Please stand for the national anthem, the pledge of allegiance, and the invocation by Pastor Jaleel Mara.

And pride sponsor for the sweet one so the pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America for which it stands.

One nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Father, we thank you today for what you have done.

And before we ask you for anything, we want to thank you for everything.

Father, we want to thank you for the life that you have given us.

Today, as we have this meeting, God, we need understanding.

Father, we ask that you give every voice a chance to be able to be heard.

But Lord, we ask that truth will come out.

But in this season, have your way, God.

We cannot do nothing without you.

But with you, we can do all things.

Cover each and every person in this room.

But most of all, God, we ask you for clarity, wisdom, and understanding.

In Jesus' name I pray.

Amen.

Amen.

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 March thirteenth, and at the time of preparation and posted on the website of the city of Newark Roll Hall.

Councilwoman Bay.

Present Council.

Absent Ramos.

Absent.

Present.

Absent.

Present.

Council President, Council Members, we're in the hearing of citizens portion of this meeting, where each speaker will have five minutes to speak.

When your name is called, please approach the podium and address the council members.

The first speaker is Felicia Austin Singleton.

Appearing.

Good evening, Council audience.

Good evening.

Felicia Austin Singleton.

I told y'all that the housing authority was gonna bring y'all down.

I told you.

A tape.

I saw it.

Y'all dealing with quasimodal government agencies.

I quit pro quoing.

Whoever don't know what that means, it says you do something for me, I do something for you.

Despicable.

Despicable.

We knew the favors was going back and forth.

We knew this.

And yet, and still you did dirty by the residents.

You favored developers, you did all kind of stuff, made contracts, deals at the expense of the residents' lives.

Rat, roaches, mice, slum lords, intimidation.

The housing authority had nothing to do with the city of Newark.

Somebody is going to jail.

It's ridiculous.

And then y'all had that lady come up here and say that the coward Eda Towers did not cost us anything.

We had because we had the other developer.

We ain't had no problems.

Y'all sold the property for $23,000.

When you went to a judgment lawsuit, the judge made you give $23,000 black plus an extra $50,000.

And then we had to pay for attorney fees.

You are some lying, corrupt, evil, demonic people.

As we have pipes busting, kids can't get equipment in their house.

And y'all playing with people's lives.

Every day, right, Pat.

We did it at Stratford.

And it continued to be done.

You made deals with these developers.

Phil Scott is over there now.

Somebody is going to jail.

You worried about what we were saying over here.

You know we was telling the truth.

Tell that when you go ask for support.

Time and time again with housing.

Play tiss for tech games down there with your people.

At the expense of the residents.

Residents pay attention.

Pay attention.

This ain't us flooding Facebook with nonsense.

This is real.

When we say money is missing, it is real.

And you tell me not to be angry.

I'm angry.

I earned my place to be at this damn mic.

You don't need to be there.

You never took care of people.

And this tape coming out are you ridiculous?

I've never been so mad at this mic.

All bell out.

Y'all knew it and never said nothing about it in the two reverence.

You better pray you don't go to hell.

Come on, Pan Louise.

It's not of God, it's the devil's playground.

It's ridiculous.

And for years we came and told you.

We came and told you that the shit wasn't right.

And you still ain't do nothing about it.

How dare you ask for a vote?

How dare you?

Felicia Austin Singleton.

Touch down.

Thank you for your comments.

Next speaker.

Denise Davis.

Denise Davis.

Not appearing.

Alif Mohammed.

Appearing.

Yeah, fine.

Yeah.

I mean, four.

Five.

Okay.

I'm sorry, President.

Mr.

President, can I can I give the clerk one of these?

I'm sorry.

Can I give the clerk one of these?

Why don't you wait for Sylvester comes to my heart?

Or ask John.

Ask John to.

Who's John?

Right here.

Okay.

Wait a minute.

Here you go.

Here you go, young man.

Thanks.

Okay.

Okay.

One minute, one minute.

Hey.

Ramnahmubarak.

Some people missing, so I got that.

I'll bring it to the office.

Alif Muhammad Court Street.

Alif Muhammad, President of Alif Mohammed Near School.

Mr.

Mohammed, I hate to say, can you just pull the mic up a little bit so we can hear you?

Oh, right.

Alif Mohammed.

Much better.

Thank you.

Okay, all right.

Now, what I just hand out to you guys was a video tape of me and the mayor's brother.

And in that videotape that people thought I was bluffing.

It is talking.

The mayor's brother is saying about maybe violating seven statutes.

State federal.

Before I start on that tape, I want to apologize to two people.

Tracy Brantley, who I knew as a kid.

He's my man.

And I said some horrible things on there.

When I was at war with him over the uh Barackers, how'd he say I drank the coffee?

I mean what the Kool-Aid, but I couldn't drink the Kool-Aid because I'm a Muslim and got gelatin in it.

So I had I asked what's called uh Gay.

And I apologize to you, brother.

Salamalakum.

I apologize because I said some horrible things.

And then OG Sean McCray, my brother also, said some hard things about you when you was running with your moniker.

I was all the way in.

You're gonna see on that tape, I was all the way in.

Now that tape I just gave, and I'll give to the rest of the guys later.

This tape is going to, it went to tonight.

The tape went to special agent of North Office, FBI, uh Brian Newark, special agent in charge, Stephanie Newark, the U.S.

Attorney General, Philip LeParde, uh, U.S.

Department of Justice, Attorney, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanch, Office of Inspector General, Senior Officer Brian Harrison, attention also, the new U.S.

Attorney, the New Jersey uh Attorney General.

This is probably her first case.

Um Theodore, New Jersey State Police Director, Essence County Sheriff Amir Jones, Housing Authority Director, Lynn Spicer, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, two FBI agents that I was dealing with for the last two years.

I didn't put their name here because I want them to stay anonymous.

CBS, Fox News, MS was now used to be MSNBC, ABC News, New Jersey Daily, I mean uh New York Daily News, NBC News, New Jersey 12 TV, Star Ledger, New York Post, New York Time, Globe.

Now, anybody that would like to get a copy of it, I would like to give it to the candidates that's running first, and you can see who you're running against.

You can see them in person.

