Yeah, there.

Yeah, okay.

I'll do that then.

Highlight the organization, Carol.

Oh Ms.

Waters, thank you.

Good evening.

Good evening.

Good evening.

Welcome to your City Hall here at the Council Chambers.

We're delighted today to recognize a group, a group of young people who Yolanda loves.

This summer I was witness of a program that was run for young young ladies, and it was very inspiring to see these young folks from the city of Newark doing things.

And it was very interesting.

You know, it was about 90 degrees outside.

And this organization had these young these young ladies inside in an atmosphere that was so great.

They were doing what they wanted to do, which is great.

And to me that meant so much.

And we got to protect our young.

And it's not just young ladies, it can be, it can be, and and not women, it can be men too.

But look, it's about it takes the whole village.

It takes the whole community.

All of us to be together.

And what better today than highlight these young ladies who are our future in a great city where sometimes people don't think we could do things in our city.

We are doing things.

And when I see Jelanda, what you do, and she's going to she have trying to obtain some property.

She's trying to build a facility for young ladies, uh, a place of information, a resource place where they can come, uh do computer work and become our leaders.

But Jolanda loves this organization incorporated, has a lot to do with not just they do a lot.

She's out there with these young ladies and mentoring them.

And what better place that we can say in the city of Newark, we have a program.

And with nothing, basically, no funding from government, no funding from no one.

Basically, her furniture stores next door, and she rented a spot next, so that she could bring these young ladies and counsel them and and be a part of what they are doing.

That means a lot to me.

You know, as an elected official, it's not just being an elected official.

It means to me as a newer that something is being done to protect our young.

And I'm so happy.

This is for the organization in behalf of the Newark Municipal Council, members of council, and we're delighted on behalf of all of us, Council President Crump, all of us together, uh, to make it and include, you know, we're all a community.

Our mayor asked J.

Baraka, all of us.

You know, uh, all of us have to work together, and we are working together.

We may see each other, and when we deal with young people, we respect the titles and office of people.

You know, we want to teach that.

Some folks forget about teaching titles and what titles mean, but in this building is not about titles, about the pe the young people who come to our city and come through these chambers to talk to them about their dreams and hopes and what they can be.

Because so often we say we there's nothing for our children.

There is something happening for our children.

And this young lady, in the next couple years, she'll be having a building for these young ladies to come and call it their home.

After is that correct?

Let me the this young lady I am very proud of, and she's a testimony of what can happen in New York.

Thank you.

Um I I want to say thank you to King Um Councilman Quintana, of course, um, for always supporting us and always um being behind us.

And I want to this this day is not about me or the organization, it's about these young ladies here because when I first presented the offer to Jules Elite Um All-Star team, they were the only ones who actually came out, and it's a 45, it's 45 young ladies in that group, and they were the only ones that actually came out.

They actually come out on the days that they have to come see us, and they actually look forward to it.

It seems to me like yeah, I look forward to it, and they've turned into our babies, and we love them very much, and we're super proud of them.

And I know when I got my first um resolution from the city of Newark, I was on cloud nine, so I hope that you guys um appreciate it just as much as I do.

Hold on the names.

So our first resolution will go to Miss Malaya Green.

Step up, baby, so you can take a picture with it and open it up.

Okay, the next one is Kamora Fur.

Next is Malaya Crawley.

Next is Mariah Gillespie.

That smile.

Next is Melanie Gillespie.

Next, Miss Taylor Jackson.

Come on down.

Next is Ava Martin.

And last but not least is Kaylee Austin.

Oh, we have one missing.

Yes.

Well, I'm just gonna say her name and then we'll get it.

Miss Lael Washington.

I apologize.

Smile, baby.

You cute.

And then we have um two, I believe three special um awards that I wanted to um give out to my staff.

Um, the first one goes to Jasdel Rhett um for everything that she has done in the organization with the youth initiative, and also with everything else that we do.

Thank you.

I think that's right.

Oh, yeah.

Okay.

Oh, this is okay.

Okay, you do do that, and we'll get that to you.

We have a little communication problem.

But this this award, right?

This award right here, it has my name on it, but it's supposed to have Bakira Wahi's name on it.

She is um since she joined our team, she's been truly an inspiration, and she's been so helpful, and she's not only part of our team, she is literally part of my family, and I don't know what we would do without her.

I love her so much, and I'm so happy to have her as part of our team.

So I said I I want to say thank you again to this group because again, this summer, as it was ninety some degrees outside.

I went over to uh it's on Broad Street, and you know, it remind me of the you know, the I went in and the air conditioner was going on, and they were doing different events, the young ladies, and to me, without funding, this is a program that really works.

So hopefully, in your new in your building, which are building in the future, it's going to be something that's going to fulfill our responsibility of making sure that these young ladies are given the opportunity that they deserve and that we all deserve for our children.

Our children have to be placed.

Good evening.

Welcome to the regular meeting of the Newark Municipal Council on Wednesday, October twenty second.

Please stand for the National Anthem, Pledge of Allegiance, and Invocation by Pastor Lauren Monroe of Chosen Generation Ministries.

Father, we come before you on this evening with our hearts filled with gratitude and the privilege of gathering tonight to continue to serve the great city of Newark.

We thank you for blessing the council, blessing our mayor, our community leaders, and each and every resident that calls this city home.

We ask for your divine wisdom on tonight that you will rest upon this council as they deliberate, discuss and make decisions that will continue to impact the great city of North New Jersey.

Grant them clarity of thought and unity of purpose and hearts of compassion that will reflect justice and equity and integrity.

Father, we thank you on tonight for the spirit of collaboration and for strengthening our neighborhoods.

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 October 17th at the time of preparation and posted on the city's website.

Roll call.

Council.

Absent Gonzalez.

Present Kelly.

Here.

Ramos.

Absent.

Scott Roundtree.

President.

Silver absent.

President Crump.

President.

Council President, Council members, 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 members.

The first speaker is Alif Mohammed.

Okay, right.

Is there somebody I can give this to?

Okay, good evening.

As salamu alaykum.

My name is Alif Mohammed.

Uh Halif Muhammad of Court Towers.

Alif Muhammad, the president of Alif Mohammed Near School.

Um I want to start off and talk about the debate on the forum that the central ward had.

And I want to address Louise, and I don't think Pat is here yet.

And what I want to address was the one that was at the church.

I don't understand why you guys didn't stop the behavior in the church that team Baraka was doing.

Two rebbs should have stopped that.

They should have said, wait a minute, this is a house of God.

I don't understand that.

They would have done that in the master, we'd have beat their buttons.

Now also, I don't know why the uh the chairing step in.

I mean, not to cheer the president.

You step in.

They was making all it was embarrassing.

It was embarrassing.

And y'all sitting there, like that's what's happening.

The chief of staff is standing there smiling.

I mean, y'all, this is it's just it's this crazy.

Now let's talk about the first debate.

Or it was at um Society Hill.

Amina didn't show up.

Now, maybe Dasha is a bad campaign manager because we all know that 1,000 homeowners, the biggest group of people, live in society hill.

Maybe they was afraid because Gail lived in society here.

I know they were afraid of Lisa Parker, because I'm afraid of her.

But what I'm saying is, how you not go in the central ward where it's a thousand homeowners.

Bruh, how you don't do that.

How do you do that?

Now, I want to talk about the housing authority.

I just gave you all a um a piece of paper about the housing authority, and I was just showing where your budget was a year behind, and the housing authority when Spicer got in, it was two years behind when he got in.

It was two years behind.

I want to tell you what he was facing when he came in.

Home Depot would not do any business with the housing authority unless we paid them in advance.

Lowe's wouldn't do any business.

Our force account, Khalif found that out.

We were four million dollars.

Well, people don't know what a force account is how you pay your procurement.

You pay people.

So what was Spicer did, he paid, he paid up.

And I'm just showing you, it's funny because the first letter you see, he's the one from the HUD talking to us.

He was working for HUD at the time.

I wanted to talk my little brother here, but he's not here either.

So make sure you uh Gonzales and y'all tell him.

I am very proud of Ramos.

Everybody can see that.

I'm very fond of him.

Very, very fond of him.

You know, kid from Newark, the projects in the week.

I'm very proud of him.

But what I'm I need to say to him is when I watch you doing these hearings, you haven't pain.

When Amonica and Larry pulled that move to become the president of the council, you didn't know what was going on.

I seen it in your face.

When he did the Riviera, I seen in your face.

I seen the passion.

So, bruh, we don't need you to be on the sidelines, Ramos.

We need you to get down with us with Girl.

We need you.

Because if not, it's gonna be the same thing all over again.

This race is just important as a marriage race.

That's our point this is.

We don't need you to sit on the side and say, new little bro.

We need you to get down with us.

Because if Armina gets back in, she's team baraka.

And I seen her at the debate.

Oh, I do what I say.

You wouldn't be working for Rog Baraka for 12 years.

Ask Eddie Osborne when he didn't do what they said.

Where is he at now?

Eddie home.

Let one of y'all do something.

Even you, my brother Kelly, that's something do something that the mayor don't want.

You be on the road all the time.

And she get up and talk about what she's doing.

You know, and then she works for emergency, Norcal emergency.

Every time I ever send somebody down there, we sit in hand no money.

Am I right?

No money.

But I can tell you who do got money, focus.

Focus got money.

But every so don't get up and talk about a job.

Your name is No Resources.

Waleka Masalong.

Thank you.

Al Cheneyfield Jenkins.

Appearing.

Never have money.

Just have money.

All right.

Oh, good.

Excuse me, folks.

Good evening.

Good evening.

Gail Cheneyfield Jenkins.

88 Richmond Street, Newark, New Jersey.

Um in 1994, I ran for office and I didn't win.

But in 1995, I ran again.

And I ran again because my nephew Arthur and I had an opportunity to go to the new community and see photo collage of Dr.

King as well as the city of Newark.

And my nephew, when we was getting off the elevator at St.

Joe's, said, What city is that?

That's what's a nice looking city.

And I said that was Newark.

And I realized that there was a generation of generations of young people who had not seen the Newark that I saw because I saw Newark before the riots.

And I saw the vibrancy of Newark.

And 2002, I'm sorry, 2001, my father, Joe Cheneyfield, passed.

And I realized that the Cheneyfield name meant something in the city of Newark.

And because of Babyland and New Community, they had always made sure that they put their hand to the plow.

And I knew that I had to continue to do so.

And I did that as a council person.

And it saddens me that you guys are in a position today when I heard yesterday about the budget and the deficit.

And we ran this city with a fiscal responsibility and making sure that we put 450 million dollars away for property tax relief.

We made sure that there was vibrancy in the city.

We made sure that the budget was able to be sustained and not be a burden with bonding and all these other things.

We have a responsibility to do so.

I just want to thank every person that I've come across for the housing, for the businesses, for talking about community in the Central Ward.

You guys, we got a lot of work to do.

And I'm coming in and I'm rolling up my sleeves to get the work done.

And I thank my other council colleagues, my future council colleagues.

Because we've always worked together.

And we're not gonna have this divisiveness going on in the city of Newark anymore.

It's a time for bold leadership, and as Alive said, it's time for everybody to turn around and say, no, this is a legislative branch, which is separate from the executive branch and the judiciary branch.

We all have to have bold leadership in this city to make sure that we stand up for the residents because they're hurting out here.

They want representation that cares about them.

And I gotta tell you folks, I'm hearing what they're saying, and they think we don't care.

They think you all don't care.

So you better get in tune with what the people are saying.

I love you all.

God bless you.

And I just want to make it clear.

This city was a city where everybody worked together.

We had our differences.

We fought with Mayor James, but we came back together.

We we used to go over to Green Street and different places.

The city cannot afford to stay divided.

And it is.

Never came back here.

You didn't have a public hearing at night for the budget.

You didn't have a weekend public hearing for the budget.

When was the public supposed to weigh in?

Let's talk about all the revenues that the council members voted on and approved, but don't have answers for where the money is coming from to pay for it.

But yet, you ain't collecting on Airbnb, illegally, unregulated, cannabis, cash parking lots, code enforcement, permits, parking authority, invest new it, Newark Park Foundation, uh, the Latin Festival, 24 hours of foolishness, everybody making money, but the money ain't coming back here.

And yet, you want to saddle the homeowners with a 9% increase that over three years up to 2026, we will have paid 24.8%.

Then you have all of these developers that got the 25-year tax abatement because Gonzalez come on and do the math.

If a building that's supposed to pay 400,000 is only paying 180,000, if he's charging market rate rents for 20 apartments or more, he done cleared 180 grand in two years.

But yet, you want to saddle us with the debt after this administration, Lord have mercy, burden us with a tax and don't have no answers, and yet you didn't put one piece of legislation forward to help the working families in this city.

We have a chance on November 4th and May 2026 to elect candidates that the put people select, not cherry picked.

Quintana, thank you for supporting Gail Cheneyfield Jenkins and Gonzalez as well and a few others.

And thank you for having a conscience and a political courage to stand for the people.

Please join me in supporting Gail Cheneyfield Jenkins 4F on November 4.

Thank you for your comments.

Next speaker.

Felicia Austin Singleton.

Appearing.

I think I'm gonna set this Andy Ointment up here because me and my grandma new grandbaby gonna let y'all have some of that because y'all just got y'all tails whooped by the first three speakers.

I don't understand what y'all don't understand.

I don't I don't think you see what we see in Tyler Perry cannot make a greater sitcom movie or nothing.

This is real.

Real.

I'm talking to the residents of the Central Ward.

I am a West Warder, rough riders forever, do you know my councilman, right?

But I'm talking to you as a West Warder.

We need every person in the Central Ward.

If you want to change in Newark, if you want a change, where it's not selective of any residents, if you want the housing conditions to get better, if you want anything that's a quality of life issue for you, get up and vote for F.

The circus.

They said y'all not doing a good job for Rocca Brothers.

They said it, they said they brought the circus back.

It's time for y'all to go.

If you're not doing what we say as the people who vote you in, get up and leave or newarkers vote them out.

Housing is ridiculous.

Georgia King Village is bed bug infested, it has issues in there.

You have seniors in that building, you have serious more issues in new community.

People going to the hospital, people are dying.

We thought Didi Lee was coming up here fabricating stuff, and y'all know more than we do.

So we asking everybody, you want the change, you want quarantine living, do you want our fair share of affordable housing?

Y'all couldn't pass a budget, but yet y'all took y'all tails over there to go support La Monica.

When she could have got up out of this seat and we could have had a special election before this, it didn't have to get this intense.

Just do what was right.

Even a judge said that.

But yet, instead, y'all go over there, and Bonnie Watson Coleman said we was only trying to protect the mayor.

Just because you're an elected official does not mean you're exempt from a crime.

