The Newark Municipal Council held its regular meeting on Wednesday, April 16, 2025, starting at 6:32 PM and adjourning at 10:22 PM. All eight council members were present after roll call, with Councilor Council arriving at 6:43 PM and Councilor Silva at 7:25 PM. The meeting featured extensive public comment, action on multiple ordinances, and adoption of numerous resolutions covering budgets, property sales, contracts, and appointments.
All motions and adjournment passed with 7-8 votes in favor, with occasional absences noted.
Good evening. Welcome to the regular meeting of the Newark Municipal Council on Wednesday, April 16th. Please stand for the National Anthem, Pledge of Allegiance in Invocation by Bishop Stefan E. Love, City of Love International. Liberty and Justice. We ask you, Lord, to give us listening ears that we may hear the community and our councilmen in the name of Jesus, Father. We say thank you, God, that your vision, your plan, your direction that you've given unto us as people and leaders, that God, you would orchestrate us to grow and to prosper and to be in good health, even as our soul would prosper. We say thank you for this meeting today, oh God, that it would come with wisdom. It would come with knowledge, it would come with understanding light and change. And Father, we say thank you now, and we give you glory and honor, and the people would clap their hands in Jesus' name. We pray, Amen. Can we take a moment of silence? 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 April eleventh, twenty twenty-five at the time of preparation and posted on the city's website. Here. Here. President. Present. Council President, Council members, we're 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. The first speaker is Alif Mohammed. Appearing. Good evening. Good evening. Alif Mohammed core towers, Alif Mohammed, the president, the founder of Alif Mohammed in his school. A couple weeks ago, a couple months ago, a gentleman came from Warren Township, and he was saying at the end that our mayor that's running for governors should be here taking care of business. And what happened is you know, we have a school report. And let me explain to you about everybody know I'm in the school business for 30 years. The pandemic hurt urban America. I mean, it murdered urban America. And Leon is trying to find out to do the forced mandatory summer school to try to bring it up, but it hurt. But what I looked at was with a mayor for 11 years. His town, it says the economically disadvantaged in our high schools. In Baringer, 51% of the kids. And Arts High, 64% of the kids. In Central High, 67%. East, 71%. Malcolm X by 69%. Science High, 64%. University, 84%. Weakway, 63%, 73%. So in your town, mayor that you've been running for 11 years, 70% of the people, the kids are disadvantaged. You should be embarrassed. Should be embarrassed. Be embarrassed. Talking about governor. Look at these kids. It ain't 30% poverty rate. It's 70% that's disadvantaged. Okay.