I mean in person.

And uh, you know, and then if not, let me tell you how.

My phone number is 201 259 8369, 2012, 8369.

You text women, man, stay out of this, man.

You know, you you straight.

I'm gonna straighten this town out.

You straight, right?

They got you straight, right?

Okay.

Be quiet, be quiet.

Man, you know, you since you've been straight, you talk like you on their side.

I had to hear all that for years about the Barack was with you.

Y'all mean anyway.

You know the key making me angry, Pat.

20129, 8369, that's my number.

Text me.

My um email is Alif A L I F M U H A L M E D.

That's my number.

1972.

That's the great yeah, I graduate from Weekway High School at Gmail.com, and I get it to you.

But I want the candidates to come to me first.

Slide, could uh, could I give this?

I'm gonna step off.

I got some for uh my brother.

I'm gonna get out the way.

Walikamasalong.

Uh thank you for your comments.

Next speaker.

Shaquille Moore.

She killed more, Mr.

Moore appearing.

To the extreme members of the City Council of New York and to the unbreakable, undeniable people of Newark.

I stand before you not just tumble but awaken.

Awaken to the gravity of this moment, awaken to the truth that history is not something we read about, it is something rewrite.

And today each of you holds a pin.

But more than that, in this brick city, New York, each of the.

I'm sorry, hold on.

Hold on one second.

Excuse me.

Uh I'm not sure who the gentleman is, but if he can move so we can kind of see.

We can't see Mr.

Moore where you're standing.

You could just stand to the right a little bit.

Thank you.

Everyone is born with a brick.

Everyone walks through life carrying it.

And today in this chamber, in this moment of consequence and calling, I asked you, what will you do with a brick in your head?

You have a brick in your hand.

Let that settle.

Because a brick is not neutral.

A brick does not wake.

A brick is a choice.

It can be used to build a home or break a window, to lay up foundation or to fracture one, to shelter the vulnerable or to strike them down.

You have a brick in your head.

And before we go further, let's ground ourselves in truth, not rhetoric, not comfort, but truth.

After the February 18th council meeting, Director Louise Gillario of Homelessness and Emergency Services brought forward something rare in government.

Not just a plan, but a reckoning.

A recognition that systems meant to serve the vulnerable must themselves be held accountable.

That shelters must not only exist, they must function with integrity.

That public funds must be matched with public trust.

This is not just restructuring.

This is moral architecture.

And I acknowledge Council Member Bay's office and her senior member Ronald for choosing engagement over indifference, action over silence.

But acknowledgement is not enough because outside these walls, there are people sleeping without shelter.

There are families one paycheck away from the street.

There are children learning what instability feels like before they ever learn what security is.

And the numbers code, unfilling, undeniable, tell a story we cannot ignore.

Since 2021, homelessness in New Jersey has risen by nearly 15% each year.

Last year it reached a 10-year high.

This year it has already surpassed that number.

The word crisis is no longer a warning.

It is a declaration, and still you have a brick in your head.

So I ask you with urgency that should echo in your bones.

What will you do with it?

Will you build?

Will you build a new work that stands taller because it refused to look away?

A new work that took its pain, its history, its hardship, and turned it into strength.

Will you build in honor of those who endure the flames of the 1967 New York riots and still believed in tomorrow?

Will you build for the families who suffered through the 2016 New York water prices and the 2019 New York lead water crisis and demanded not just clean water but justice?

Will you build for the students at the New York School of Global Studies who have faced hatred and still show up, still learn, still dream?

Will you build a city that says we remember and because we remember, rewrite?

You have a brick in your hand, or will you tear the belt?

Will you become the slow unraveling of everything generations fought to construct?

History will not remember your intentions.

It will remember your actions.

It will remember whether you built homes or excuses, whether you created pathways or barriers, whether you met crisis with courage or delay, you have a brick in your head.

Every single person in this room, every council member, every voice within earshot, you are not bystanders, you are builders.

Or are you destroyers?

There is no middle ground in a moment like this who choose.

Choose to build a new work that is fortified against homeless, not with words, but with systems that actually work, shelters that serve and policies that protect.

Choose to build a new work that does not tolerate hate but uproots it.

Choose to build a new work that confronts environmental injustice, not as a headline, but as a responsibility.

Choose to build a new work where every person, every race, every background, every story can stand and say, This city will not abandon me.

You have a brick at your head, and with it, you carry more than weight, you carry legacy.

So build something that will outlive you.

Build something that will be spoken of with pride.

Build something that when history looks back, it will say they did not falter, they did not fracture, they built.

You have a brick in your head, use it, and above all, never, never under any circumstances, give up on the city that built you.

Thank you for your comments.

Next speaker.

Nadeira Brown.

Appearing.

Good evening.

Hello, Nicara Brown, Newark, New Jersey.

I'm holding the phone a little weird because there was a comment made.

Don't go to Facebook with your problems, bring it to the council.

So since I've been, I did a couple of Facebook lives.

I said, well, why don't I do my live while I'm doing the council?

Because either way, I don't get any results.

I've been coming up here for the past few years, bringing up my concerns.

But I've noticed like during the day meetings, you know, on my breaks on my lunch when I get to view it since I'm employed somewhere else, I'm not able to attend during the day.

I've noticed it's just been a lot of sly comments.

I've been to a meeting recently with elected assemblyman Jacose Ayame, and he made a statement.

We could be in our feelings, but we don't need to stay in our feelings.

I think a lot of you forgot you've been elected to do a job.

I think you forgot that your public servants.

I think you forgot that people are human beings and they're going through something because I've been coming here.

You ain't did nothing.

I told you about all the different situations, the problems that's going on.

So what's the follow-up?

What are we doing?

Please don't come back with, I thought it was resolved.

Oh, please don't come back while I sent you to somebody.

If you keep sending me to the same person that's not getting it resolved, let's get another person.

You got a whole housing navigator that works in this building, Joe Black.

She out here helping the people, not getting no recognition, answering the people questions, trying to follow up.

Joy Black, housing navigator in this building.

I hope that's her title.

But at the same time, you keep sending people to one Williams Street, what they doing.

See, the problem is you're in charge, you know, one of your duties to make sure these offices are operating correctly.