You were impeding justice.

If they wanted to arrest the mayor, you had no right.

That public property was not your right.

LaMonica, you should have stayed behind the gate, went in there and checked on the immigrants.

But we know it wasn't about that.

It was about you getting rasped in.

Go over there and stay over there.

Because you left the residents that voted you in hanging while you went over there for some immigrants.

Are you kidding?

Me?

And yet, it's still you think we shouldn't be mad at this mic.

You think that people should have to go through this.

I hope Spicer slap y'all with it.

Come for the NHA.

I hope he slap y'all on that third party vendor.

I wish he was slacking them employees.

The only thing about it is good ones in there.

It's good employees in there.

That's gonna suffer.

And why?

Because of Dashay Carter and the Mary Baraka who put all them people over there and didn't do nothing.

People, if you want a change in the central war, you have to vote different.

T Baraka is not in the best interest of the people.

And you had the nerve to now pass a budget where Eric Penitent said that he don't care if the budget was late, because we'll pay the late fees.

That's not a problem.

You had the nerve to sit there and look like you're concerned.

Y'all all should get up and walk out.

Gonzalez been saying a budget was due in April since last year, September, when the budget was then.

And then you had about four departments come up here and didn't even have a budget.

That shows how much they respect you.

The directors of this department.

That's how they respect you.

And y'all went along with the Okie doke.

Oh, we don't have it.

My person was on vacation, and you know, nothing changed but the salaries bull crap.

Taxes change every year.

He didn't give an input, an output, what grants he did, and this was the mayor's office.

People, if you don't vote, rasp Baraka out of office for just a stupid budget his chief of staff gave.

It's ridiculous.

You want to stay in hell.

You don't want nothing better for yourself.

Y'all think we animals, we not animals.

Half of us have compassion for residents.

I have to do your job, but you want a salary increase, and yet he couldn't even produce a budget.

Eric Pennington I hear it was his job.

For F vote Gail Cheney Phil Jenkins, thank you.

Thank you for your comments.

Next speaker.

Jabar Youngblood appearing.

Jamar Youngblood, I want to use my time to talk about two things.

Culture and my favorite topic, data.

When I speak about culture, I am referring to the shared consciousness and behavior norms of a group.

I specifically want to talk about how people in City Hall use power, how they handle responsibility, and how their personal values show up in the decisions they make every day.

And to understand what I mean, let's look at a real example from NORC's history.

I'm currently reading Sharp James's memoir, and anyone thinking about getting into NORC politics should definitely read it.

On page 91, he writes, I learned early that candidates running for city council who had platforms that advocated for the people's needs and have spoken about saving money for the taxpayers, changed their thinking once they got into office.

The ideas they spoke of before the election went out the window.

They soon became concerned with what they can get out of the government.

Shark James said this in 1970, and nearly 55 years later, residents are accusing our current council members and the administration of doing the exact same thing.

On one hand, I understand the pressures that can make someone fall in line and become part of the status quo because it takes real courage to challenge the system you work in, and not everyone is willing to risk their comfort or position to do what is right.

But on the other hand, I have to ask, why are we still repeating the same mistakes our elected officials were making more than 50 years ago?

That current culture of people using our local government as a personal hustle is not beneficial to the 75,000 residents in our city who live in poverty.

We need a new culture in City Hall, and I truly believe it starts at the top with you, our council members, and our administration.

Now let's talk about the importance of transparent and accessible government data.

In 2009, our neighbors in New York City began looking for ways to build trust between residents and city hall by working on transparency and accountability laws.

What followed was the passing of one of the most comprehensive open data laws in the country.

The law requires every city agency to list and publish all of its public data on one shared website, making transparency a rule instead of an option.

It says deadlines, created systems for oversight, and gave residents a full picture of how their government was spending money and solving problems.

This changed the idea of transparency from something reactive to something proactive, where openness became a normal part of how the city operates.

This effort was led by a city council member named Gail Brewer, who understood that government data belongs to the people.

She recognized that transparency is not just about access to information, it is about restoring trust, improving performance, and creating a government that operates in the open rather than behind closed doors.

Since then, New York City has published thousands of data sets allowing residents, journalists, and researchers to track budgets, contracts, and agency performance.

New York City turned data into a tool for civic participation and public problem solving, setting a new standard for how cities can operate with transparency and accountability.

Meanwhile, here in North, we struggled with secrecy, confusion, and public mistrust.

The same exact problem Sharp James described 50 years ago.

So if New York City could build a transparent system for 9 million people, why can't we do the same thing here for 300,000?

For too long, public office in Norwork has been used for personal gain instead of public service.

This time needs to come to an end.

We need to end that culture and build a new culture root in transparency, integrity, accountability to our residents.

Thank you.

Thank you for your comments.

Next speaker.

I think I saw Miss Ms.

Brown.

David Brown.

There she is.

Okay.

Appearing.

Nigera Brown, North, New Jersey.

I'm trying to catch my breath.

Councilman Silver can contest to all the traffic that was out there.

He didn't even know I was in front of him because they probably would have said I tried to run them over, but the traffic was serious out there, and it's no threat of just saying we were very close, and we didn't even know that.

All right now, that's right.

Okay, y'all.

That's right.

That's what we needed, though.

You know, don't worry about the clock.

They don't answer me anyway.

I sent them all the email in September.

I was trying to pull it up.

But my point is, nobody one person did respond and say thanks for the information.

But I asked the question.

You know, there's some statute that pertains to individuals who come across landlords that are slum lords that have apartments that are not up to code that need to be shut down.

But these landlords don't want to pay the relocation fees, so they take these tenants to court, find out they gotta pay whether they pay rent or not, then they dismiss it.

But now that's on your jacket, a court fouling.

Then they file court again, realize they still have to pay.

But our municipal individuals can make an ordinance to pay those six months to relocation fees and make that landlord pay it back.

But nobody answered me.

No, that we don't know.

Nobody answered me, except for one individual saying thanks, you know, for the information.

Because if you would have answered me, I would have asked for you to put this as a subject on the agenda, but you only want to talk about these tax abatements and this fake affordable housing that keep going on.

Because I keep trying to explain to you, you got a group of individuals that do not qualify for the affordable.

See, we have this gross income that is so high, it's so high.

But we bring it home skid road money, but we don't make enough money to pay the market rate rent.

See, I keep playing, tell me we put this affordable here, we put the affordable here, we keep building here, affordable here.

And the people that's getting in honestly can't afford it because you're going by the gross.

And I get it, that has been past practice.

That's how we calculate it.

But why don't we sit down and have a discussion to understand what's going on?

But you keep ignoring everything.

It's real in the world right here.

But until you guys get it together and get together, we're not gonna get together.

But we can change that.

Oh, absolutely.

We don't have to wait on them.

But it's up to the people to vote.

That's right.

Okay, 2026.

Look at we how we playing with this election now for November.

That woman is still the central council person.

She only stepped down September 17th as council president.

Did anybody get the email when she stepped down as council member?

Because she is allowed to do both positions.

When I read the law, I was reading it, but I was getting kicked out at the same time back in April.

She can do both as long as she attends the meetings.

But yeah, do y'all even recall coming together to say who could be her replacement?

Because the clerk didn't bring it up to the agenda for the people that decide.

But instead, you wanted to sneak because not this general, last general, you should have had the election.

But then you got mad at people because we woke up.

You tried to slide it in around the school board.

See, the problem is it's not that you're here.

You keep doing what you want.

Today is the fourth Wednesday.

I have other obligations.

You're supposed to be doing this meeting on the third Wednesday.

So what we gonna do next month when y'all all go chilling in Atlantic City.

I've already seen the flyers for the events, and that's your business.

But while you're down there, I do ask you to ask other elected representatives for some feedback on what we should be doing in the community because it's getting real.

People lost their child care.

I ain't heard no comments from anyone from here.

They bought to lose their food.

Many of us already lost our food without food stamps.

That's right.

Can't afford it.

And look at the housing.

People, vouchers are being snatched.

Now, if a person qualify for a voucher and they can't get an apartment, well, how am I paying cash gonna get one?

Because they want your blood, your sweat.

I gotta make three times the rent.

Why am I making three times the rent?

I don't even want to live here for me three times the rent.

They want your credit score.

You can't have any court foulings.

But this is just a little bit.

You know, you try to come here respectful, you try to ask, but you don't follow up.

Stop sending us to one ten.

There no help.

But I want to take out the time.

I'm a little tired.

Had to run, go get the kid.

I still gotta go feed her.

I made it in time to speak today.

I thank you for your time, but I'm telling you, it's getting real out here because the housing is about to get cut next.

What you gonna do?

Let's stop playing games.

Have a good evening.

Thank you for your comments.

Next speaker.

Miles Austin Jr.

Uh appearing.

Uh good evening, everybody.

My name is Mario Lawson.

How y'all doing?

Thank you.

I've uh I've created a precious metal asset token called the 24 carat mega cube.

It's made out of gold, platinum.

Silver speak forward.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Uh I'm gonna be dropping this off so that there could be copies made and given out.

I understand there's a problem with uh government uh subsidies being uh cut off and housing is high, and everything is sort of collapsing on the working folk that are working, and then it in turn is given to you guys to sort of create a solution.

It's very tough, tough on your side, it's tough over here.

So, I've created a precious metal asset token that's connected to the blockchain that will create revenue and also mitigate the housing situation.

Um you see these things, you'll be able to understand.

Can I give that to her?

Or do I give it up after I get done?

Thank you.

And what I think is I'm a solution-oriented person.

My son uh played for the Dallas Cowboys.

I don't know whether you remember Miles Austin, number 19.

That was my son.

Wow.

He was my first corporation.

And then it was a hostile takeover.

He started doing his own thing.

He's now into real estate, no problem.

I did my job.

Now I've created a precious metal asset token that I think will help the situation.

I don't really care about the politics, because uh it really won't matter.

Next year, the year after, you can see what's happening with the government.

You can see who's in control of the government.

All you know is there's a problem.

How do we correct the problem?

If you look at my solution, which is a precious metal asset token, it will be able to collateralize the cryptocurrency.

Gold, platinum, silver, and palladium, as you know right now, is very high as far as value.

Now, if you connect cryptocurrency to it, I've created my own cryptocurrency platform called APM, Austin Precious Metals.

It's a solution.

I'm not gonna sit up here and try to blame them because they've got a tough job too.

But you guys, us, we have a tougher job, which is to pay the rent, pay for food while they're cutting uh cutting different types of programs and so forth and so on.

Uh my website is APM memberships.com.

All one word lowercase, APM, which is Austin Precious Metals, the acronym, APM memberships, that's plural, dot com.

So I look forward to the council inviting me back again, perhaps next time, to explain further how this could perhaps create a solution to the problem using cryptocurrency.

I'm not going to use all my time, but I do appreciate everybody listening to me.

And I'd say, go cowboys.

Thank you for your comments.

Next speaker.

Lucius Jones.

I did not see Mr.

Jones.

Edit.

Next one.

Edison Barrows.

Mr.

Burrows.

Not appearing.

Deborah Salters.

Good.

Good evening, Deborah Salters.

For the people.

I'm gonna do this.

I know uh Council Cowley, uh Rowstree and yourself have been working vigorously with uh FCC to have them to correct uh some of the things and issues that needed to be abated 180, 140, and some of the other issues and concerns they had.

We've been you know in the forefront of getting all of those uh issues abated and cleared.

Uh and I and I definitely just wanted to uh you know commend NCC for you know stepping up, having those meetings, you know, guys invited me as a representative from the tax payment committee, uh, and ensuring that some of the work and other things in those facilities get done.

It's not a uh a process uh that can happen overnight, right?

That even once you abate something, it has to be continued maintenance, right?

And so our hope uh is that they will continue to ensure uh all of the other facilities uh that they uh had the uh facilities of doing the poll courts and all of the other issues that they had that they think councilman councils was there as well with us as we were addressing all of the issues there have been many, many meetings and throughout the city there are issues of landlords with residents with developments, sometimes we just make and choose what we want to make and choose.

So um I started with that because uh Tillman and I were very uh vigorous in the tax abatement meetings about uh NCC, and you know, I'm not saying they haven't done the other things that you talked about, Councilwoman, but when it comes to people's lives, our seniors' lives and their living conditions being deplorable.

How do we commend people for doing the bare minimum?

And people have died.

Not just his family, my family died.

No pool court on the floor with a heart attack by ourselves.

Then they wouldn't let me in, but the drug dealers and everybody else could get in back and forth, right?

So it's not enough for them to do the bare minimum, and the only reason they did the bare minimum was because we held their feet to the fire.

We were in that tax abatement meeting, turning up the heat.

So therefore you turned up the heat because we weren't gonna let it go.

It's unacceptable.

And then you each commend each other for when you do the bare minimum.

But the people suffer.

This budget that is ridiculous.

That we didn't get to weigh in on is another one of those things.

Right?

So when you talk about the urgency that you all are showing now, I was watching the meeting.

You all are showing, oh no, we we really have to get this done.

Um Emily Aikins got up here August 7th of 2024, talked about the 24 and 25 budget, because 24 wasn't passed yet.

So why can't we pass 25 now?

Why are you taking money from the year that's not even here yet?

We keep saying the same things, right?

Definition of insanity, which clearly shows that you don't care.

So now we're here with this disgusting budget with line items that make no sense, things that you have not made clear just to get something passed.

But the urgency that you all are showing is because you don't want the state to take over.

Oh, you are shook.

I'm looking at this meeting, I'm talking to other people, they're like, oh my god, look, I've never seen you move with such urgency.

The BA talking stuff, oh, the businesses need to know that we're coming with aggression, and they need to understand why we're gonna shut them down or we're gonna get them into compliance because we need the money.

We been needed the money.

We've been telling y'all this for years.

Oh, well, you know, because if the state comes in, we're gonna lose services.

We haven't had good services in 12 years.

We're in a good service.

We can't even get a good hello.

You come in the pay bill, let's see.

Well, you call, yeah, what's up?

Like they in the streets.

It's called ghettoville.

What in the world?

Then nobody had time for directors' questions, nobody.

When when the gubernatorial race was up, nobody had time for nobody.

But when it's over, now y'all running a chitlin' circuit in the neighborhoods, having meetings.

Oh, well, you know, what you can do is to make it better, form a community group, and again, putting the onus on the people.

It's not on us, it's on you.

And then Crumb says, Well, you know, I just want to say, you know, it's not the administration's fault that the budget is the way it is, and we thank everybody for the work that they do.

Man, it's the mayor's fault, it's the BA's fault, because that's their main job to set the budget and run the city's business.

Thank you for your comments.

Next speaker.

Darnella Lee appearing.

