Newark Municipal Council Regular Meeting - November 26, 2024
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Newark Municipal Council Regular Meeting - November 26, 2024
The Newark Municipal Council held a regular meeting on November 26, 2024, at 6:30 PM in the Council Chamber. Seven members were present (Councilman Silva arrived at 8:17 PM), with Councilman Gonzalez absent. The meeting featured extensive public comments on housing, public safety, and community concerns, followed by adoption of numerous resolutions and first-reading ordinances.
Consent Calendar
- Reports accepted: Joint Meeting of Essex & Union Counties minutes and annual reports, North Jersey District Water Supply Commission minutes, Newark Housing Authority minutes (June–October 2024), City Clerk 2023 Annual Report, and Marriage License Bureau financial reports (July–September 2024).
- Ordinance 6F-a (amending Title II to add policies for procurement cards) was adopted on first reading, with a public hearing set for December 10, 2024.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Alif Muhammad criticized the Business Administrator, alleging corruption in the Housing Authority and stating he had reported issues to federal authorities over 80 times.
- Maryam Bey (Newark resident) condemned shelter conditions for returning citizens, describing threats of re-incarceration if they complain, and called for accountability and effective re-entry programs.
- Linda McDonald-Carter urged the council to educate residents on emergency preparedness for water scarcity and wildfires, noting a record drought and the governor’s drought warning.
- George Tillman Jr. disputed a statement at a previous meeting that no qualified tradesmen exist in Newark, arguing the city should conduct a mass recruitment to prove otherwise.
- Nadirah Brown expressed frustration with eviction proceedings and lack of community communication, calling for accountability in 2025.
- Munirah El-Bomani called the administration “failed leadership,” citing high rents, foreclosures, eviction tsunami, corruption, and wasteful spending, and urged voting them out.
- Ché Colter advocated for unity, re-inspection of the University Hospital agreement, safe passage programs, and passing a resolution for a hand drum to be used at formal meetings.
- Debra Salters criticized the lack of affordable housing (30% of income) and the 5% rent increase ordinance, stating that most development is not for Newark residents.
- Deborah Edwards (former assistant director of health) detailed the 1968 Newark Agreement regarding University Hospital and called for preserving hospital services.
- Lamont Vaughn defended the Office of Violence Prevention and Trauma Recovery (OVP) and Brick City Peace Collective (BCPC), citing concrete interventions in the past week that prevented shootings.
- Donna Jackson criticized the mayor and council for failing to address fires, emergency management, and community needs, and highlighted the fire at 920 Franklin Avenue.
- Cassandra Dock criticized the mayor’s policies on cannabis and water, stating that black leaders are harming the community.
- Khalil Tutt (New Direction) shared his personal transformation from gang involvement to violence prevention, crediting OVP and BCPC for supporting his work.
- Alia Clark called for unity and support for safe passage programs, stating that OVP and BCPC are effectively reducing violence.
Discussion Items
- Council Member Patrick O. Council discussed University Hospital’s role and launched a pilot program at Westside High School for student apprenticeships. He also defended OVP and BCPC.
- Council Member Dupré L. Kelly highlighted the Westside High School pilot with University Hospital and stressed the importance of OVP and safe passage, noting that police did not provide safe passage when requested.
- Council Member Louise Scott-Rountree committed to re-investigating shelter conditions, announced a joint meeting with UMDNJ and Rutgers medical schools to address community concerns, and defended OVP’s work alongside the police.
- Council Member Anibal Ramos Jr. reported on the fire at 920 Franklin Avenue, noting that PSENG issues may have contributed, and expressed support for OVP’s role as complementary to police.
- Council Member Luis A. Quintana raised concerns about safety hazards at senior housing complexes run by the Newark Housing Authority, criticized traffic signal timing on Broad Street, and highlighted Newark’s recognition at the National League of Cities for ending homelessness.
- Council Member Michael J. Silva discussed permit parking signs and holiday parking enforcement, requesting a timeline for signage installation.
- Business Administrator Eric Pennington praised OVP and BCPC for their violence prevention work, noted that violent crime is down, and addressed payroll issues in the Department of Public Works, explaining delays due to overtime processing.
Key Outcomes
- Resolution 7R2-b (Gateway Property Development – rehabilitation of a three-family home in the West Ward) initially failed with 5 yes, 2 abstain, 1 absent. Councilman Silva later changed his abstain to yes, and the item was adopted.