That's one of the responsibilities that you have.

But I don't think you all know.

Because for the comments that came out this week, that you sit up here and help someone, you put them in a hotel for a week to go back to the rats.

Come on now.

What about those that's dealing with no heat?

Unhabitable, illegal conversions.

What are you doing?

You shaking your head, but you the first one to sit up here and go after people talking about, I've been doing this.

I'm tired.

You know how many reports I have on foul?

I sent you emails with the legislation, with the law, and nobody do nothing.

Well, how do I expect you to understand when you sat up here and got new shields?

Is we the corner store right now?

Looking like bulletproof, you so afraid of the residents, you gotta keep this up.

Like, come on now.

You wander around so many people running, it's not personal, but you got a job, just like a job, you got your warning.

Next thing is suspension, next thing is elimination.

Don't come back with, oh well, we worked on it.

You said to the lady, why did she show her apartment?

Well, if it wasn't no problem, she wouldn't have to show it.

You gotta understand people are intimidated when you go back to them.

You ain't did nothing.

You did more for your career than you did for the constituents.

But yet, I still ain't getting no help.

And I'm out here helping the people.

So if I have limited resources and I can help, you got access.

Well, let me give you a suggestion.

You party with some assembly, the Senate.

Maybe if you would have helped your Congress girl, she would have understood putting people out was wrong.

But she out in the street, come on, throw both, but you like help my sister.

But you ain't helping none of us residents.

I don't want to see nobody go to jail.

Don't get me wrong, but at the same time, you enabled her to think she could go out here and do that.

That's why you think you're comfortable sitting in these seat, because my councilman can't even look me in my face.

He sat up here, made all these flyers.

I'm helping the people with these bad landlords.

He called me about a month ago, talking about his office.

What's your address?

What?

After two years.

It's about four now.

I don't even know what else to say to you guys.

It's not about me running, I'm running because I'm tired of asking you for help.

So my grandmother taught me, do it yourself.

But I want to thank you for your time.

Please don't come back with the rebuttal with the smartness.

You got my number.

Call me there.

Don't do it here.

Have a good evening.

Thank you for your comments, next speaker.

Miriam Bay.

Okay, Miriam Bay.

Hello.

Good evening.

My name is Miriam Bay.

And I just want to say one thing before I get into what I want to say.

When we come up to speak, because I'm a Norwich resident, I work for the city.

I'm so grateful that I do that I'm able to service residents in the city.

And what I want to say is thank you, Mayor Baraka.

You want to know why I'm saying thank you to Mayor Baraka?

Because he gave me the opportunity to work in re-entry.

He gave me that opportunity.

And the reason why I'm saying this tonight is because when people get opportunities, things may go differently than what you expected.

I thought that since I am qualified to do the job, that by now we would have had a model reentry program.

Okay.

But since, thank you, Mayor Baraka, because people will give you opportunities.

So under the people that that that that's working under them, they don't give you the opportunities.

Okay.

So this is what I know for sure.

And I want everyone to please remember this, because everybody is going through something.

But it's how we go through it that makes the difference.

Okay.

And this is what I know for sure.

God put me in that position here.

Because he knew that I would be able to help so many brothers and sisters, and I have done it, and I have documentation for all the years that I've been here doing that job.

And for whatever the reasons are, that those who don't want to don't want me to do the job, it don't matter.

Because when they told me I could not uh do resumes for clients, it didn't bother me because I still did it.

Okay.

When they told me that I could not see brothers and sisters coming home from East Orange probation, I still did it because that's what the mayor was paying me for.

Not just the mayor, it's what the community is paying me for because I have the experience.

Not only do I have the experience, I got the education.

And this is why uh another thing I want to mention.

I know people come up here and talk about how people be sleeping to get their positions, okay?

And I'm not disagreeing with that because I came here a couple of years ago to say that that may be true, but I'm not one of them.

Okay?

So don't put us all in that category.

All right.

Many of us females have come here and we are qualified for the position, okay?

And when people come up here and talk about what they're talking about, it's really talking about having a better quality of life.

That's what it is.

And we have to keep on doing that.

And just like the mayor is holding me accountable, we're supposed to hold you accountable as well.

And I'm leaving you with this.

Let pain be your teacher.

Okay.

And let healing be your graduation.

Don't get bitter, get better.

You know why?

Because everything that we go through, we're growing through.

Okay.

Just like 50 Cent says in many men, we're going through what we gotta go through because we have to become who we're destined to be.

Because God has a plan for all of us, for all of us.

You all are sitting up there.

God has a plan for you.

Okay.

And finally, I want to thank Councilman Kelly for your assistance.

Because you know, I sent those pictures to you about the slumlords, because our block has never looked like this.

It's gotten just a teeny tiny bit better.

But what that showed me, councilman, is that we gotta stay on them.

And not only do we have to stay on them, we have to stay on you as well.

To make sure that the job is being done.

All right, because we want our children to see that they are special.

Them seeing the way that this city looks and everything, it's not good for them.

Let's remember the purpose that God has for us.

That's why I'm not angry at nobody.

I'm so grateful and thankful to God for the experience.

Because having experience, God is blessing me with a whole lot of other things.

Thank you.

Thank you for your comments.

Next speaker.

Sheila Montague.

Appearing.

So hello everyone.

Hello, counsel, hello, council president.

Hello.

Um, I wish that a Neville was here.

I had a speech prepared, but I just want to talk about a few things pointedly.

Uh a few years ago, I came here and he said that he had an educational group of some sort.

And I think I spoke to you about it too.

And I said that I wanted to be a part of a part of it because as a 25-year educator, I knew that I had something to contribute.

It never happened, and here we are with four out of five of our students fell in.

And on top of that, we have an educational um district, right, with a 1.6 billion dollars that is fell into just educate kids on a third grade level.

Now, those students not only matriculate out into population, not understanding civics because it's not taught, but even worse for the generation, their parents that it happened before, the generation before, they don't even get the opportunity to have uh forums inside the schools, even though they passed uh uh uh ordinance or a law, local law, to have the kids vote still without teaching adequate civics, and their parents weren't taught it, and even though these polls are located in their schools, we as candidates still don't get a chance to go there and address the community, right?