Excuse me, I need somebody to pass this out.

Sylvester.

My name is Darnella Lee.

The pictures that I want I want to pass, one is in color and one is in black and white here.

As well as this.

I want to talk about that.

Okay.

God's afternoon.

We want to excuse me, guys, evening.

I want to thank the Lord for waking us all up today.

Blessing our families, our friends, the homeless, the needies, our MEs and our Freminees.

I'm trying to see how do I title this?

So the pictures that once he gives to y'all, some pictures, I did it in black and white and colored.

They were initially taken in 22.

21, we did the initial November the 30th of the task force in the building that was deleted.

I am concerned that the paperwork that y'all looking at, they said my apartment was 905% done.

The paper he's giving you, I checked off the balcony ceiling, not done.

The tub with the leaks and the mold, not done.

Holes in the walls were done.

The show was tiles are defected, not done.

The baseball's not done.

The front room floor and the bedroom floor is done.

The bedroom floor, my mother's, because that's where we was at.

They said stack it up here, they're gonna fix that.

Uh closets.

My concern is the paper that y'all looking at from the um, excuse me, I need one of those papers.

Uh can you give me one of those back?

Can you give me those back?

Just give them the pictures.

Let's give them the pictures.

I need the picture.

I need the picture.

So the pictures that y'all seeing, round tree, that was from 2022 when the mole was discovered from the company I had.

The reason that tape was up here, because it was molded out, y'all, fur and everything.

So I just got this copy that was done June the 20th of 2024.

I didn't understand how they was quick to big the guy next door that was living here, Mr.

Spicer didn't acknowledge the judge order.

This is what it says.

It says GSE visual inspection did not identify suspect visual mold growth in apartment two in, which is mine's laboratory results of the air samples collected, show normal background levels of mold when compared to the outside sample.

GDS, I mean GC, GSD did notice the suspect visual mold growth on the adjacent wall of the apartment next door through the plumbing assessment.

Laboratory results of the surface sample collected was positive for mold.

I believe they mixed the results up.

The pictures that I now got, somebody went through the other apartment and cleaned it.

You see those pictures, I got the real pictures.

She was in that apartment that they're saying was mold.

It had a special.

I had called down here, Omar Smith came out.

They had the people from Home Depot, did whatever they did with the asbestos, had the caution up.

We learned that there was never no zone and had that done.

So they was having the doors open and having the doors open.

When you came last year, they gave it eviction notice.

They've been in that apartment.

When I came and spoke to y'all by October the first, the guys are gone, but they next door, all the apartments that had evictions, the apartment next door with Betty Crandall when they rented out to the next guy, Mr.

Jenkins.

It was mold in it.

I told everybody molding asbestos.

So the question is how do I not have it?

After y'all went up there and cleaned it out.

The pictures, it was already taped in 2022.

So do we call this mold Bahamaside cover up?

They said I had bad bugs.

I never had bad bugs.

That was apartment next door.

They had it twice in asbesto.

I had it too.

What they did was seem it the asbestos and painted over it.

This is homicide by murder.

Y'all covering up.

So y'all rented that apartment out to two different people, knowing that this test was here.

I got a lot of pictures where they didn't have anything on their side.

It was clean.

They already cleaned that.

Something ain't right, y'all.

Homicide by corruption of mold.

Thank you for your comments.

Next speaker.

Uh the culture's not appearing.

Opal R right.

Appearing.

Good evening, my name is Opal R.

Wright.

I reside at the Underpool Street in Newark, New Jersey.

Yes, I'm here because I was interested in concerned more the implementation of the Dodd Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.

And I would like to just begin with Title Five.

Title Five is It is Insurance and the Shirt Title is Federal Insurance Office Act of 2010, Section 52.

And just going over that, I wanted to read that it prohibits a state from establishing eligibility for uh eligibility for uh non-admitted insurance, domiciled in a US jurisdiction, except in conformance with the non-admitted insurance model act, unless the state has adopted uniform requirements, forms, and procedures developed in accordance with this act that include alternative nationwide uniform eligibility requirements.

jurisdiction except in conformance with the non-admitted insurance model act unless the state has adopted uniform requirements, forms, and procedures developed in accordance with this act that include alternative nationwide uniform eligibility requirements.

It prohibits the state from prohibiting a surplus lines broker from placing non-admitted insurance with or curing non-admitted insurance from a non-admitted insurer.

Don't miss out outside the United States, and listed on the NAIC International Insurancers quarterly listing of alien insurers.

Begin with subtitle C.

It's specific bureau authorities, and it's prohibiting unfair deceptive or abusive acts or practices and more or less would like to just mention some of our um bank.

I think it's bank transactions.

Well it's the interchangeable transaction fees, and the term interchangeable transaction fees mean any fee established, charged, or received by a payment card network for the purpose of compensating an issuer for its involvement in the electronic debit transaction and oh, I'm sorry.

Thank you for your comments.

Thank you very much.

Next speaker.

Donald Jackson.

No, no, no, no, not me.

They'll burn my house down, not me.

Donald Jackson once we Smith Street.

I gotta be careful what I say on this mic, because you know, anytime you come and talk, people get mad with you, and you know, be mad, just be mad.

Um I don't think that, and I could be wrong because I came in late yesterday.

That was yesterday, right?

That um the reason why the 2025 budget was adequate, the reason why the 2025 budget was late, the reason why was that adequately explained to residents.

I I heard what the administration said and I heard from some of the council people, but I just still don't understand.

Again, could be my ignorance, if so, but break it down to me like a two-year-old because the last time I spoke before this board, I said good governance.

We either govern by the effective policy, and either that policy is not effective, or we're just not government properly.

There's a miscommunication, and there's something wrong, and in there is a complete breakdown.

And residents are demanding answers.

It is not acceptable, the shape that this city is in.

And I wholeheartedly believe that we need an explanation.

And it's time to hold you all, the elected officials accountable.

I have worked for city, county, and state government over the past 15 years.

State, city, and county government sucks.

It's just the truth.

And depending on the position you have in these agencies, when you bring facts to governing bodies, it gets sat on and goes on deaf ears.

There's a lot of things that I've known through my training and experience and the things that I've done.

Brought to this city, brought to governing bodies, and nothing's gotten done.

Again, I gotta be careful what I say.

But we are in a terrible state.

And let me just clear the air and clear the record.

I am my own person.

No one influences me, no one pays me, no one tells me what to do.

With that said, you think when Donna comes in here, she's something.

Imagine living with Donna.

I live with her.

And I say that to say this.

Whatever misconceptions you may have about me and her and our relationship, keep it to yourself.

I don't feed her information.

Donna don't need me to tell her nothing.

Why?

Because people in and around this city and this state call her and tell her.

I worked at a particular job, which I won't go into details here, and she knew information that wasn't even released yet, and told me about.

And I said, Well, how the heck did you know that?

That wasn't released to the public.

I couldn't have called you because I didn't have a phone.

So I just wanted to make that clear for the record.

Because when I run into certain individuals out here, you know, you guys have your opinions, which you know you can keep them, but I just wanted to clear that record.

And lastly, before I get off this mic, and in closing, the retaliation, the harassment that goes on in government, let me back up some, because maybe because I talk too loud, I'm getting that feedback.

The harassment that happens in government, and I'm not just gonna say that it's here at 920 Broad Street, but it's throughout this entire state.

When folks come to speak out about the terrible conditions, the terrible working conditions, they'll met with threats.

Oh, you know, you shouldn't do that.

You got to worry about your job.

Oh, you ain't gonna get that promotion.

And and and the fact of the matter is, if we so progressive, see, you gotta be careful when you use key words.

If we so progressive, people come out about uh uh come out against retaliation and come out and against and speak about the things that are going on instead of the backlash, instead of the fighting, why are we not fixing it?

All I've been hearing my whole life is a seat at the table.

Well, hell, we are the table.

Why we still fighting?

I am confused.

And then we get the whole same thing.

Oh, well, you know, Trump, Trump.

Hell, listen, we've been Democratic here for 60 years.

60.

That's my grandmama Tom, that's my mama, and that's my time.

What do we have to show for it?

Thank you for your comments.

Next speaker.

Atisha Davis.

Appearing.

Good evening, council members, mayor, fellow North residents.

My name is Letisha Davis, and I'm a mother raising a child in this city.

A city that's been dying in slow motion while its people are told to be patient.

From the very beginning, our suffering oppression would have never been successful without the help of people who look just like me.

Come on now.

From the face of betrayal isn't always an outsider.

It's often the insider smiling at you while signing your community away.

Let's call things what they are.

Tax abatements.

In North, it's no longer policy.

It's pay to play.

It's bribery, wrapped in legislation.

Developers walk in with promises of progress, and 20 year tax breaks later, they leave behind hollow buildings and hopeless residents.

And me, I've been living with a leaking ceiling for five years.

Buckets on the floor for five years of false work orders, false years of we'll fix it soon.

Code enforcement comes out, document violations, and still nothing has been done.

Nothing.

How do I explain to my child?

How do I tell them that the system meant to protect us is the same one conspiring against us?

I have to teach my 10-year-old that the enemy isn't just the white face anymore.

It's the ones of any color who profit from our pain and turn their heads while we suffer.

We've been lied to by management, ignored by city officials and agencies, dismissed by officials who act like accountability is an option.

We've been patient while corruption dressed itself as bureaucracy.

We watch you trade away our future for campaign donations and photo ops.

I'm done begging.

If North refuses to police is corruption.

Sorry, excuse me.

I will fight.

I will take my fight to Washington.

I'll pitch my tent right outside the White House if I have to, and I will plead with President Donald Trump to come federalize this city.

Corruption has gone on unchecked for far too long.

This is not government anymore.

This is organized neglect.

This is betrayal of the people you swore to serve.

You have developers getting tax abatements for 20 years while families can't even get their ceilings fixed in five.

You have inspectors falsifying reports and officials pretending not to see the mole, the leaks, the rodents.

And you have the nerve to call that progress.

Well, here, progress, the people are waking up.

We're not just failing complaints, we're not just filing complaints anymore.

We're building a movement.

You can ignore me tonight, but you will remember my words when North Presidents decide that we had enough and demand real change.

Thank you for your comments, next speaker.

George Tillman Jr.

Let's go.

Appearing.

Let's go.

Let's go.

Let's go.

Come on, God.

Good evening, George Tillman Jr.

First, I want to give God the glory.

Reverend Round Tree.

I want to give God the glory because these residents, they stood up.

This tax abatement tonight for new community homes development.

They came here to speak, but you deferred it.

See, they came here because you didn't hear their voice.

So I want you to get your team together, code enforcement, the mayor, economic development, everybody that you took up there before, you need to go to 225 Huntington Street.

So I have a letter this evening because you took them off, so they couldn't have this public hearing.

All the things that they had to say tonight, you know, um just I didn't want to give God the glory.

That's all I want to do, Reverend Round Tree, because they're not getting that tax abatement till you deal with these residents at new communities.

That's the bottom line.

And when I met with them, I told them this election wasn't even important to me.

The most important things was to me was stopping this tax abatement from new community corporations.

So I'm gonna read this letter.

It is rat and mice, and it's ridiculous.

The elevators has not worked in a year.

Disabled people in wheelchairs, elderly people who have to walk with their laundry, food shopping, etc.

The maintenance and upkeep is horrible, but we don't have anywhere else to go.

The property needs to be shut down and rebuilt and move everyone out.

The building was so-called renovated, but every issue they thought they were fixing still exists.

New community has millions, billions of dollar corporation and can fix every issue, but they refuse to do so.

Real work, they don't they don't do, they do patchwork.

I don't blame the workers.

I blame new community.

I blame the corporation.

Please have a heart for humanity.

Fix all the issues throughout new community.

And they signed it.

So when you talk about praising these developers, councilman council, saying that they stepped up.

I told you that's not stepping up.

When we were in that tax abatement committee meeting, Councilman Gonzalez, I said that we needed to expand it that list because you only want to listen to the seniors.

I said, we need to go to those other buildings as well.

So it took us to this point, and here they are, building 225 Huntington Street.

Praise them.

Let's stop for stepping up.

For having the courage, because they got to go back up there tonight in them same rat infested buildings.

With no elevators working, refrigerators going bad.

Y'all ain't want to hear what they had to say tonight.

So, you know, just take it off, like I told you yesterday, send it back to the administration.

Because even if they fix everything in those buildings, they do not deserve a tax abatement.

You don't treat people like this in our community and give them tax abatements.

This is a victory for every complex in Newark.

That you know you can stand up and fight these tax abatements, then stop these tax abatements in your community until they fix these these buildings.

That's why I get God the glory.

Because change is happening every time I come to this microphone.

So please let me know who they need to speak to.

So you can get all their names, like you always do, so we can get this taken care of.

Thank you very much.

Thank you for your comments.

Next speaker.

Don't stop, y'all.

Don't stop.

Hurtful, painful.

First, before I start, I'm asking everybody out there, I need prayers for both of my sons.

I'm going through something very major in my life right now.

But it's so important for me to be here.

And if the tears come, don't nobody get up.

Strong black woman.

I'm gonna handle this, I'm gonna handle it.

But what I've been through in the last three weeks, he got me.

Touchdown.

Baraka shutdown.

Baraka shaked down, baraka sending code enforcement into these businesses, into these buildings and shaking these tenets down.

Team Baraka.

Y'all in the bed with these owners.

You got people in court owing rent that they don't own, and you sit there and do nothing.

I've been standing at this mic for three years.

Three years telling y'all about the lead, telling y'all the water lines wasn't fixed.

Donna's Jackson speak the truth.

I am the one.

The burden is on my shoulders.

I know my job.

That's why I don't get no check.

Nobody control me.

Right?

Nobody.

These community-based organizations out here all need to be shut down.

You walk in the La Casa, you walk in the UCC, and depending on what kind of Latino you're in, depends on the payment you get.

You walk in there and you're black, you ain't getting nothing.

I sat and watched Lakasa.

And now UCC.

Turn their backs on people.

Bridges, you ain't exempt.

You ain't helping nobody with no rental assistance.

Catholic charities need to be shut down.

It ain't personal its business.

It's about the truth.

Y'all put us in this condition.

You sat in here yesterday, and all you did was the 2024 budget.

Y'all need to tell people the truth.

You've been lying.

God gonna deal with y'all.

He's gonna deal with y'all because guess what?

The truth crushed to the ground will rise.

And it's rising.

Y'all got seniors in this community and disabled people living in hell because you refuse to do anything.

Because these owners kick back so much to Team Baraka, y'all can't even see our asses out here.

You can't even see us.

You can't see the elders because your mothers don't live in these buildings.

Your grandmothers don't live in these buildings, but damn it, I do.