- Resolution 7R2-a (Community Collaborations – two-family home construction and three-family rehabilitation for city employees) was returned to administration.
- Resolution 7R9-a (Professional services contract with the Institute for Forensic Psychology) failed with 4 yes, 3 abstain, 1 absent.
- Ordinance 8-b (Rising Plains Urban Renewal – 19 affordable rental units) was amended to correct the ward from South to West and adopted on first reading.
- Ordinance 8-e (Broadway Star Urban Renewal – 206-unit building) was amended to remove the word “approximately” throughout and adopted on first reading.
- Ordinance 8-g (amending BLC Special Improvement District to remove Class 2 residential properties and authorize a 1% administrative fee) was adopted on first reading.
- Motions passed:
- Reiterating request for local vendor procurement data from the administration.
- Requesting a timeline from Engineering for installation of 6:00 AM–6:00 PM permit parking signage in the East Ward.
- Expressing profound sorrow at the passing of Darnell Williams and George Quincy Hill.
- Requesting investigation of property at 710 Summer Avenue for contractual obligations.
- Requesting the Central Planning Board recognize parking impacts on residential neighborhoods when approving large developments.
- Requesting review of Broad Street traffic signal timing between Bank and Clay Streets.
- Requesting the Newark Parking Authority be reminded of the ordinance providing free parking in the Central Business District during the holiday season.
- Appointments to the LGBTQ Advisory Commission: Alexander Padilla Jr. confirmed; Bernard Mcallister returned to administration; Anthony Arenas confirmed as Alternate #2.
- The meeting adjourned at 9:34 PM.
Meeting Transcript
Good evening. Welcome to the regular meeting of the Newark Municipal Council on Tuesday, November twenty sixth, twenty twenty four. Please stand for the National Anthem, Pledge of Allegiance, an invocation by Pastor Ramin Wynne. Liberty and justice. In accordance with New Jersey law, adequate notice of this meeting has been provided to the Star Ledger, the Jersey Journal, and the public at large establishing the date, time and location of this meeting. In addition, the agenda for this meeting was disseminated on November twenty second, twenty twenty four at the time of preparation and posted on the website of the city of Newark. Roll call, please. Council President, Council members, we are on page three of the agenda hearing of citizens. We are in the hearing of citizens portion of this meeting where each speaker will have five minutes to speak. When your name is called, please approach the podium and address the council. First speaker is Alif Mohammed. Mr. Mohammed's present. Good evening. Assalamualaikum. Alif Mohammed Court Towers. Alif Mohammed Near School President. See, when people talk about courage, that's why you don't have the business administrator here right now. He's uh has courage. Uh I gave this out yesterday. And oh, good. Here you go. Good. I'm glad you're here. I'm glad you're here. Uh the same thing. I gave out the same thing when everybody was there, but I put something different in there. I put in a letter from the New Jersey Supreme Court. And it's in reference to our beloved uh a minister, business administrator, that they admonished him. Um I know you for 50 something years. I know you're Scott Legend C. President Crump, I know you for 40 years. Um a person has say personal things about somebody, you can't be biased. And the reason why I'm a little upset with you two guys is because when he got finished a month ago, you both guys said thank you. Thank you for your comments. Now, Louise, I didn't say that the mayor is corrupt. When I had the first meeting when I filed a complaint against the housing authority, and the federal policy came there, they asked me was Ros Baraka corrupt, and I said no. Then the next week when I came to the office, they told me everybody's corrupt, including your mayor. So it's not me that's saying he's corrupt, it's the federal criminal authorities that say he's corrupt. Now, as far as my fiducies responsibility, as you've seen before, and I said yesterday, I bought in on April the 12th, April the 14th, uh 2021. I filed a complaint with uh OIG with HUD. When I found that complaint, I also filed the suit. And then the same day that I filed the complaint, the uh mayor tried to remove me from the commission as uh commissioner of the housing authority. Now, y'all don't even know this, Rain Wilson. He tried to put it on Latinos. He said Latinos was removed me. But what he didn't know was the African Americans was gonna stay if they did do it. Sharp James had told his son, he said, tell the Barackers to fight their own battle. Now, so what I'm showing here is where I went, the first page is the civil action. I asked for a stay because of investigation.
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