And so that is monopolizing and exploiting the community.

That's one thing I want to share that needs to be reflected upon.

The second thing, our behavior um as a whole is very immature when it comes to politics, and we see that in the East Ward.

Um, I ran in 2022, I watched the East Ward collectively come together as a model of what needed to be done in terms of political maturity and say, no, we're not gonna run your candidate, we have our own candidate, and I ended up winning that ward.

And that's a big deal to me because at the end of the day, I still believe in democracy.

I don't think it was fair that this um how we do politics is just not right.

The um the mayoral debate was not had, and nobody up here advocated for that.

Even though you it's important to establish the relationships between each other, it's still important to recognize that you're here in representation of some of you for the entire city, some of you for individual wards.

And with that, I want to say I went to the central ward debate.

I love debate.

For those of you who know me, I participated my entire life.

Um, I I think the I need to say that the heckling that went on.

Um, just to piggyback off what um Mary and Bay just said, the children are watching, right?

And they don't see us, they don't need to see us constantly in a state of ugliness, especially when it's so much killing going on.

It's so much ugly that they do see.

And what I saw, it was embarrassing, and don't get me wrong, I represent for the best of us, and I represent for the least of us.

But at the same time, this is something we need to reflect on and do better because it was embarrassing what I saw, and you did it with your chest out.

You did it with your it is I I don't I don't understand the mindset of it.

And that's why I really don't even like to come down here because some of you look and you look attentively, and I do appreciate that.

But some of you just look like next, like you're really not beaten by the wouldn't even be up here if it wasn't for your crooked parents that was here before you.

And then you have a nerve to try to ostracize other people in this community, like myself, not the only one who maybe I didn't know my birth mother or my birth father and my grandparents raised me.

But who are you to act like you're better than?

Who are you to shun constructive criticism when it's offered?

I'm a cancer survivor, it's important what I do with my life post that situation.

And if I take the time to come out here, and some of you walk past and don't even speak, because you get mad that I come down here and I share my thoughts, and I do have legitimate thoughts about 90% of the homeless that exists being here in the city of Newark, and people really don't seem to care about it.

I do have thoughts that this city council sat here and allowed Westside High School to have a Buns and basketball event, but again, we can't go in the event into that school and just freely talk to parents about who's running.

There's a lot of things that I want to you know talk about.

I never have time to reach them all, but I'm just saying the the Royal Spivvy case that took place.

Thank God nobody passed, there were no fake fatalities, but it's not attention enough attention being brought to Wally Bay.

I was one of the people who for 20 years fought to get the C C R B here and they got here like a paper tiger with no subpoena power, and and you guys let that go because the mayor allowed for it.

We have to do better.

Wally Bay deserves justice.

Thank you for your comments, next speaker.

Reginald Turner, Reginald Turner, Reginald Turner, not appearing, Shakir McDougall.

I believe I saw Mr.

McDougall.

Yes, there he is.

Appearing family.

Excuse me, sir.

I have some documents.

Uh can y'all please pass this around, Mama.

Can you tell me I'll take one pass it down?

This is for the council, please.

That's not in everything is in English.

Okay.

Everything's in English.

I'm sorry.

Oh, I'm sorry.

Uh this is for the council members.

I'm sorry, I'll make sure I get something for the clerk, though.

Can we please make sure something gets copied for the clerk?

I do apologize.

I'm not trying to leave nobody out.

This is definitely about all of North.

Just let me know when I can begin.

Actually, can I begin once everybody has paperwork?

Should I wear it?

Oh, can we pass them on this side, please?

Thank you, mama.

I'm sorry.

I wasn't sure how many people was gonna be here, so I didn't bring a thousand.

But I'll make sure they they they they out though, out and about in the city.

Just let me know when um I can begin.

That's one month for me to press.

Here we go.

Mr.

McDougall.

Mr.

McDuell.

We've got to start your time.

Go ahead.

Let's go, Mr.

McDougall.

Okay, good evening, Council President, members of the council and residents of Norfolk.

My name is Shakir McDougall, and I'm a resident of Asis County who cares deeply about the future of Nork and Trust between community and those who want to protect it.

Over the past several years, Nork operated under a federal consent decree designed to improve accountability and transparency within the NORC police division.

That process wasn't easy, but it helped rebuild public confidence.

Now that the consent decree has ended, the question before us is simple.

What happens next?

Do we allow that progress to fade over time, or do we take steps to preserve what's been built on?

Because when a formal standard is removed, what remains is whatever we choose to put in its place.

And recently it took one heartbreaking tragedy to make the gap visible to everyone.

Now, through this process, the goal has simply been to shape something that's practical, balanced, and workable.

Tonight I'm presenting the public trust act, which focuses on transparency and accountability following critical incidents involving law enforcement.

This isn't about anti-police.

It's about supporting public trust, clear communication, and consistency when it matters most.

When serious incidents occur, officer involved shootings or in custody deaths, the community looks for clarity.

And respectfully, like many residents, I've seen the recent footage that has been released.

And moments like that reinforce how important it is to have clear processes, consistent communication, and transparency when these situations occur.

And beyond the process, they are real families navigating real loss in real time, not in 30-day timelines.

But in days, hours, while preparing to lay loved ones to rest.

Because the public doesn't just deserve to see the footage, the public deserves the ability to verify.

The public trust act outlines a few straightforward steps.

First, timely public communication.

Within 48 hours, the city would issue a preliminary statement confirming that the incident occurred and identifying the investigative authority consistent with New Jersey AG directives.

Second, evidence preservation, ensuring that body worn camera footage and related digital evidence are preserved to maintain the integrity of investigations.

Third, ongoing transparency.

Through a public dashboard and regular reporting, so residents can understand how incidents are handled over time.

Fourth, early intervention and officer wellness.

Supporting both accountability and officer well-being as part of a balanced approach.

These are not new concepts, they are widely used practices, and the intent here is simply to make sure NORC continues building on the progress that it has already made.

And from a practical standpoint, much of this can be supported through existing systems and resources, focusing more on alignment than expansion.

And where additional support is needed.