Seniors don't have the right to have rats in their damn baseboard of their damn mattress running around while they trying to go to sleep.

And this is happening every day in every building in this city.

Mr.

Spice ain't doing no good job.

Leaf, you ain't in these damn buildings.

We have now formed a North Housing Authority Oversight Committee, and we shutting this goddamn city down.

This is on the blood is on your hands.

It's on your hands.

We can't take no more.

People done lost their mothers, they fathers, they sisters, they brothers.

Y'all forced a COVID shot in here.

Y'all lie to this community.

Raz.

Mr.

Black Power.

You ain't nothing but a and only because I'm looking at y'all, because I don't want to have to cuss y'all out, I ain't gonna say that name.

Because you're cowards.

Because when we speak the truth to power up here, y'all better watch Chicago, because Chicago saying the same thing we say.

The lady Miss Jackson stood on that mic and she said the mayor is spending 31 million dollars on executive protection.

What Donna say last week?

25 million on executive protection.

Raz, if you're scary, but you punk.

I'm calling you a punk.

Shut up, Larry, because don't make me go there.

Because punk is not a cuss.

Fag ain't a cuss either.

And that's what he is.

That we gotta take valuable resources from our North Police Department and wash his little pumps out.

Because he's scared to walk around because you shaking people down, because you threatening people, because every woman that walk past you, you pulling up the skirt and pulling down the drawers.

I said it.

And I ain't said a legend of damn thing.

There's an understanding when women come into this building.

That they're gonna do certain things that's expected.

Now the rumor on the street is if they come in here with a skirt, they are to not have no drawers on.

I said it.

I said it.

So look at the lawsuits coming.

That y'all sit there and say nothing.

But for the last inches, Team Baraka, Team Barack, Team Barack.

Even when y'all know it's wrong.

People begging y'all.

Y'all killing us.

Thank you for prayer God.

You're killing us.

Next speaker.

Y'all better find that retro money.

Y'all better find that retro money.

Now keep messing with me.

Alone a little bit.

Cynthia D'Souza.

You ain't nothing to fucking.

I don't think Miss Seuss is appearing.

Next speaker.

Denise Davis.

Is Denise Davis here?

Yes, she is.

Appearing.

Miss Jackson.

Miss Jackson, please, so we can hear the speakers.

Thank you.

I'm sorry, go ahead.

Oh, Mr.

Seuss is here.

I apologize.

I didn't see you.

We'll go back to Mr.

John, can you help?

Good evening.

I'm trying to, huh?

That's the best I can hold it.

Um, just reminding y'all, I'm still here.

Haven't heard anything from anybody since the last meetings.

I did see uh council president at another uh meeting with Invest Newark.

And I'm hoping you're you're doing the things that we talked about.

I did get a call from uh Walter, and so I'm hoping that um you're gonna allow him to be able to follow up the issues that I have because they are legal issues.

I don't want to go to lawsuits, but it's been a long journey, and I'm only got a few days left, and I don't want to spend them fighting with y'all.

I want to get what I work for, what was signed over to me, and that's the properties of 450 Springfield Avenue.

And the other thing I wanted to find out that I had sent to you guys in minute emails is talking about nonprofits.

I gave up a real nice double six-figure job to work in the community there, 448 Springfield Avenue as a CEO of rebuilding together, where we work for seniors, and uh we never got grants or anything.

The one grant I was awarded.

I sent that to you guys too for 80,000.

We never got it.

Um, I got the letter that says it was awarded, but we never received the grant.

And that was in the list of things that I asked you guys to look into in the emails that I sent.

So I'm just here to remind you, I'm still here, and I'm waiting for a response, and I'm hoping that you all will consider.

I stayed on Springfield Avenue because I do care, and uh I'm hoping you guys will care enough for me to do the right thing.

I'm tired tonight, but I'm not too tired to follow this up because that's my home.

I gave up a lot to stay on Springfield Avenue.

So um, give me a do me right.

Thank you for your comments.

Yes, we have to do that.

Next speaker.

Denise Davis.

Ms.

Davis appeared.

Good evening, everyone, members of the council, everyone gathered here this evening.

Um, I just want to begin with the principle, my parents instilled in me and my family.

Which was you're judged by the company you keep.

Absolutely.

On Thursday, October 2nd, what should have been a civilized debate for the Central War Council seat, instead devolved into chaos as residents, elected officials, because some of you were there, and media gathered, we witnessed behavior unbefitting of our democra democratic process, disruptive heckling, shouting, and targeted disrespect towards all candidates except one, Amina Bay.

The central ward deserves leadership that brings experience in city government, understanding of municipal policies, fair and unbiased representation, and professional conduct.

As a district leader, I've witnessed firsthand how effective leadership operates through respectful dialogue, fair consideration of all voices, and unbiased service to constituents.

The debate's conduct, particularly the selective microphone control favoring one candidate, stands in stark contrast to these principles.

Regarding Mr.

Walter Jacob's statement about district leaders' voting intentions, I must correct his misinformation.

While there may be encouragement by the district leader chair to support a particular candidate, Amina Bay, each district leader should vote their conscious, free from influence or intimidation.

The central ward needs leadership that unites rather than divides, that listens rather than silences, and that serves all residents equally.

Whether my role as district leader is not as valuable as some of you may think, we do have a responsibility to our community.

The community in which we reside is a community made up of taxpayers, hardworking individuals who make sure that their community remains intact.

This is not the type of leadership that we want representing our community.

Gail Cheney Field Jenkins has always represented us with the utmost respect and is willing to reach out to each and every individual in the community to ensure that their needs are met.

I can see from that debate that that is not what we will get.

We don't need a bunch of people running through our neighborhood, intimidating our homeowners, and those people that are paying the lion's share of the taxes in the city of Newark.

We need representation, like I said, that is fair and just and what we all witnessed that night was a disgrace.

Each and every person that attended and clapped and yelled and stomped and spit and made the most indecent gestures that I've witnessed at any event in the city of Newark should be ashamed.

Again, line 4F.

If you want dignity restored to the community.

Thank you so much for your time.

Thank you for your comments.

Next speaker.

Appearing.

Good evening, Council members.

Good evening.

My name is Fakira Bradley, and I stand before you as a committed community servant, someone who has spent years doing outreach, outreach, helping families, and advocating for people who go unheard.

I'm here tonight because I experienced being blackballed from the nonprofit work in this city.

Despite my dedication and consistent efforts to serve Newark's residents, I've been shut out, silenced, and overlooked.

Not because of wrongdoing, because I stand firm in truth, fairness, and transparency.

In my time working within the community, I've seen how politics and favoritism can sometimes overshadow purpose.

That's not what service is supposed to be about.

True outreach means helping everyone, not just those who fit within certain circles or connections.

Recently I became aware of the code of ethics that all nonprofits and community organizations should follow.

It emphasizes honesty, integrity, accountability, and respect.

These values should not be optional.

They should be foundation of every organization that receives public support or funding to serve the city.

When individuals like myself, people who genuinely care, who work hard, who do the outreach, are pushed out or blackballed, it sends a painful message to others who want to step up.

It tells them that doing the right thing could cost them their place, and that's not Newark.

That's not the North that I believe in.

So I respectfully ask this council to look into how nonprofits and community programs are operating to make sure they're living up to ethical standards, they're supposed to.

Fairness, transparency, and respect must be practiced, not just promised.

I will continue to serve and pray and stand for what's right.

My hope is that the city of Newark will continue to grow stronger by making room for everyone, especially me, who's dedicated to Newark and show up for everybody.

I need a job, and I'm qualified for it.

Thank you for your time and your service.

Thank you for your comments.

Next speaker.

Appearing.

Wow.

Sad day.

Sad day.

Cassandra Doc.

I told you guys the last time I was here.

When we call and sign up, you ask us what's our topic, what we're gonna talk about.

And I told you last month that mines was one, two, three, four.

And I associated those numbers with people I wanted to talk about.

So I told you number one was Raz Baraka.

Number two was Dashe Carter.

Number three was LaMonica McIver.

And I gave four to Hakeem Jeffers.

I'm gonna do two and four tonight, which is Dashe Quarter.

And I'm gonna give four to the principal at Science Park High School, Darlene Gearhart.

You know, they don't allow you to say her name when you're at the school board meeting, but tonight, here in this chambers, I can say your name, Darlene Gearhart.

Well, let me start with you, Dashe.

Okay, let me start with chill.

So I told you guys Dashe's position down here.

She's the chief human resource officer.

And that responsibility said that the function of that job is as a chief human resource officer, right?

Is responsible for overseeing a company's human resource function, including talent acquisition, development, and retention, as well as compensation, benefits, and compliance with basic with labor laws.

Which means that it's Dashe, Miss Motley, and Dennis Spicer.

So, Miss Motley, I couldn't get how long you've been there, but I'm just gonna assume, perhaps, and if I'm wrong, correct me.

If you came after Dashe.

That's why Miss Dashe, you gotta wear it all.

You are responsible for the talent.

So when something goes wrong down there between a tenant being taken off the portal, they don't have their voucher no more, they can't get in touch with down there, they can't talk to nobody, it's because these are the people that you hire.

Now we all know American told you to hire them, but you chose to do this.

Campaign headquarters, that's how you got there.

Now you may stay late nights, and I guess that's why you think you could be a campaign manager for somebody right now.

Maybe Mitty taught you, and you think you now qualified for that.

And the problem I have is you're not.

It's because of you that Sheena Bowers lost her apartment today, evicted.

Because when she was told by the new owners to move, she found a new apartment, but your uh team that's supposed to go out and do inspection, because they was back up, she lost her thousand dollars, and she lost the apartment.

Pat.

You know why I'm looking at you?

Because you sit on that commission board.

You better do something.

You better do something, Patrick.

Now, and you know what, Amiri, you better go get Dashe.

Go get her, get her ass out of there.

Because I'm sick of her.

Watch your language, Miss Dasha.

Up ass is in the Bible.

You watch your language, you watch your language, Savvy, because people being put out, you watch your language.

Now let me talk about Darlene Gearhart.

Darlene Gearhart is the principal over at Science Park High School.

Now, Maria Ortiz, and some of you may know her because she comes from Ron Christian's church.

I don't want to go into details with her about that, but I will at the next one.

She got rid of Miss Mincy, then she got the black principal, then she got rid of Zahid, the black principal, to make way for Darlene Gearhart, the white principal, who was accused and has a case going on right now, because she was a principal at Sussex Avenue, and those teachers accused her, and that case is going on right now of racism.

How did she get to Science Park High School?

She don't have the experience as a high school principal at all.

Nor does Maria Ortiz, but she's the sister's superintendent of high school.

So you know what, Darlene, I don't have a lot of time for you tonight, but I'm gonna come back to this bike and talk about you again.

Because I'm gonna continue to look up that case, get in touch with that lawyer, because you might not even be there because you got a case against you.

Now you fuck the kids.

Now you effing with the kids over there, and one in particular, Darlene.

Thank you for your comments, next speaker.

Latoya Jackson Tucker.

I do not see her.

Go get a period.

Stop calling out, please.

Appearing.

All I could say is good riddance.

It's nothing good to say about you all.

Good riddance.

Slave traders, like you like I called you yesterday.

Good riddance, slave traders.

I repeat.

Good riddance.

Slave traders.

I repeat.

Good evening, Newarkers.

We the people of Newark and guests.

Message to we the people of Newark.

I'm gonna continue to say it behooves you to vote.

These fail misleaders out of office as if your lives depended on it.

I've been saying it every time I cut a chance.

Vote these people out as if your lives, your heart pump and depend on getting these people out of office.

And if it if you don't, there will continue to be consequences.

What we facing today, the budget.

We've been warning y'all, calling on you all to do an independent audit on our budget every single year that you've been in office.

Or either have the state controller come in here.

We've been doing this every year since you've been in office.

That represent the people because y'all don't represent us.

You are an absolute failure.

No other way to describe you.

No other way to describe you.

You didn't put none of this in place.

You didn't listen to the people cry, rallying cries.

You just did what was in your best interest to line your pocket to get up in higher places and sla and be a slave trader, trading the people votes for failed leadership.

No other way to describe you.

Next year.

Really?

Seriously?

Oh, it's no resonation.

It's no resignation papers going on for this BA who came in office, and I'm gonna continue to say with a federal uh uh investigation, and you hired him.

Know why?

Because you want a job, you know how to steal kill and rob?

Bring your resume to Rasmaraka.

He hires criminal stealers and thinks, or anybody that uh uh I I can just name a laundryness, and then you have the audacity to get on open line, openly lying about the conditions in the state that Newark is living in as Cassad said, openly lying.

You are disgrace.

Look at Broad and Market.

Look what this happened today.

Did you hear about it?

You hear about the stabbing?

This week the stabbing, last week a shooting, this week that one.

Did you see the pictures that I put on where people are actually sleeping on the streets downtown?

You are abomination, Rasperaka, and you ride past this stuff every day because I see you in your bed.

You down there on Brantford, you see the drugs, you see the open air everything under your leadership, unacceptable.

And I'm gonna say, Rasperaka, you robbed the bank, and you all drove the getaway car.

That's what you did.

You came in office with a surplus, and now today we got a seven million dollar budget deficit, 700 million dollars, and Phil Murphy, criminal criminal, Micah Cheryl, criminal, because you all know about this, state control, but criminal, and we charge treason, we charge genocide because that is exactly what's happening, and you allowing this.

You allowing the joblessness, you allowing the homelessness, and you're playing like you're doing something about homeless.

You're kicking the can down the road.

Did you go up to the inviction court?

I'll be in there tomorrow because they try to evict me, saying that I owe them rent, that I don't owe them.

You in eviction court, did you go up there?

Thank you for your comments, next speaker.

Louis Shockley.

Appearing.

I believe though.

I want you to go to the store.

It's Doc, please, so we can hear Mr.

Shockley.

Don't use me as an excuse to continue your shockley.

Been a long time.

We're still here though.

Um haven't been here at this mic since 2020.

Joe McCullum and the council, Mildred Crump.

Oh Joe, he gotta go.

You know, when I spoke, three meetings.

October, November, and then December of I think it was 2017.

But oh my god, it's 2025.

Eight years later, nothing changed.

Gotten worse.

As I said, well, don't know about silver, but I'm the door is no longer a part of the council.

But all I see up there is black and Latino people.

Ain't no white people did this.

Now y'all want to blame Donald Trump for everything.

Let's let's let's do a little revisionist.

Well, not revisionists, but let's do a little look back.

Corey Booker came here.

Again, I only had two mayors in my lifetime.

King Gibson, Sharp James.

And I worked under uh Mayor Quintana.

Corey Booker came here just like Trump.

Came in here, didn't listen to the people, bought off people to steer you people towards this fakeness.

