): Supported lowering the school-board voting age to 16 and 17, citing 7,257 eligible youth and a 3% turnout in the last Newark school board election.
• Ryan Haygood: Urged passage of the youth voting ordinance, noting Newark could become the first city in New Jersey to take this step.
• Eli Kwawukume: Described a new Georgia King Village apartment with leaks and lack of response from management.
• Martha Rodriguez (Local 617): Criticized contract negotiations; demanded fair wages, longevity pay, and reversal of a management-only longevity ordinance.
• Henal Patel (NJ Institute for Social Justice): Thanked the council for introducing the youth voting ordinance and urged expansion of democracy.
• Elvin Howell (sanitation worker): Said workers cannot afford to live in Newark; asked city officials to help negotiate a fair contract.
• Quawee Elmore (sanitation worker): Cited unpaid retro pay, missing uniforms, delayed trucks, and lack of benefits for per-diem workers.

Council responses included: President McIver said the council does not control the speaker sign-up list and that the council supports unions but does not negotiate; Councilman Kelly reported meetings with St. Mary’s Village and Georgia King Village management; Councilman Crump requested administration updates on uniforms and trucks. Business Administrator Eric Pennington said the administration supports the youth voting ordinance, called some union statements false, and committed to providing a uniform answer by Monday.

Discussion Items

• First reading ordinances: 6F-a (five-year tax abatement amendment) was deferred. 6F-b (increasing municipal employee housing assistance grants from $10,000 to $20,000) was adopted.
• 6PSF-a (25-year tax abatement for Washington 303) was deferred.
• 6PSF-b (152 Rutherford Street settlement/redevelopment agreement): Public comment raised first-source hiring and community benefit concerns. Councilman Silva said the contaminated site will be cleaned and developed as warehousing, creating jobs. The ordinance was adopted.
• 6PSF-c (Irvine Turner Boulevard amendment for a new police precinct with housing): Deputy Mayor Allison Ladd explained the amendment adds omitted lots. Public comment questioned historic status and housing atop a precinct. The council noted the project is mixed-income and still subject to site plan and historic review. Adopted.
• 6PSF-d (transfer of 12 city-owned properties to Invest Newark for homeownership program): Deputy Mayor Ladd explained the program sells homes for $1 to Newark residents at or below 80% AMI, with Bank of America mortgages and a January lottery. Public comment was mixed; several council members praised the program. Adopted.
• 6PSF-e (30-year tax abatement for Gateway Lofts, 27 market-rate and 31 affordable units, including six at 30% AMI and 25 at 60% AMI): Public comment raised asbestos/air-quality concerns and first-source compliance. Councilman Silva and Councilman Council supported the project as beneficial to the East Ward. Adopted.
• 6PSF-f (multi-way stop at Springdale Avenue and North 12th Street): Public comment requested illuminated stop signs. Adopted.
• 6PSF-g (short-term rental amendment): Corporation Counsel Kenyatta explained the change places registration responsibility on platforms like Airbnb. Public comment raised enforcement and landlord-tenant concerns. Adopted.
• New first-reading ordinances from communications: 8e (school board voting age for 16- and 17-year-olds) was adopted, becoming 6FC; 8f and 8g (stop intersections) were adopted, becoming 6FD and 6FE; 8h and 8i (stop work order penalties and lis pendens) were adopted, becoming 6FF and 6FG.

Key Outcomes

• Most resolutions and ordinances were adopted with Councilman Ramos absent. Several items were deferred by the council as a whole, including 6PSF-a, 7R1a? (No, 7R1a–g adopted; 7R3a, 7R6a, 7R6u, 7R2a/b, 7R2o, 7R2s, and 8c were deferred.)
• The school board voting ordinance (6FC) advanced to a public hearing scheduled for January 10, 2024, or as soon thereafter as practical. All first-reading ordinances adopted tonight will be advertised and heard on January 10, 2024.
• The Invest Newark homeownership lottery is expected to occur in January 2024.
• The Business Administrator committed to providing a written/verbal update on sanitation uniforms by Monday, December 25, 2023? He said “Monday of next week” (December 25, 2023).
• The meeting ended with holiday greetings and announcements of upcoming community events, including a Kwanzaa market and a Three Kings event on January 5, 2024.