Because this is about moving all of Nork forward together.

Whether that's sponsorship, further discussion, or formal review.

Passed this through him first.

He checked it.

So what you got was the preliminary.

What you have now is the revised version after he's already checked it.

I'm not sure if the next step is to check it with the law department.

Make sure it coincides with that.

But um, yeah, you know, it's just like having a supervisor, and then the supervisor's not there, and we know how that is.

You know, not everybody's on point as much as they would be with the supervisor.

So the new supervisor is gonna be the community.

We don't have the federal oversight, there's no need for that no more.

But the community oversight is really important.

So I just want to make sure that we have that process in place.

We have a system in place to make sure God forbid somebody act stupid again and try to embarrass this city, but there's a process in place that's not just case by case discretion, but it's a system that we know, like okay, there's a system to check and how many strikes this person got.

Have they received any officer wellness?

You know, it's not about punishment, it's about progress.

Thank you.

Thank you for your comments.

Next speaker.

Trenton Jones.

Is it here?

Mr.

Jones.

Yeah, there he is.

Appearing.

Slide.

Slide.

Oh.

I'm not gonna be long, Councilman.

You could just run my start running my time.

Uh can you give this to the council and this one goes directly to the BA?

This goes to the BA and that goes to the rest of the council.

Yes.

Uh nine.

Uh good evening, uh, Council President and Council uh members.

My name is Trenton Trenton Jones, 18th Avenue, North New Jersey.

Um, the reason I'm here is for transparency.

And this uh has everything to do with the city clerk, Keisha Daniels, who I've known for some years and had uh a great deal of respect for.

Um, but I don't know what is actually going on.

Um, this is what I wrote to the clerk.

Dear Madam Clerk, I hope this message finds you well.

I am formally requesting public records in accordance with New Jersey state law specifically.

I am seeking the following information.

The salaries and titles of staff members in Council Patrick Council's office, and I said you can redact their names.

I said all correspondence involving former city clerk Lewis, uh former city clerk Kenneth Lewis, related to the complaints, denials, petitions, rejections, and all parties involved and former Sharp former Mayor Sharp James run for counsel at large in 22.

Specifically, one document from attorney Anthony Mack requesting that former clerk uh Ken Lewis level criminal charges against former Mayor Sharp James, dated March 13th, 2022.

Um another document I requested was the expenditures from the HESH fund back to 2014 to current.

I also requested a copy of my Essex County Democratic Committee certificate, right?

And the clerk's office said that they don't know what that is.

Um another thing I requested on the 27th of last month was the zoning board uh meeting, where uh a council member, uh campaign manager, uh that actually sits on a board uh with one of the developers in the South Ward was seeking a variance for a location that the councilman currently has his campaign headquarters on.

So I spoke up at that meeting where the developer uh told many lies in that meeting, and I requested this document from the clerk's office, and I have not received that document as yet.

Also, at that zoning board meeting, uh, there was a conflict as I brought up many issues that were going on, and the the guy, oh god, Munford, he had to recuse himself from vote from voting because of the conflict of interest.

Today, I I requested these documents nearly a month ago.

I got them about 40 minutes before I came to uh to the podium, I guess, but all the documents weren't there.

So, as it relates to the documents as um to former mayor sharp james, I have one of the documents.

I actually just gave it to uh the corporate count, uh not corporate counsel, uh the BA.

Um, but I was gonna give it to you all, but I'd rather him just take a look at it.

No, it's it's on it's on it's on it's on the table right there.

But transparency in this city is the reason why a lot of people don't have faith in this city anymore, and this is one of the reasons why one of the reasons that I'm running for South War Councilman, and not only that, last year when I filed a lawsuit against the city of North was because the city clerk denied me information that was public record, and it wasn't until one week before I went to court that this document magically appeared.

And I felt as though 53,000 residents in the central ward should not have been without representation.

I just think we have a transparency issue here, and this almost used the curse word, but I just think that this needs to be fixed, and I I thank you all.

Thank you for your comments.

Next speaker.

Jamar Youngblood.

Um I'm speaking tonight based on direct conversations with residents across our city.

And I just wanted to make sure these concerns are brought directly to our council members as well.

Please excuse my directness, but it is clear that this council is not focused on passing laws that protect residents.

It is also clear that you have not shown the courage to speak up when the administration is wrong.

And here's why that is concerning.

Aligned with the mayor.

That tells voters you will support the mayor's agenda for another four years instead of acting independently to protect residents.

And to the residents listening, the mayor only needs five out of nine council votes to pass his agenda.

Right now, eight members of this council are on his side, and that means there's no real check on his power.

This means our mayor will be able to keep doing whatever he wants, and no one will hold them accountable.

And what makes this worse is that our council members are elected to protect residents and to act as a check on the mayor who abuses his power.

Instead, our council members are choosing to support him without question.

So I am asking residents to reconsider voting for anyone using the slogan continue moving North forward in the May 12 election.

That slogan now represents, or that slogan now represents alignment with corruption and not accountability.

Allegedly.

I also want to talk about our recent legislative activity.

This administration has been in office since 2014, and one of the most significant pieces of legislation passed during that time was created to protect undocumented residents.

That matters, but native residents also need protection.

And here are examples of legislation that could be introduced right now to protect us.

A councilman Bay and Round Tree, there are women who do not feel safe working in City Hall and in other city departments.

Expand and enforce the 2019 protections against workplace sexual harassment introduced by Gail Cheneyfield Jenkins.

Councilman Quatana, you work closely with seniors and women.

Please introduce a legislation that protects seniors and single mothers from slum lords and unsafe housing conditions.

Councilman Kelly, there are streets in the West Ward covered in trash.

Please introduce legislation that fines property owners who failed to maintain their properties.

There are many opportunities to pass meaningful legislation, but instead, this council is choosing alignment over responsibility.

And my last message is to outside organizations and individuals operating in North using public funding.

I am asking you to stay out of our local elections.

Many of you understand the real issues in our city and speak about them privately, but publicly you promote this administration because your funding depends on it.

If you are not a North resident, you should not influence our elections while benefiting from our taxpayer dollars.

North, we need to take control of our city now.

Waiting another four years is not acceptable.