Because that's why I call him Corey the fake booker.

Nothing real about him.

Made up, sent here to destroy and remove this black community.

That was his job.

That was his mandate.

Y'all want to talk about Donald Trump?

Come on.

I don't remember no speaker listing under James.

No limited of speakers.

I don't remember none of that.

I don't remember none of, oh, you gotta you gotta say your address and put your address on there.

Isn't that not intimidation?

Freedom of speech.

How many?

Let me see.

One, two, three, four, five, five officers up in here.

We had a ride up in here.

Remember that?

Remember that?

Pepper spray, all this kind of nonsense.

Corey Booker.

Raz was supposed to be his opponent.

Faked y'all out.

Told y'all about this.

I've been with the Green Party last year in 2024.

The Green Party we ran.

12 congressional candidates and one for the Senate.

And in 2026, we hope to duplicate the Green 13 again.

But I'll be running against Corey the fake booker for the U.S.

Senate.

No fake campaign, like Larry Hamm.

And all the other people they put up there.

Real.

21 counties.

Let's have 21 debates.

See, that's the problem.

You guys don't make these people debate.

Been telling y'all that forever.

You got a baby killer running for the governorship, and that's what Mikey Sherry is.

Supporting Israel, Corey Booker, the baby killers.

All that bombing and all that stuff going on.

And I wasn't out there supporting, I mean, it's appalling.

That kind of loss of life.

But I wasn't out there, those riots.

Because you know why?

I didn't see Gaza people out there supporting Black Lives Matters.

You black folks gotta step up.

Last week they was in Supreme Court.

I'd take your right away to vote.

We gotta wake up.

Silver.

How many African American kids were in that new school down there?

Most suspensive high school ever built in the state of New Jersey.

You guys are gonna be like probably 700 million dollars when you're done with that school.

How many black kids there?

Enrolled in that 200 class that just opened in September.

So you people need to start looking to the Green Party.

It's not good enough just to march, hold your dollars, come after these people, do open requests.

They don't even want you to do OPA requests no more.

They didn't kick that back.

Every right you have, don't blame Trump and the white man.

They've taken it from you right here.

Don't blame these white folks.

Your leadership is taking this stuff away from you.

So again, thank you for your comment.

Let's get busy.

Next speaker.

Anthony Ciarla.

Anthony Ciar, not appearing.

Council President, Council members, that concludes the hearing of citizens.

We are on page four of the regular agenda.

Item five reports and recommendations of city officers, boards, and commissions.

Roll call.

Council?

Yes.

Gonzalez.

Kelly.

Yes.

Yes.

Raymo.

We've got round tree.

Silver.

Yes.

President Clump.

Yes.

Ordinances on first reading.

Item 6 FA is an ordinance amending and supplementing vendor licenses for the sale of food and merchandise at public festivals to establish a seasonal festival endorsement for mobile vendors.

Council as a whole to adopt.

Roll call.

Council?

Yes.

Yes.

Kelly.

Yes.

Yes.

Ramos.

Yes.

Scott Roundtree.

Yes.

Silver.

Yes.

President Crump.

Yes.

The ordinances adopted today on first reading will be advertised in accordance with law, and a public hearing will be held at a regular meeting on November 6th or as soon thereafter as possible in the council chamber.

Public hearing, second reading and final passage.

Item 6 PSFA is an ordinance amending smoke shops by amending rules and regulations.

Sponsored by Councilman Ramos.

Second, by Councilman Gonzalez.

Is there anyone wishing to speak on this ordinance?

Seeing nothing, Mr.

President.

I'm sorry, Councilman.

Could I just summarize?

Maybe I could you know answer some of the questions.

So I I worked on this with um the police division.

We've gotten a lot of complaints about the existing smoke shops that are operating within the city.

What this does is um creates uh a number of requirements, including limiting the hour of operations.

Good.

Uh it sets up a minimum distance requirements from churches, schools.

They can't be within a certain distance between each other.

Um existing smoke shops may be difficult to get them to comply with this, but new any new smoke shops would have to comply with the distance requirement between each other.

If the smoke shop is in a special improvement district, which we do have a few in the city of North, before they apply for a license, they would have to get um uh uh permission from the improvement district.

So they would have to have a sign off from the special improvement district if they fall within those boundaries as an additional requirement or stiffens the penalties for those smoke shops that are doing things illegally, you know, it gives the police division to recommend to the city to revoke their license if they're caught selling uh you know illegal hemp products or or cannabis, and lastly, it increases the fee that they have to pay to get a license.

So you know it's it's an attempt for us to to make sure that we better regulate um these smoke shops.

There's a lot of them popping up within the city all over the region, actually.

So with the amendments uh that you uh just dock, Cassandra Doctor enough to state your name for the record.

Cassandra Doc.

So Nebo with the um suggestions in terms of the um some of the things you want as part of the amendment, some of the things that you just you know just uh spoke about that you want as part of the amendment, is that gonna be listed somewhere so that this body knows that when they're passing and giving the okay that they did their due diligence to make sure the things that you just talked about, um they've taken care of that, and the one that's comes to my mind, and I'm so glad it got closed down for whatever reason Charlemagne Nagar and Requiring them closed it down.

Um, but like for instance, that one.

Um now would somebody be able to go in there and open it up because that was already a shop.

Can we also add to the amendment where we limit the amount of um smoke shops that we're gonna allow in the city no matter what ward is in?

We say this a certain amount are going, for instance, we only allow them 25, and that means that when we hit that limit, I don't care where they are, that's it, no more can come in.

Can that be considered?

Because we can't have a city filled with smoke.

So I'm sorry.

And we have schools everywhere now, so that means that now we cannot have a shop downtown because we have schools downtown.

So if that's the case, if that's a part of the amendment, then if somebody comes and want to open up that smoke shop down where Charlamagne them had there's that, it can't be because that's by a school.

In fact, that's surrounded by several schools.

Yeah, uh Cassandra, the the the example you gave, it's it's not an accessory shop.

That that that particular business was licensed under for cannabis, right?

They were actually licensed by the state and the city uh to for the sale of cannabis products.

These smoke shops are the accessory shops that you see in the neighborhood on Bloomfield Avenue, Lower Broadway, um, on Broadway, they sell it.

Oh, so we're gonna be able to do that.

They sell the accessories that are sometimes used to smoke cannabis and other things.

Okay, so can we do the same thing with the cannabis?

The cannabis has a uh a whole set of different restrictions.

There's a cap in terms of the number of licenses that the city can um can have operating so the it's it's different from this order.

Gotcha, but can we go back and do an amendment so it can't be within a certain uh feet of a school?

Can somebody sponsor that?

Uh Patrick so let's let's do this, uh Ms.

Doc.

Let's go ahead.

Let's let's go in through the public hearing.

Okay, and if any of the council members or administration want to respond, we'll have to sound good.

Okay, thank you.

Deborah Salters.

Um I support the uh regulation because Miss Aikins and I actually got two shut down that were the one on Brantford that was you know, not supposed to be selling weed, and I mean they had high the hot the stuff that you know got that.

It was three schools around that one, then we got the one down the street, by the way.

I shut down because they were in there again.

The weed the weed was right, so and the kids were all out there.

So um, you know, Jocelyn and her team went to them and then you know, she went and took care of it.

But there has to be more regulation, right?

Um, we put ordinances in place all the time, but we need people boots on the ground, and I'm talking before the song came out.

We need boots on the ground, like we've been out here to regulate this stuff, right?

We have tons of ordinances, but where's the enforcement?

That's where the problem is coming in.

We need to make sure that we're gonna have people out there.

That's going to actually enforce this, right?

We're talking about hours during school hours.

What is operating?

And like I said, to go in, like there's one on broad now, a convenience store with uh other things in it.

Has anyone been in that store to check it out?

Right?

And the kids, the schools are all around, and the kids are out there all day.

After school, they're flooded downtown.

We need we need we need regulation, okay?

Not just legislation, but regulation.

Thank you for your comments, next speaker.

Ms.

Bobani, we can hear you, and we can't hear the speaker when they're speaking.

Thank you.

So I know this is in reference to smoke shop.

Hate to say to state your name for the right.

Thank you.

Thank you, sir.

I know we're talking about smoke shop regulation, the students downtown.

We have done nothing about that in 10 years.

I know that the businesses downtown have been complaining forever, but poor planning.

We keep putting high schools and schools downtown.

Duh, what dummy came up with that in the middle of a business district?

Uh well, yeah, amen.

So in conjunction with this, I would like you guys to monitor the overdoses in the schools because we're having them.

The ambulances are pulling up regularly, and this ain't a public school issue or a charter school issue.

Y'all need to get and know what's going on.

They got lace weed.

Smoke shop, we're talking about the vape pens.

We're talking about the metals in these children's lungs.

See, the white community is up in arms.

Oh my God, we're gonna stop the bait pins.

Here we go.

It's all right.

We had a kindergartner in a particular school.

Matter of fact, several schools now that I got the reports across the city.

There is not a ward that is exempt from this.

Not one.

This thing don't have color.

This thing is called get them hooked.

So we got kindergarten children and pre-K4 children in some of these schools out here and the daycares with vape pens.

Y'all ain't doing nothing.

Because y'all thought it was so nice to open up the weed shop.

Everybody went in celebrating, coming out with their bag, state senator, council people, everybody had they feel.

Now it's closed.

Because they didn't want to pay that $25,000 a month rent.

So how many businesses in this smoke world?

And I know y'all have because it's legalized.

I'm not because I knew our children were gonna get out of control.

I knew it.

Because we have no in New York, they don't let kids smoke.

Word on the street is Baraka said to the NPD, if you catch a kid with it, let them go.

What?

And I know it's true because when the last time we made a weed arrest of a 14, 12, 11-year-old.

We haven't.

That's going with the block the box ticket.

Citation.

We should have a conversation with the parents.

We need to work together on this.

Y'all got people nodding out in front of the city hall that don't look good.

It doesn't.

So you gotta have enforcement.

And that's what we don't do.

So who's gonna be the weed smoke shop enforcers?

Because it can't be code enforcement, as per that video that just went out, allegedly.

I saw it.

You saw the items they was picking up, not even in uniform.

So we don't even have the personnel to enforce.

Please be conscious of the children and what path we're putting them on.

Because the more you keep saying yes, the more these businesses get the money.

Thank you for your comments.

Next speaker.

Seeing no other public hearing is now closed.

Oh, okay.

All right.

You can hear me talking, but you can move it.

That's some funny stuff, right?

Oh, you gotta keep repeating your name.

You know what?

This is this is this is some more, you know, acting like you're doing something.

You know, this is because ain't nothing been going on in this city since you've been in office, selective enforcement.

That's all it is, and like everybody else said, where is the enforcement?

It's selective enforcement.

Where is the enforcement?

And then are you gonna be doing some enforcement over the cigar bars that y'all touting around here too?

Ain't smoking going on in there?

It might be some other stuff being sold up in there too.

The cigar bars, y'all go in and smoke your cigars.

You even got ras smoking cigars now.

You just can't make this up for real.

Do you have a team of enforcement people to do anything?

Because if you do, where is the enforcement?

The man came on open, open line, and he openly lied.

Where is the enforcement right in your backyard that y'all ride past every day?

I know y'all robbed past Broadmarket.

I seen you the other day past Brantford.

What was that?

About two or three days ago?

Something like that.

You ain't you don't see what you just overlook now straight ahead.

No, seriously.

You looking like with your lashes, you can't make this up.

No, but do you see what's going on?

Because I've been out there almost 30 years, and it's this abomination.

It is this so sad that I'm I'm I I'm even scared to come out of my car sometimes.

When you come by, we see me sitting in the car.

Because it's just unacceptable.

It's unacceptable.

And I've been a formerly incarcerated, former drug pusher.

This is just this is the sad.

And the people of North who hear me, you are absolutely sad.

No class.

I came up with the class dealers.

So you know, we didn't we shut down when the kids you know came home from school.

We ain't do this in front of elders.

We treated them, we did all of that stuff.

And and not to big up that, because listen, I already pledged my life to not do it, but this is this is just utterly joking.

Thank you for your comments, next speaker.

No other speakers.

Public hearing is now closed.

Anything else from the council?

Uh anything from the administration.

Roll call.

Council?

Yes.

Yes.

Kelly.

Yes.

Yes.

Ramos.

Yes.

Scott Roundtree.

Yes.

Yes.

President Crump.

Yes.

He is an ordinance to amend mandatory recycling regulations to revise the hours of placement on the curb of recyclable materials prior to collection.

Is there anyone wishing to speak on this ordinance?

Yeah, no.

Let's have some quiet out there so that we can hear the speakers, please.

So I can hear the speakers.

How about that?

Donna Jackson.

Recycling.

It does need to be better enforcement.

We do need to do a campaign about recycling.

We do need to make sure that everybody has recycling cans.

But you guys are letting the immigrants steal all the plastic.

And they're stealing it because the plastic recycling has doubled and tripled in recycling.

Okay?

No, it's an immigrant.

No, no, no, no.

They rent the U-Haul truck.

They park on South Orange Avenue in South Clinton.

I run them off my block.

There was a time when North Police, code enforcement, were enforcing people removing stuff from the bins.

Y'all don't do that no more.

We in a budget crunch because you're not doing your job.

You let Donna walk through the West Ward, the South Ward with a plastic bag and take Miss Green, Miss Brown, Miss Williams, and Miss Johnson's recycling out her bin.

Y'all have me in the back of 526.

Or 633.

I'll be in jail.

This is big business for them.

They walking around with shopping carts with 15 bags, just walking down the street.

Coming in our backyard.

Well, when Malik and Pookie got the oven, here come Petey.

Whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop.

Well, whoop whoop on them bottles.

That's a generating revenue for us.

And they dump people's cans out.

Now see on my block, they very respectful when they started.

They dump the whole can out.

You better pick it up.

I'll come out my house one, two o'clock in the morning.

But if we're gonna do this in overnight, we need to brighten up the city.

I'm sick of y'all.

That's right.

Y'all don't care about the safety of these men.

Don't care.

This city ain't safe no time.

You got these guys out here picking this stuff up when it's pitch dark.

They can't even see the recycling can on the curb or the garbage can in the overnight shit.

Because I see them when they out there.

My block is dark.

You do your best, dude.

It's dark.

So it's a couple of things.

We need to do an aggressive campaign.

You're not doing nothing about recycling at the housing authority.

That's millions lost.

So we talking about revenue.

What are we doing?

Again, I'll offer my services for free for the first six months.

I'll be the recycling enforcement director.

Because I ain't gonna be no officer.

And I'll make sure that it gets done.

Now when I bring y'all the people with the bags with the bottles in it, and it's my Latino brothers and sisters, because I talk to them.

Ah, listen, it's okay.

They must my sons and daughters back there too.

But we gotta fix this.

Y'all letting people steal resources from the city, and it has gotten worse in the last two years.

It ain't personal, it's what's going on.

Y'all see them with the cards just like I see them.

Thank you for your comments, next speaker.

Um, good evening, Adara Brown.

Good evening.

I noticed that it just says ordinance to amend Title 15, chapter 12, NORC Mandatory Recycling Regulations.

Y'all want to amend the hours, but you've been changing them recently without making it a part of the agenda because we keep changing directors, adding directors, removing directors, not training directors.

But the reason that I bring it up is that it's not really clear to the residents what is it that you want?

So when I looked it up, you know, it says North New Jersey Municipal Code, Title 15, Chapter 12 is the city's recycling regulations.

So this is supposed to talk about the rules on the mandatory separation of our recyclables.

So let's go back to September 25, 2019.

North New Jersey received a grant, 140,000.

It was a prease.

I'm a little tired.

I don't know how y'all do it.

We received 140,000.

What happened?

We didn't get any kind of knowledge on the recycling, because I know COVID came in 2020, but there was a big release.

Let me read Mayor Raj J.

Baraka, public works director, Khalif Thomas, the Coca-Cola Foundation and the National Nonprofit, the Recycling Partnership announced today the launch of a new recycling education campaign that would be piloted this fall.

North was recently awarded a hundred and forty thousand dollar recycling grant from the Coca-Cola Foundation.

Y'all could Google and look it up to read the rest.

So what happened to it?

What is the point of bringing this?

Are we just telling people how to recycle?

Are we gonna say, does the city have the grant?

Are we sourcing it out?

Like, what is the purpose of the snippet?

And the reason that I bring it up is because you're not really giving us information.

And in the past, for the residents to understand to give you feedback, we need to know what we're talking about.

So you just giving me the hours of placement.

We already know the hours whenever you feel like coming to get it.

I don't want to be disrespectful, rude, but tell us why is it here?

Because when I looked last night, the agenda was only seven pages, today is 35.

Let's make it make sense.

Thank you.

Thank you for your comments, next speaker.

How many recycling plans they had since they've been in office?

This don't make no sense.

No, this is your name for the record, please.

Thank you.

Anyway, aren't you tired of hearing about?

Well, I know you're not tired.

But how many plans in your top of your head that y'all come up with about recycling trash, uh changing uh directors?

How many times?

How many times?

Can you just answer that off the top of your head?

Since this administration been in office, because this streets started looking terrible under this administration, and that's no pun intended.

Am I right or wrong?

You're right.

You're right.

Is it me?

Because any other administrations you had this trash, this recycling.

This stuff, I'm this is this is this.

What is this trash city?

And y'all can't come up with a trash plan.

Uh uh, the the uh street sweepers and the uh compactors.

I mean, this what is really going on here.

Is it the money issue?

Is it the uh uh you can't say the employees because they I see them out there too, and they struggling hard on these uh garbage trucks and doing recycling with the best of their ability.

Is this somebody still in the money?

Is that a part of what you're hiding in the budget?

Because this is something this stuff is crazy.

This administration has literally drove people into insanity, just listening to this for 10 almost 10 whole years, no and no, I I'm just trying to find some humans because this is the sad.

It's really sad.

I I know you got your head down, Katana, because you know this is the filthiest this street ever been on any administration.

What is the real root cause of the problem?

Let's get to it.

Am I lying?

Is it is it the money?

Is it the plan?

Is it the director?

Is failed leadership?

Oh second.

You know, every and it seems to be every election season, we reimagine a new plan.

Then we get a new director because the other director didn't do this, and then at one point over the years, we weren't paying the recycling company to do the recycling, and so then we didn't have a recycling company.

Then we said we'll bring it in-house.

It's just I you know, I don't even know.

Like, I do know.

Let me not say that.

I do know.

It's just a sad situation, right?

We're always reimagining a new plan, but when is the plan ever gonna come to fruition?

It's like starting middle school all over again, like you get from kindergarten to fourth grade, and then when it's time to graduate to go to fifth grade, no, where we at fifth, yeah, fifth grade, or you in the sixth grade, it's time to go seventh and eighth, now you gotta go back to the fourth grade.

Like it just makes no sense, and I am literally crying right now.

This is this is insane.

Um, so the only way to really fix this, well, you need new people.

That's it.

Because we keep going, it's like groundhog day over and over, like, and and we, you know, I actually like a couple of y'all.

You know what I'm saying?

But it has nothing to do with that.

What it doesn't benefit us.

When are we going to get a plan that we can stick to, bring it all the way out to fruition, pay our bills, not have these issues, and and uh like Donna was talking about, these folks are coming in our backyards, they're just not in the front garbage, they're bold enough to go in our backyards through the garbage, get the recycling, come out and leave whatever mess they want to leave.

So it's not just in the front, it's in the back too.

But what are we doing?

Because that's money, but nobody bothers them, but you know, like she said, if it were one of us, it would be a whole other situation.

Thank you for your comments, next speaker.

Seeing none public hearing is now closed.

Anything from the council?

Anything from the administration, roll call, council, yes, yes, Kelly, yes, I amos, yes, Scott Roundtree.

Yes, yes, President Clump.

Yes.

President Crump.

Yes.

C is an ordinance granting a 15-year tax abatement to SAT Urban Renewal Entity LLC for a project in the South Ward to construct a new five-story mixed-use building with 20 residential dwelling units.

Sponsored by Councilman Council.

Second by Councilwoman Scott Roundtree.

Is there anyone wishing to speak on this ordinance?

Alif Mohammed.

Good evening.

Good evening.

At the debate.

Pat, you would have stopped the people from making noise in the church.

Tell me.

Tell me.

I got a new respect for you, bro.

Because you stood up with your, you know, your tax abatements.

You're giving out these tax abatements, and then your BA come here yesterday.

And he said that they're not even collecting the money for the pilots.

You're not even collecting the money.

Now he's gonna go collect the money.

Uh teacher's village owe this amount of money.

This one owe this amount of money.

But we still get out, we're not even collecting the money.

And then this guy could up, he reminded me of a school child when she took the lollipop too.

So you're giving out these abatements, and you're not collecting the money.

That's crazy.

Then on this one particular, yes, it's affordable, but the AMI that Gail was trying to explain, Gail Tenny was trying to explain at the debate, but team Baraka Pat in the Holy Church made a lot of noise.

Where if you put this deal together, it's almost all market rate because it's like 80%.

It's almost it's almost really a market rate situation.

It's just a sneak way of doing it.

But Gail was trying to explain it to you, but team Baraka was making so much noise in the holy church, Pastor.

It wouldn't do it in the Mars.

We'll break their back, Mr.

Mohammed.

No, no, stop.

No, no, no, because this is why I'm angry at this because it's a game.

It's a game here with these.

This man gets up every time and he's saying that we're not doing the firmative action, we're not collecting no money.

We're just BSing, and y'all sitting there and allowing it.

Why do you think I'm angry?

Because I get up here and when it's a good thing, I'm like, yeah, this is great.

But when you look at the deal the way Gail broke it down, you still do a market rate, and you sponsored it.

So you got 20 units going up there, uh, 18 of them.

16 is marking rate, but really 18 is marking me.

It's a game.

It's a game.

You can't put it by a church because you allow people disrespect churches now.

Thank you.

Thank you for your comments.

Next speaker.

So what I'm trying to understand, what how do you determine who's gonna get 15 years?

Who's gonna get 30?

Who's gonna get 50?

So Patrick, you kind of know better.

In fact, you both know better.

Because you both proclaim the word of God, you do.

So if why would you even want more of the units to be what they call affordable?

And you know affordable goals with income, right?

Right?

Like Raz said he wanted 36, the average income is 36,000.

I told you guys this last month, but then yet the affordable will say one of the projects said affordable, you had to make 44,000.

So if the average income is 36,000, then no affordable project should say 44,000, Patrick.

You know better.

Somebody gonna be held accountable for this.

So why would you want more of the units to be an issue for people?

And only one or two to maybe help somebody if the average income is what Mr.

Baraka say it is, right?

So with the average income, two of the units are only for the average income, and the other 16 is for a higher income.

Have you now gotten to the point that you don't care either?

Because he don't care.

He don't care at all.

He could care less.

So again, what determines it?

Why did this project only get 15 years?

And some of your other projects get 30.

How are you determining that?

What made you say 15 years, Patrick?

And are you okay with knowing that only maybe three people that come to you that call you and say I just got evicted?

Only three of them probably, because you only have three apartments that maybe be available to them.

Do you feel bad when they call you?

Because you you sit on the commission at the housing authority.

You could you can't sleep.

Those of us that are not been chosen by God to bring the word like you.

If we feel bad, you gotta feel something, Patrick.

At some point, then you may have to say, you know what?

I can't do this.

I can't do this.

I can't sit on that housing authority board because I can't allow people to keep calling me saying, Oh, me and my family are about to sleep in the car.

Thank you for your comments.

Next speaker.

You understand, Louise?

You don't understand, Larry.

So I remember we would get up and ask about the 30-year tax abatements, 25 year tax abatements.

And each time we asked the question, it was well, that's the year, that's the term of the mortgages.

That's why.

So is the 15 year the term of the mortgage?

And it also says, and this is a question for me too.

15 year long-term tax abatement, right?

15 years, not long enough, but long term.

Like, why is that phrase attached?

I meant to ask that last time.

Um, and who is SAT Urban Renewal?

This is one that have you seen this one before?

I I have not seen this one before.

Yeah, and I haven't had a chance to you know look into it.

But who are these people?

Yeah, true.

Um, but again, more of what was being said, more of these units are market rate.

Like Alif was saying, that's the thing I wanted to address.

It's almost all market rate.

And we've had some up here with all market rate, and you gave them 25 year tax abatements.

So how do the people benefit?

And we keep saying it.

At some point, or maybe not, uh, it seems that you all would take the stance of, you know, this really is hurting the people because you are the ones who have created the homelessness, and you perpetuate it by these projects that you keep saying yes, yes, yes, yes.

Now, a couple of you used to have questions.

Y'all don't even try to ask questions now.

When will the people benefit?

Yeah, it's just it's beyond unconscionable.

Yes, yes, yes.

It's not 20 years.

That's what you can say.

Well, at least it's not 30 years.

Y'all always keep talking to us about 20 years, 30 years, it's 15.

It's half.

But it's still almost all market rate.

When you all have the power to do something differently, 16 to 36 years, uh 36,000 a year up to 40, somebody said the other time, that annual salary, everything you're saying yes to does not accommodate that bracket.

You're giving us the bare minimum again, and the developers win.

Thank you for your comments, next speaker.

Public health price.

Rath is created about evening, Nadera Brown, New York, New Jersey.

For those who um didn't go on Elizabeth Dabney, you can't really miss the space because the councilman graced us with a big big poster of himself in the area.

So you'll see the spots.

Oh, on Elizabeth Avenue, we're just supposed to be, but my concern is what exactly is the AMI?

Because it's the area.

But every single building, the AMI is different.

So when your deputy comes down with her piece of paper from her office to try to bring it down to us, each building has a different AMI.

The one on Commerce Street has one different from Urban Turner Boulevard.

So when you put these in the agenda, why don't we put the actual AMI that you're talking about?

And then, you know, I had math back in the day, I did go all the way up to calculus, but I still get confused because these numbers aren't numbering.

Because when you say you have 20 units, that's 16 are market rate.

If they're market rate, they're not affordable.

So which one is it?

Like we're playing around with words, but unfortunately, everyone doesn't understand the difference.

So then you break it down to say that you have 16 market rate residential units with two one bedroom units and 14 two-bedroom units.

Okay, so then four are affordable, four, right?

So then you say the dwelling rental is one two-bedroom one, right?

Which should be restricted to 40% of the AMI.

What is that?

Then you have two units consisting of a one-bedroom unit, and then you got another one two-bedroom unit with the 60% AMI.

Then you got another one bedroom unit with the 80, but I got I get five, not four.

So somebody helped me understand what is the equivalent to this, and then you're making this next to the what was those things, them crates.

Because we already kicked the people out on Central Avenue or the containers that we already built, but that's another topic another day.

So who's gonna move in this and how?

When the application is gonna be available, but we gonna put a package room and everybody's still in the packages?

I don't know.

I just want to know what is the breakdown, what is the AMI?

What is it actually?

Because every building has a different one, and we're just putting up.

And is this the only area in the South Ward?

I know you just built something on Bergen Street, you're trying something on Harton and Bergen, but can't we branch out?

Everybody don't want to live just right there.

Thank you.

Thank you for your comments, next speaker.

We're in school.

Keep saying your name.

That's the new thing with Crump.

What's your name?

Manere Elbumani.

Anyway, where's the return on investment?

Where is the you made a uh recommendation for uh moratorium on the tax abatements?

Right?

Could you see?

Whatever happened, whatever happened, Ramos with we're gonna do an assessment on giving out the tax abatements.

RAS and Ramos, whatever happened.

See, you said Newark is moving forward.

Who is moving forward for?

For us for Neorgas, lifelong, especially.

Who is it moving forward?

Also, the money that is supposed to go when you give a tax abatement, money's supposed to go into the newer community development.

Money's supposed to go here, here last time you gave 3.5 million to reinvent invest newer from BC DC, and it's supposed to go into the community.

Where's the portal that we've been we've been calling on a portal on it's our money?

Uh checkbook nook, so we could go to the portal and see about these projects.

Oh, and don't let me talk about the fair share of housing, also the fair share of jobs, also the fair share of I mean, come on.

Don't y'all realize what you said public health on his housing, your housing plan is a failure.

Public health crisis, Rascals.

It's a failure.

You recycling.

And do you think uh uh uh housing people?

What like what you say you're doing this?

You lowered the rate of homelessness, putting people in shelters.

That ain't no home.

Putting people in containers, is that a drop in home homelessness?

Putting people in in shelters.

Ms.

Bamani, please speak to the ordinance.

No, I'm just saying about the tax abatement supposed to deal with all of this.

And you're not gonna tell me what to say out of my mouth.

Is this what uh uh creating uh uh reducing homeless, putting people in shelter?

Thank you for your comments.

Stop giving our tax abatements out, and we don't get a return on the public health issues, homelessness, no other speakers.

Public hearing is now closed.

Anything from the council?

Anything from the administration?

Oh, yeah, Mr.

Councilman Council.

Yeah, I wanted to make a correction.

I know she was talking about the the nice banner that was on on Elizabeth Avenue, but the that uh project is gonna be 222 units, so it's a different project.