Thank you.

Thank you for your comments.

Next speaker.

Queen Danisha Clybe appearing.

Queen Danisha Clivern, I don't want to spell it again.

I think y'all heard it yesterday.

For the record, it says Cantano on the back of my jacket.

I'm talking to the people because that's who listen.

We are not related to Kentana.

That's it.

It's on the council.

Let's make that very clear.

It's Clyburn.

Please speak on the microphone.

Is that part of your ordinance, sir?

We can't hear you, and it can't be recorded if you speak in that direction.

So if you speak to the mic, we can hear you.

Can you stop my because we're going back and forth, stop my time?

All I just wanted to do is be able to hear and my time is in the audience to be able to hear.

Continue with your comments.

Again, like I said, the people over here are the ones that are listening, so that's who I'm talking to.

Because when we get over here and start talking to them, it's like we're talking to nobody or we're being rebuttal.

I don't know how many times I have to say to a person, because I don't really come here, but I'm coming here now, every council meeting.

I want to thank Keisha Daniels for the reminder of an ordinance that I I wasn't clear of, and that was the only question that I had that day when you insist on putting me out.

I just wanted to know what was a part of the agenda.

But I think there's 25 people that's listed.

You should send them all that same reminder to let them understand that they can't blurt out while they're not speaking, or if they weren't speakers because it's only fear.

Muta Alamia, you need to get a lawyer because if you didn't get the same letter that I got, you need to lawyer up, my guy.

You should have got a reminder first, just like I did.

Maybe they just don't want to play with certain people.

And if I'm that certain people and I'm special, I want to say thank you to all of y'all.

At the end of the day, when I leave from here, after I get to this mic, I get phone calls.

Now I had to go to another house that is in South Ward.

I need your, I don't need your number for me, Pat.

I need it for a South Ward resident that stays at 2-12 Hillside Avenue in North New Jersey, where it looked like it's the whole building gonna cave in eventually.

Please and thank you.

There's another one, uh Southwood.

I forget her name, she's in my inbox.

This is all day for me.

I had somebody that worked for the city that said to me, Oh, the phones ring all day when we're downtown at the city hall.

Mines ring all day too, and I don't work for none of y'all.

Period.

All day long.

I don't get paid for y'all, and I'm glad I don't, because I can say what I want, do what I want when I want.

Y'all gotta get out your feelings.

Y'all said your mayor said, because I'm gonna add the 10 people because he forgot about him and the nine of you.

There's 3,000 ten people that work for the city, right?

But you got over 100 and something thousand people that are your bosses.

You're looking at your bosses.

We pay taxes, we pay your salary, and all we ask is that you respond.

And I'm gonna say one more time to the East Ward.

You're doing a good job because when you step up to your team and you make them react because you did, and I'm gonna keep saying it and remind you.

Listen, I'm a very fair person.

If I see you doing something good, I'ma acknowledge you.

Mary and Bay, we had a conversation yesterday.

I hope that we're different.

We ought to turn.

I'm sorry, a meeting.

I'm sorry, let me get the names right.

They start to sound the same to me.

Your meeting was canceled because I gotta rebuttal you.

It was canceled from yesterday because it's would have been yesterday.

Because I don't want to look like a liar, okay?

It's supposed to be the first of April.

We gotta stay in contact.

I got a lot going on.

I don't get paid to do y'all job.

The pre-Kelly, I never got my 400 and something dollars from the landlord that I asked you to get my money back from at all.

I never got a text back, but you did respond when you did, and I want to say thank you.

Because it seemed like we have to praise you guys for the money we already pay you for on top of that.

But when we do the work as a community, we don't get no praises.

We get, oh, they just running their mouth, or they just saying this.

I'm not a liar.

I got receipts in my phone.

And for that comment from Muta, you better be careful, Depree Kelly.

I love you, but I gotta tell you the truth.

I heard that lady because I took him, I picked him up.

After your aid and him got into it, I broke them up at the Bellsburg Conservancy.

Me.

There was a conversation, and I recorded it.

I told you I'm dangerous with my phone.

Don't play with me.

I got three of them, and one is always recording.

Because y'all be lying, or maybe fabricating or telling a story.

I don't know.

But I love my community.

There is nothing I wouldn't do for my people.

I get out of my bed.

My boss called me this morning.

Girl, when do you sleep?

I got problems at every McDonald's, and I get up out of my bed and I go there and I sit there until I can solve them.

If I can do it, y'all can do it.

It's more y'all, y'all say than it is over here.

But you got over a hundred and seven thousand bosses.

Thank you for your comments.

Next speaker.

Lisa Mitchison Parker.

Up here.

Yeah.

Ms.

Parker.

I got caught up.

Lisa Parker.

Good day, criminal cult.

It's running out of government.

New orcas.

Elect a clown, expect a circus.

Let me say it again.

Elect a clown, expect a circus.

We witnessed the circus at the number drawing for candidates.

That numbers were bracketed for Team Baraka.

Um, candidates.

We also witnessed the circus led by the mayor's brother, his bully crew, and the city employees to cheer on the candidates.

A disgrace.

What happened to this building and this chambers?

It used to represent decency and decorum.

We don't have that no more.

Let's talk about the snow removal, potholes, garbage, high rents, high property taxes, no jobs for Newarkers, kids are not educated, crime, no public safety, and the list goes on.

This week, the news featured the deplorable conditions that residents live in at Villa Victoria.

The elected, they concerned, they were more concerned about their public image instead of being public servants to help residents.

The residents from Villa Victoria to hear concerns from by the mayor, UCC, Code Enforcement, the Health Department, Economic and Housing Development, and others.

And you, Lewis Liu Lero is useless because he does more advocating for developers than helping residents in me.

What did these agencies and mayors do to address the residents' concerns?

Not a damn thing.

Allow to have to not fix it, the deplorable living conditions.

And I want to thank George Matthias from South Orange.

Thank you, George.

Shout out for calling the news.

May 2026 will be the most important election for changing of the criminals that are running our government.

Twelve years, three terms with Team Baraka, nothingness.

Three strikes, you're out.

The mayor, I came here 12 years ago and told you.

No one became mayor when you did.

You didn't have, you didn't move the city forward.

And I can't reimagine what you have destroyed because what we need to do is vote Baraka out.

He doesn't deserve your vote.

Newarkers deserve better.

Please join me in supporting Gail Cheneyfield Jenkins, two way for a better central ward.

Um, Jamal Youngblood for mayor, Donna Jackson at large, and my dear Nadeira Brown.

At the end of the day, you have been detached from the community since COVID when you put them screens up there, them practitions, because you don't have no interests in none of the things that we come to the podium with.

Louise Louie and Crump, you were at Society Hill a year ago, January.

Gave it to the woman that's supposed to represent us, assembly and senate to write legislation to help the suffering people up in Society Hill with their taxes.

You've done nothing.

Vote Baraka out.

Thank you for your comments, next speaker.

Cheulter.

Oh, uh I don't see Ch.

Is it here?

Is that him?

Okay.

All right, up here.

Good evening, North Residents, Mr.

President.

Uh, this evening I rise.

Um, I had a busy afternoon, but I'm here today by the grace of God.

To the honorable 360,000 to 500,000 residents.

We greet you in a peace and blessings and peace and power and protection to all of your families.

Mr.

President, today I rise as a citizen father and worker here to discuss education, social justice, and the infrastructure dilemma that Newark currently is at an important crossroads of.

In education, Mr.

President, I took the train down to Edison, and I'm speaking to some of New Jersey's residents from other nations, and they tell us that they don't mix the gifted and talented kids with the kids who just don't care.

Those students have become a distraction to the students who are actually there to learn, they're to grow, they're to preserve legacy, they're to bring us out of this desperate depressed, destructive slave state that we're getting from our media daily, showing our kids to be robbers and law breakers.

Those boys and girls who are high performance, their parents should be meeting with you all and the other school government people to see how we get those kids separated from the kids who are a complete distraction.

I'm saying it as a parent, not as a candidate, I'm saying it as a parent, the regular construction worker that will not surrender, child safety in all five wards.

We're done with it.

Tell the criminals to stop going to the schools to tell us what they got in trouble for.

We want to know the restored man or woman that God made them, who they mama birthed.

That's who we want to know.

And that's the change we want to see in New York.

We want to say that because as we trickle into infrastructure, the potholes, Mr.

President, we could have 10 drones flown, flown all around the city, not to invade our Fourth Amendment rights as daddies and mommies and uncles, but for it to literally just surveil the streets that are in need of our pothole crew, uh, sister at large round tree, the only one who probably get re-elected to for the the teams to be deployed there based on what Silva was saying, us using our resources for what we need them, leveraging city resources for actual uh change and solution.

We saw a little bit of that with the snow, but it wasn't enough time for um that to ripple to all departments.

We're still a government incomplete because we don't have the fiscal municipal board.

Mr.

President, speaking to you and reaching out to our great clerk who's been great to some degree, but stern on other uh matters.

The fiscal board operates in the finance department.

We have so many tax abatements, we don't have the school board negotiating any of the repayment of the abatements.

We're not talking about hundreds of thousands of dollars, we're talking about hundreds of millions.

As Deborah Salters, as Sheila Montague, as Jamal Youngblood has explained to you, when our city goes delinquent in tax payments, that not only underfunds our school district from your mouth easens, but it makes it twice as hard for us as families who are out here, whether we're busing, driving, Ubering, it doesn't matter.

We're in the daily trenches of it.

Step parents, mommies, daddies, foster parents.

We all are dealing with it.

And y'all are promoting a slave state, which we as parents push back against.

The slave state must come to an end.

And I mean that in every fiber of my existence, do it all, whether it's 145th in Linux or broadened market.

The same applies.

We're not elevating those on the yellow bus to manage the block anymore.

We're going back to gifted and talented manage both the community and the government.

And I'm saying to that out of love, cousin, do it all.

Yes, Muta's on the ballot, organic black man.

Whoever else is on it, we have to use this last minute of my civic participation to go back to the fiscal board.

Whether it's senior housing that we are in a deficit in, or if it's the funding that we need for gap funding on some of these other pet projects y'all need.

Y'all need to get that from outside of Norfolk, external money, and not the money that you need for your fiscal budget.

Mr.

President, y'all had the audacity to win the governor's house and turn right back around and let the uh Republicans who are not necessarily mop Republicans, play y'all at the state level.

Why have we become the laughing stock of the state?

And have them asking us why we are submitting budgets late.

And I'm looking in through the spiritual father, through trying to be a good Christian, looking at my councilman.

That don't make no sense.

I'm not staying stuck on stupid as no civic man.

And that's it.

I don't got nothing else to say.

Thank you for your comments.

Next speaker.

Appearing.

They won't be there.

How many times do we never got the show?

Somebody want to get into the following.

No Trump threatened.

I'm, you know, get them, Trump.

Get up, get him, get him.

Train the swap.

I'm gonna keep on saying it.

Get him.

Oh, they start to be already.

First of all, I want to say.

The prophet Saleh said, whoever amongst you see an evil action, then let him change it with his hands by taking action.

If he cannot, then let it let him do it with his tongue by speaking out.

And if he cannot, then do it with his heart, and that is the weakest of the faith.

So Alif Muhammad, you doing what's right.

Based on what Prophet Muhammad Salai will sell him said.

If you don't wake up, rise up and take action regarding the conditions we are living under.

I'm gonna continue to say there's gonna be consequences.

Come on, Trump, come on, Hobba, come on, whoever is gonna help drain this squat.

Come on, bring it on.

You failed electives.

You have left Norkers way behind.

We underwater.

You don't care about us, and neither do your supporters.

We are living under the worst conditions that I ever seen under any administration in the history of my time here in the city of North.

The worst.

You are the worst of the worst homegrown failures.

No other way to describe you.

Failure.

Any failed elected official running for office, running for election, who put illegals, who put outsiders outside of Norkers and Americans, you deserve to not have a seat nowhere in politics.

Nowhere.

We've been calling our Norkers first since we've been coming to this podium.

And you haven't done one eye owner of it.

Fail leadership, no other way to describe you.

When you see him come knocking on your door, run.

Run, norkers, run, shut your doors.