This project is on Elizabeth and Hunter on a piece of property that's been abandoned for for years, uh, even prior to me becoming the councilman.

And I do believe when they talk about the plethora of housing and affordable housing, you can go to South Twentieth Street where we're about to develop two and three bedroom homes, 100% affordable, South 11th Street, South View Terrace, uh, where there were affordable homes that were just built and developed there on Springfield Laveno, 760 Clinton Avenue, where another 24 units of affordable two and three bedroom houses uh is gonna be developed.

So I think we're doing a yeoman's job and making sure that we provide affordable housing for the residents in the city, more specifically in the South Ward, uh, to continue to make sure that our residents have a place uh to to stay.

So thank you.

Thank you, Councilman.

Council roll call council, yes, Gonzalez, yes, Kelly, yes, Quintana, yes, Ramos, yes, Scott Roundtree, yes, silver, yes, President Clump.

Yes, council as a whole to defer D and E, please.

Roll call to defer.

Council, yes, Gonzales, yes, Kelly, yes, to defer.

Quintana Ramos, yes, Scott Round Tree, yes, silver, yes, President Crump.

Yes.

F is an ordinary get some quiet in the gallery, please, so that we can hear.

Thank you.

F is an ordinance amending taxicabs to add a penalty provision for violations of restrictive endorsements at Newark Liberty International Airport.

Sponsored by Councilman Kintana.

Second by councilman counsel.

Is there anyone wishing to speak on this ordinance?

Donna Jackson.

Can I get a little explanation?

I'm I'm just trying to make sure that this is not penalizing our taxes and then the Ubers work.

So I the right.

Which they do is they come from New York, drop someone off, and then pick up somebody and take them with them to New York.

So that takes away from our so this is to relegate and making sure that they don't come into Newark, uh that drop off the person and then pick somebody else.

Take it back to New York.

Okay.

How you enforce it though, though?

So right, so appreciate that, and and that does need to happen.

You in cabs from New York, too, you know, that come, drop someone off, right?

And then they just pick our people, right?

And the people who who have licenses here don't benefit.

Right.

So there's gonna be, I just see a little difficulty.

Um passing present attended port authority meetings.

So when they created the cell phone parking lots, these Ubers from New York and other places go park there.

So they're not necessarily in the drop off pickup lane, but they're on part authority property.

So again, I think it's a good idea.

I'm not, you know, not saying no, but I don't think this speaks to us protecting all the cab drivers, right?

Well, yeah, the cab drivers because the yellow cab, right?

Because that's really all that's doing that.

But if we're gonna continue to allow with the port authority, and I think that's why that conversation needs to happen, um, Lou, and you may need to set that meeting up because they are going to those exterior parking lots and they're doing it.

They go to the Wawa, because I see them.

They go to the um, they go to the the Marriott that's there in the middle, they go on that property and sit because if nobody comes out and tells them to move, they sit there.

They also sitting, now that you said that, they're also sitting on one and nine, and right?

So we've had major traffic accidents on one and nine, people losing their lives, going to and from the port, to and from the airport to work and that live here.

So I think that we need to discuss how we're gonna really regulate that because I agree because people need to be able to eat and live, and there's a lot of Uber drivers that come from outside to come here and sit at that airport, because like you said, they're going back, but how do we regulate that and keep them out of the telephone parking lot?

Um, as well as the other things in the immediate area of the airport, the hotels and stuff.

How do we keep them from sitting on one and nine?

Because there's absolutely no enforcement now.

The taxi commission is gonna be working on that.

Pam is in the back, and she's been working on this.

Yeah, it is her putting helping us put this legislation together, right?

So the taxi commission is working on it, and we're gonna be calling in a meeting with uh with the port authority to explain to them what is you know the airport is not the port authorities, yes, they rent from us, but this is the right.

Right, I got you, yes.

But we're gonna make sure that they do follow through with just ordinary.

So, just real quick, are we giving Miss Pam?

Because I'm gonna be respectful additional personnel for her to do the enforcement.

This is something we're working on right now, but we will get to have undercover cars.

Gary could be in one that we should follow Pat, Round Tree, everybody.

We we're gonna all get on this.

Okay, so undercover cars.

Oh no, I don't want y'all to buy nothing else.

Okay, I'll come back with this a little bit.

Thank you for your comments next speaker.

Nere Albumani, say your name.

So y'all working on an ordinance for taxi cabs, no offense.

But how about an ordinance for the area medium income?

Changing that.

How about it don't have nothing to do with it?

But I'm just saying, speak to the y'all working on stuff that's not important for new workers here.

Work on the uh uh uh tax abatement, getting that with the with the jobs for new workers, the housing, the area medium.

This is what is important to the residents of the city.

Let's speak to the ordinance.

No, I'm just saying, being at your trying to create an ordinance for taxi cabs for taxi cabs.

Why aren't you creating ordinance for important priorities for this for the residents of Nook?

Why aren't you?

I'm that's what I'm speaking to.

No, you're not.

You're speaking, you you you you getting ready to do an ordinance for taxi cabs when we need housing, we need jobs in this community, we need all of this.

No, no, seriously, don't tell me what to say.

Speak I'm talking about why is this a priority over what we need here?

Right now, you know speak to the ordinance.

Why is this a priority?

Uh Kortani, you pushing this when we came here to ask you for an ordinance or uh to enforce the ordinance that we keep coming here about jobs and affirmative action review.

No, seriously, ordinance.

Is this important to New Yorkers?

You you you know when you can speak.

Is this the ordinance that y'all pushing?

When we got priorities here, agenda, you know.

We have priorities that we have other priorities.

At this point, if you don't speak to the ordinance, your time is you're you're establishing an ordinance for taxi cabs.

And I'm asking you, why aren't you establishing an ordinance to help the residents?

Something else, right?

You're not speaking to the ordinance anymore.

Oh, that's not asking why you're not why you why you why you so big on this?

When we got other priorities, that's not important.

One more time.

Speak to the ordinance.

Taxi cabs.

Why are you establishing an ordinance for taxi cabs?

Which the councilman just explained.

And you're not working on an ordinance for affirmative action jobs, training to hiring, and all of that.

Your time is up now.

Thank you.

All right.

Let's continue.

Nadeira Brown, North New Jersey.

So when the explanation came about the ordinance, the description that was given to us was Uber drivers.

Uber drivers and taxi cabs are two different entities.

So which one is it?

Is it the taxi cabs or is it the Uber drivers?

Is it the Lyft drivers?

So we just need clarity because they're separate.

I've driven for Bloomfield White Cab.

They're different from Lyft, they're different from Uber.

So we just want a clarity on which entity.

So I'll tell you, when you're finished with your time, I'm gonna let uh the councilman.

Okay, so just want to bring that, you know.

We're not trying to go over the ordinance, but you gotta understand that it's a pressing times, and even though this is a concern compared to everything that's going on around us, how important is it right now?

Thank you.

Thank you for your comments.

Next speaker.

Good day.

Yeah, someone just texted me.

And because I wasn't gonna talk about it, but you know, we can discuss cabs, but not the budget.

I mean, we we I'm I'm sorters, I'm still on the budget.

If you let me finish talking, I just said the budget.

Now, if you let me finish, so yeah, taxics, they are important.

I've driven taxi cabs, uh not well, not what have, but I've driven in taxi cabs or written in them, as well as Ubers, like uh Miss Nadira was just saying a lot of energy is going into this taxi cab thing, and it's not the first time a lot of energy.

Why is this so urgent?

Why is this so important?

This is not the first time or the second time.

It's been several times we've talked about this, hence the ordinance.

But why is this ordinance so urgent and more important than other things?

That's the question.

And I'm telling you, I gotta, I wasn't even planning to get up here.

I received the text.

The people want to know.

Why is this so important?

The energy that you're putting here should be put toward the energy of us living and thriving in this city.

Thank you for your comments.

Next speaker.

John Reverendo.

An ordinance is only good if you enforce it.

But two months ago, you told us that you don't have enough inspectors or anyone to do anything with it.

So you could do the smoke shop one too, but if you don't have enough inspectors, and you're under a hiring freeze.

So you can write all the ordinances you want, but someone has to enforce it.

Is the Newark police gonna go into the airport?

I've never seen Newark police.

Port authorities gonna write tickets for the city makes the money.

No, this is just some kind of a ploy here.

Focus on what's the most important part.

It's not this.

This is not gonna build your revenue.

900 and uh 990 million dollar issue you have.

Thank you for your comments.

Next speaker.

Seeing none, public hearing is now closed.

Smoke screen.

Uh good evening, uh, good evening.

Kenya Stor, City of North Corporation Council.

So essentially what we're doing here is uh we're trying to protect the folks in the taxicab industry because most of them are Norkers.

I actually had two or three meetings with them because their complaints were a number of things, including folks from other municipalities coming here and taking advantage of the um taking people from Newark to New York when they can't do it the opposite way.

The other complaint that they had was that as you can see near the airport, there are always a bunch of cars uh lined up, parked illegally, which is also a safety can uh safety issue for us.

One of their complaints is those folks sit there and take the rides from them.

So essentially what we're doing is we're also doubling the fines for that.

We had a conversation with the folks report authority who were also concerned about it, and they needed us to do the actual study to compare what the fine should be, and they also needed us to update our ordinance to make sure that they can enforce it.

Thank you.

Anything else from the council?

All right, thank you.

Roll call.

Council.

Yes.

That's all it Kelly.

Yes.

Yes, Ramos.

Yes.

Scott Roundtree.

Yes.

Yes.

President Crumb.

Yes.

G is an ordinance amending the tax abatement granted to KSPG 39 Madison Urban Renewal LLC for a project to revise certain terms of the financial agreement.

Is there anyone wishing to speak on this ordinance?

Alif Mohammed, you see how important these uh tax abatements are.

You should be ashamed of yourself.

Them little 10,000 partners being built downtown.

You need to be ashamed of yourself.

That's that's a that's Mark Race.

10,000 from here to this.

Stop you being ashamed of yourself.

And you shouldn't be talking to a 72 year old man telling him to calm down when I get upset.

But but but you are out with that church, you didn't get up and say nothing to none of them people.

And you the president of this board, you didn't say nothing.

Yeah, I know you can't hear what I'm saying, but I can hear what you're saying.

It's BS, brother.

You wanna stop us and jump on us about stuff, but up there I didn't see you jumping.

I ain't see you jumping doing nothing.

This tax abatement stuff is so important that that's how you get mortgages.

You're playing with money, but you can't live with the affirmative action.

You can't collect the money if you're doing poly.

It's BS.

That's what a guy just trying to tell you.

You're getting up here saying about this ordinance, they all trying to say it.

You might not like what they say, but he's gonna say you can't hire nobody.

How you gonna force it?

Have you been to the airport lately?

I see them standing out there, but how you gonna force it?

But what I'm trying to tell you is this tax abatement is so serious, you gotta get the most out of it.

You don't tell me about a BA get up and talk about oh, we're gonna collect this money, collect this money.

That you that you can't even get a budget together.

You making 400,000.

So, what I'm saying to you, you gotta check yourself, Larry, because you want to check us, but you didn't check them people up at church to team rock up.

And y'all should be ashamed of yourself.

And the only reason why I don't think Kelly was down is not saying nothing to him.

And I'm gonna say it again on Facebook.

And I when I say something on Facebook, 5,000 people listen.

Worry about Tamba's behavior, not my 72 year old.

Now you got a commercial out there.

Thank you for your comments.

Next speaker.

And what is this tax abatement to the slum lord over at the Rivere Hotel?

Yeah, this is this is this sick name.

We know KSPG is the uh uh person who owns the Rivier that got our people living in slum conditions.

See, that's that's why it comes out mad, and that's why we don't have no respect for you.

Because you are disrespectful, and disrespect, but gets disrespect.

You might not like what we say, but you getting ready, you're gonna bobbleheads, you're gonna give uh uh the guy who um stood up there, his friend, and dead job to vote for that tax abatement for the hotel rivier.

You are disrespectful, you are a failure, you are traitor, you every every name that there could be that's distasteful in this community, you sell your souls to these people, but you won't like it's like he said, you ain't get up and got tough up in that church to shut people up to go have an orderly uh uh uh debate, but you want to talk to uh us like you who you think you are?

Who do you think you are, Mr.

Sip on your coffee man?

Yeah, keep sipping, I know because guess what?

Your day every dog got his debt.

You can sit up there and sit and sip it and sip it do, but you you black faces in high places, you're gonna get it.

The judgment is gonna be coming soon to you, and you think you're funny about what you're doing.

Long, what is this gonna be?

A long term for the slum lord.

You getting ready to give them a long term?

What is this gonna be about here?

Because it don't say the uh number, it says amending the tax abatement granted to the slum lord that owns the Rivier for uh what is this for a long-term tax abatement exemption?

And we all we get is slum return on investment.

Thank you for your comments.

Next speaker.

That's what we get here, slum laws.

Wow.

Wow, John Reverend though again.

If we're gonna modify the ordinance, because they're gonna save money on their debt.

Do we get a percentage of this?

Did we work a deal?

Negotiation 101.

Don't pass this until we get a piece of the pie.

We have financial issues.

They're gonna get a reduction in their debt.

Their rents are 400, 4,000 a month, 3,000 a month over there.

How come we don't get a percentage of this?

Do we not know how to negotiate 101?

What's good business?

We're just gonna give away the farm.

It says they're gonna reduce their debt.

So if they're gonna save a thousand a month, give us 200 of it.

Do something, negotiate.

You guys don't make all that money, and then she says, she looked at Patrick.

I gotta say something to him, because he walked in, not a worry in the world, half hour late, him and a few other ones, just no worries in the world.

The city's burning, and they're just walking in late, and you come down on all the people that are here, but you don't tell them that they're late half hour.

Did you not learn when you were a kid?

Early is on time, on time is late, late is unacceptable.

I can't show up for work late all the time, but you allow this, but then you try and take your power on us, but on your own people, you can't control them.

We want a percentage of whatever they're saving, negotiate better.

Take the BA, take the other guy corporation council, and figure it out.

Thank you for your comments, next speaker.

Yes, sir.

What he said.

Never saw it.

Exactly.

What he said.

And and you know, you and we keep asking, what are you getting for what we're giving?

And why is my time at like a minute already?

And I just got up.

That's the best of his time.

So I'm gonna get his time in mine.

Okay, no problem.

That's his time.

Someone restart the time, please.

So, like he said, what are we getting?

And then we ask you this all the time.

He put it in plain English.

If they're because this says exemption, like he said, if they're reducing what they're paying, and they're getting triple, quadruple the money than what they should be getting.

Three thousand, four thousand for rent.

Just what he said, and we just give it to them, and we get nothing back because of promises that have been made in backdoor deals and who they shoveling off money to.

Where do we, the people, get a piece of that pie?

It's like they got a seven-course meal, and y'all throw us crumbs.

Then you put some crumbs over there, go on suck that up.

Yeah, exactly.

That's exactly what I was thinking.

Finger it.

You know, you just you know, just get the crumbs.

But y'all fat and greasy and happy, and like you said, strolling in, like, no worrying world, you know, we getting bigger and bigger, and you know, life is a dream for y'all.

But the regular citizens of this city are struggling because of deals like this.

It seems like somebody told y'all that a bad deal is better than no deal at all.

Like everything, every time I look at something like this, I'm like, well, is that what they were told?

Because I know y'all are old enough to understand how I've been taught what a good deal is.

If it doesn't make sense and it's not gonna benefit, say no.

It's like y'all scared to say no to a bad deal because of the backdoor deals that are already been made.

I'm I'm quite sure.

Like I said, y'all came in hot, a few of you asking questions about stuff like this, and then it was like two months down the line, all of this became deflated.

Oh well, it's nothing I can do.

I gotta just, you know, go along with it.

But then you'll say, oh no, I'm here for my constituents.

No, you're not.

Stop telling that lie.

Because the constituents are saying, we can't breathe, we can't live, we just yeah, we need help.

If you were listening to we the people, you would be moving differently.

You show what you care about, but how you perform, how you provide, and right now y'all are not providing for the regular citizens of Newark, and you have the power.

That's the thing.

Because I've gone to the state, everybody, oh no, Nork can do its own.

Norwegian does its own thing, but you choose to go with what hurts the people instead of what benefits the people.

And Norkers, I hope you're paying attention to this.

Don't do the same thing over and over again.

It's called insanity.

Thank you for your comments, next speaker.

Cassandra Doc.

Um, I just need to know exempt from what?

Because I know you know when I think about exemption, sometimes I think about uh kids who are in college or they and they're in school, and it will say you tax exempt, meaning they don't have to pay certain taxes, they're not obligated to pay those taxes.

It's an exemption.

So what makes this company exempt?

What qualifies them?

What's the criteria for somebody being exempt?

Okay, define that.

You exempt because you are I know you.

You exempt because uh because I know you, you don't have to do what everybody else do.

I'm just giving you an example.

So what define exemption and what qualifies a company to be exempt so that we can go back and see if this company qualifies to be exempt, Patrick.

What makes it exempt?

Who is it and what makes it exempt, Larry?

Talking to you three now.

I'm talking to you.

You know what I mean when I go like this, right?

You know exactly what I mean.

I'm not talking to you, not talking to Nebu.

I'm not talking to you, Louie.

I'm not talking to you, Gonzalez.

I'm talking to Patrick, Du, Larry, and Round Tree.

You know what I mean?

Y'all know exactly what I mean.

What make this company exempt?

Because one of you put this up to be exempt.

One of you did it.

More than likely it's you, Patrick.

Particularly because of the letters of the company.

Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm.

So we can see exactly who it is, what makes them exempt.

Do they qualify to be exempt?

Why is this company exempt?

And let's see what other companies had exempt as part of their negotiation.

Thank you for your comments, next speaker.

You coming up, Miss Jackson?

Okay.

She's about to get a well.

Okay.

So you know the tax abatement, tax exempt gain.

But why can't we charge in lieu of taxes for services?

Because if something happened, North Police gotta respond.

Something happened.

Fire department got to respond.

Something happened.

Sanitation gotta respond.

Something happens.

OEM has to go.

We got enough tax exempt stuff that this council for the last almost 20 years has refused to give an end use fee.

I know I'm saying it wrong.

Somebody up there, Mr.

Silver, you might pet.

I don't uh my my uh friend over there, somebody call.

And they don't pay any taxes.

We need to start charging fees for using our stuff.

Because they're gonna use it no matter what it is.

Now I know this property is in the East Ward, I get it.

But as we're doing this, right?

And we giving them tax, and we giving them tax exempt because Cobanta has a permit to expand, and there's gonna be pollution on Madison Street.

Is that why we doing it?

Because they just put in the application that you guys need to know about to expand the property.

Yes.

And so exempt for what?

But even if you do it, that's okay.

But you know it's politics.

I get it.

You need the campaign donations, so do I.

I get it.

Okay, we're gonna call it the Donna Jackson Fund.

Save her because something's wrong with them.

But why can't we charge people for our services?

Why are you so afraid to do it?

Ruckers.

NJIT, Princeton did it, New Brunswick did it.

We need a budget crunch.

We don't have a we don't have we can't afford exempt.

I don't care what they giving us.

Because all around they making money.

Even with Cassandra living in there.

They ain't looking.

So how much of this are we gonna keep doing and having the taxpayers' burden on our shoulders?

Y'all can't make kill us with reval.

We talking about money.

And you keep giving away the store.

And just let me close with this.

The courage of Mayor Warren, I don't agree with 90% of what he does.

Ding dong, but he just eliminated his parking authority.

Bring them millions of dollars back in house.

No more parking authority in orange.

How about Norwich?

Thank you for your comments.

Next speaker.

Seeing non-public hearing is now closed.

Councilman Gonzalez first.

Yes.

The companies do pay in loot taxes, and they the city gets more money in their loot taxes that they otherwise would have gotten on regular taxes.

That's the first.

And second, I agree with the gentleman that they say the city every time that there is a negotiation of modification or any kind of uh uh adjustment to the tax abatement, the city should get some benefit from it.

It's called consideration.

Uh in contract law.

So I believe, and I have been I have been talking about this for years now, that every time that there is a modification on a mortgage on a deed on the tax abatement, we should get some money out of it.

But you just stop yelling out, please.

Councilman.

Yeah, just if we can get Deputy Mayor Ladd to just explain this.

Yeah, she was coming up.

Deputy Mayor.

Self-explanatory.

Good evening, Council President, Council members, Allison Ladd, Director of Economic and Housing Development.

Um, so I think first we'll just do definitions.

So I think people know this, but the long-term tax exemption is a state law.

It is the law in which the city must abide by using their language.

The city cannot change the law to say payment in lieu of taxes.

However, it is the same, and it's by the law, and we're happy to share the law because it's very clear that a long-term tax exemption by state statute is a payment in lieu of taxes, and everybody pays taxes.

Second, to the council of member Gonzalez's point, um, all projects that get tax abatements generate more tax revenue than otherwise without the development.

So there's always more tax revenue.

There's never less tax revenue than what we collect today.

It's always more tax revenue.

The third part is is that this project was already approved by the council for a tax abatement, which is a pilot, um, back in 2024, and they actually executed the agreement on January 21st, 2025, and in the site it is 80 units, and 64 are market and 16 are affordable IZO compliant.

And the fourth really important part is is inclusionary zoning is a law that has the definitions of 40, 60, 80 percent of AMI, and how many units have to be per each AMI in the inclusionary zoning ordinance.

So I do understand the comments that have been stated this evening and over time, but but I do think it's important for people to know that this is built in law, and the administration, the mayor, and the BA and myself, we're executing the law.

We're not modifying it, we're just executing it.

And so the amendment is to allow the um bank, who is called Dwight Mortgage Trust to be referenced in the financial agreement because they would like to be referenced as they are allowed, and that is a typical amendment that we would bring to this council is when a bank wants to take out a construction loan and put a permanent mortgage on a property.

It is not unusual.

This council has approved many of these actions in the past.

Thank you, Deputy Mayor.

Anything else from the council?

Hearing nothing, roll call.

Council, yes, Gonzalez, yes, Kelly, Quintana, yes, Ramos, yes, Scott Roundtree, yes, yes, President Crump, yes, resolutions.

7R1A is a temporary emergency appropriation to provide Ryan White HIV Health and Support Services.

Council as a whole to adopt.

Roll call.

Council?

Yes.

Gonzalez.

Yes.

Kelly.

Yes.

Quintana.

Yes.

Ramos.

Yes.

Scott Roundtree.

Yes.

Silva.

Yes.

President Crump.

Yes.

7R1B through L are all purchasing contracts.

B is for the removal and replacement of rubberized safety surface at Hayes West Playground.

Sponsored by Councilman Council.

And second by Council President Crump.

C.

I'm going.

C is for mail room equipment.

D is for computer equipment.

E is to remove used tires.

F is repairs to the Oak Ridge Dam.

G is the removal and replacement of artificial turf sports field at Nat Turner Park, sponsored by Councilman Council.

And second by Councilwoman Scott Roundree.

H is police vehicles.

I is lead inspection services.

J is medical accessories for the health department.

K is a swimming pool disinfectant.

And L is the telephone answering service for the health department.

Council is a whole, I'm sorry, council to adopt B through L with sponsors.

ROCO.

Council.

Yes.

Gonzalez.

Yes.

Kelly.

Yes.

Quintana?

Yes.

Ray Mos.

Yes.

Scott Roundtree.

Yes.

Silva.

Yes.

President Crump.

Yes.

Seminar 2A through G are all private sale and redevelopment agreements.

A is to construct a parking lot for an adjacent owned church in the South Ward, sponsored by Councilman Council.

And second, by councilwoman Scott Roundree.

ROCO.

Council?

Yes.

Gonzalez.

Abstain.

Kelly.

Yes.

Quintana?

Yes.

Ramos?

Yes.

Scott Roundtree.

Yes.

Silva?

Yes.

President Crump.

Yes.

B is Council as a whole to defer.

Wait, say that again for B.

B is Council as a whole to defer.

Okay.

Roll call.

Council Press.

I received the information that I want it, but it's still not clear.

Yes, so I'm asked to still want to.

Okay.

Roll call to defer.

Council.

Yes.

Gonzalez.

Yes.

Kelly.

Yes to defer.

Quintana.

Yes.

Ramos.

Yes.

Scott Rounttree.

Yes.

Silva.

Yes.

President Crump.

Yes.

C is a motion to defer by Councilman Council.

Second by Councilman Kelly.

ROCO.

Council?

Yes.

Gonzalez.

Yes.

Kelly.

Yes.

To defer.

Quintana?

Yes.

Ramos.

Yes.

Scott Roundtree.

Yes.

Silva.

Yes.

President Crump.

Yes.

D is the First Amendment to the agreement for the sale and redevelopment of land to MB Development and Management LLP to change the entity name in the South Ward.

Sponsored by Councilman Council.

Second by Councilman Kelly.

ROCO.

Council.

Yes.

Gonzalez.

Yes.

Kelly.

Yes.

Quintana?

Yes.

Ramos.

Yes.

Scott Roundtree.

Yes.

Silva?

Yes.

President Crump.

Yes.

E is the First Amendment to the agreement for the sale and redevelopment of land to Genesis Capital Investments LLC to change the entity name and replace one of the properties in the West Ward.

Sponsored by Councilman Kelly.

Second by Council President Crump.

ROCO.

Council?

Yes.

Gonzalez.

Yes.

Kelly.

Yes.

Quintana?

Yes.

Ramos.

Yes.

Scott Roundtree.

Yes.

Silva.

Yes.

President Crump.

Yes.

F is new construction of a two-family home to sell at market rate.

Motion to defer by Councilman Council.

Second by Councilman Kelly.

ROCO.

Council.

Yes.

Gonzalez.

Yes.

Kelly?

Yes to defer.

Quintana?

Yes.

Ramos.

Yes.

Scott Roundtree.

Yes.

Silva.

Yep.

President Crump.

Yes.

Council as a whole to defer item G.

Rocco.

Council.

Yes.

Gonzalez.

Yes.

Kelly.

Yes to defer.

Quintana?

Yes.

Ramos.

Yes.

Scott Roundtree?

Yes.

Silva?

Yes.

President Crump.

Yes.

H is reading and adopting the 2025 annual budget of Newark Alliance Incorporated.

Is there anyone wishing to speak on this budget?

Saying non-public hearings closed.

ROCO.

Council?

Yes.

Gonzalez.

Yes.

Kelly.

Yes.

Quintana?

Yes.

Ramos.

Yes.

Scott Roundtree.

Yes.

Silva.

Yes.

President Crump.

Yes.

7R4A is cancellation of outstanding checks not presented for processing.

Council as a whole to adopt.

ROCO.

Council?

Yes.

Gonzalez.

Yes.

Kelly.

Yes.

Quintana.

Yes.

Ramos.

Yes.

Scott Roundtree.

Yes.

Silva?

Yes.

President Crump.

Yes.

7R5A is an application acceptance of grant funds to reduce and eliminate the incidence of vaccine preventable disease affecting children, adolescents, and adults through immunization.

Council as a whole to adopt.

ROCO.

Council?

Yes.

Gonzalez.

Yes.

Kelly.

Yes.

Quintana.

Yes.

Ramos.

Yes.

Scott Rounttree.

Yes.

Silva?

Yes.

President Crump.

Yes.

7R8A through F are all municipal council resolutions.

A through C are street designations.

A is for Blonnie R.

Watson.

Sponsored by Council President Crump.

Second by Councilwoman Scott Roundtree.

B is a Newark Police Captain John Scott Bay.

Sponsored by Councilwoman Scott Roundtree.

Second by Councilman Council.

C is Imam Mustafa El Amin.

Sponsored by Councilwoman Scott Roundtree.

And second by Councilman Council.

D is supporting a special event, the flag raising for the celebration of faith of children.

Sponsored by Councilman Quintana.

Second by Councilman Kelly.

E is recognizing and commending resolutions.

And F is sorrow and regret resolutions.

Council to adopt A through F with sponsors.

Roll call.

Council?

Yes.

Gonzalez.

Yes.

Kelly.

Yes.

Quintana.

Yes.

Ramos.

Yes.

Scott Roundtree.

Yes.

Silva.

Yes.

President Crump.

Yes.

7R11A is a memorandum of understanding with visual visual arts center of New Jersey to provide biweekly art therapy sessions.

Council is a whole to adopt.

Roll call.

Council?

Yes.

Gonzalez.

Yes.

Kelly?

Yes.

Quintana?

Yes.

Ramos.

Yes.

Scott Roundtree.

Yes.

Silva?

Yes.

President Crump.

Yes.

7R12 A through D are all water and sewer resolutions.

A is to execute a contract closeout change order for repair of water mains, service leaks, and disconnection of water service.

B is a sale of water to the township of Pequano.

C is a bid contract for the reconstruction of Sal Bontempo Park.

Sponsored by Councilman Ramos.

Second by Councilman Gonzalez.

D is a bid contract to provide maintenance and repair of integrated services.

Council to adopt A through D with sponsors.

Roll call.

Council?

Yes.

Gonzalez.

Yes.

Kelly?

Yes.

Quintana?

Yes.

Ramos?

Yes.

Scott Roundtree.