You won't come to my door.

You don't even want to look at me in my face, because I I you I listen, you are a travesty.

And I warn people when you got in office, rattle radical rally, ras.

You was gonna flip the script, and you you ain't even waiting year.

You ain't even waiting a year when you sat down with Kiss the Ring of Booker and Joey D.

Not even a year.

You turned your back on the individuals who paid these streets.

Walk these streets, protest throughout these streets.

You are a foul, homegrown disgrace, and all of you who who coincide with him.

A disgrace.

That's what you are.

A budget, a billion dollar budget.

What city for Norkers?

Slum politicians, slum lords, budget deficit by this fellow corrupt uh BA who came in here with a federal investigation for uh hide and subpoena papers.

Come on behind me again, come on, come on, bring it on, bring it on.

Budget deficit, late budgets every year since he's been in office, poverty, high unemployment, homelessness, in a victorious tsunami.

You named it, we got it.

Thank you for your comments.

No other way in this rock.

Deborah Salters, warrior for the people.

Line 1A for a better day.

Brand new day for mayor of the city of Newark.

You know, we're looking at all of these uh living conditions, right?

That we've been talking about since I only go back to 22.

When I had to force the council people to come to Georgia King Village and still didn't go through the apartments, you know, um, the fights that we've been in all this time.

So it's not new.

This is not new information.

There's not something new that's been brought to you, but it's election season.

Every election season, something acts like it's going to get done because you have a plan to the plan for the next plan, right?

But the plan never comes to fruition because once the people vote you back in, it's like, oh, I forgot about you again for another four years.

So, Norkers, I'm saying to you, you have the power to fire these folk.

Fire them.

You can't go to your job and not do your job and still keep your job.

You talk about a raise, you might get a quarter, a dollar, maybe $1.50 if you're doing good just for being there.

You don't get a 3%, 5%, 8% raise, retroactive.

But yet this council has done that.

But you know this.

So already today, it's temporary appropriations from the 26th budget that we don't have yet.

This is what we do every year.

And this is how we wind up in a deficit every year because we're taking money from something that we don't have already, right?

Already on the agenda.

Then we have quieter towers for forgot why you all are, you know, for I do know why, because it was uh a Mary's legacy.

Oh, he wanted to see this thing come to pass.

So we gave away the building for 23,000.

Did we ever get our five million dollar CBDG funds back?

I asked that last time, and nobody had an answer for me.

After I was told, oh no, we weren't in litigation, I had to get up here and bring all the documentation.

So somebody wanted to buy the building for 2.7 million, so instead of selling it to them, you gave it away along with the whole house in caboodle and give, you know, everything.

So then when that didn't work out, you turned around and tore the building down.

What sense does that make?

It does not benefit we the people.

And nothing that you do benefits we the people.

You pass legislation for everyone but we the people in the city of Newark.

And we've been telling you this.

We've been we've been fighting this fight from the water to the houselessness to the joblessness to the unfair wages.

We are so far behind on jobs, we are not ready for this construction boom that's here.

We had a uh uh deputy mayor that was supposed to have jobs, have us ready for this construction boom.

We are 15, 20 years behind, and the jobs are coming.

The tunnels are being built, the bridges are being built, but we don't have people who are ready for the jobs.

And then what are we supposed to do?

The rents are through the roof because of deals that are being made.

Somebody laid 55 million down for the uh 1400 uh unit project down here with not adequate parking, all of these things that we've gone through, right?

But we also had an opportunity to recall your butts out of here two years ago, and people sat on their hands.

So, those of you who sat by and waited for your turn while my city burned, now you want to pop out here.

Where were you when we were asking for our men to stand up?

When you only had a few women on the line fighting for everything.

This is not a game.

This is serious.

You got people running for paychecks for attention, for I'm gonna show Raz.

Don't you?

This man don't care.

How you gonna show him when he used you, abused you, and tossed you away like a used condom, should have told you something then.

What you gonna show him?

These folk don't care about you posturing.

There are many of you that are in the way.

Let's just call it what it is.

Like Paul said, all things are lawful, but all things are not expedient.

You can do what you want, but should you do it?

Should you be in the way?

Hold yourself accountable the same way we're holding this council accountable.

If you're in the way, get out of the way so that we can get these folks up out of here.

It's not about your personal best or you making history.

We're talking about people making changes.

We're changing lives.

We're not up here looking for our own accreditation.

We're in this fight because people's lives are on the lump.

Because what makes you better than this administration that's here?

If you're out here trying to make a name for yourself and make history, we making changes.

Thank you for your comments.

Next speaker.

All right.

Appearing.

Why don't I take it?

Good evening, my name is Opal.

Alright.

I was just gonna say good afternoon good evening to council people.

Excuse me, this is time running.

He said that the president has to be here.

All right.

I reside at Vanderpool Street in Newark.

And I would like to begin with.

Okay.

I'm concerned with two things, and one I might mention first.

I will mention first, is that is that the president um the president uh of the United States is uh according to me, he's been according to the record, he's been in office for at least 14 months, and we are United States citizens, and we practice democracy, and we shall work, we should at this, you know, um at this time, we should be at least willing or able to begin.

We should work these next three years as citizens that can take the place of the presidency, take the you know, at least be able to uh do the the work that he's not doing.

We should be able to do these um the at least the order um of things should be under the control of the U.S.

citizen to the point that I'm trying to at least uh try to uh inform there is our citizen is basically our the citizens are able to at least use our communication device, uh the not a communication, but our internet or connect with uh Congress and be able to at least read what is coming before the Congress and be able to respond, and this should be uh this should be taken uh as a form of order.

And we we should be if we can do this work for the next three years, we should be entitled or we should be able to receive at least a hundred dollars credit to each person, each citizen that is doing the job that the president is not doing.

And we also have the US, United States is we is at least we uh conduct our lab, the labor that we provide is at least it is um considered to be paid, we're to be paid at least two times at least in one month, so that we could have a quality uh a quality life and the standard um at least a quality um life here in this in this country, and so I was just um concerned with um being able to uh he said that that our that the slaves were that it was the birth rights for the slaves, and it is time for him to be able to agree that we must get in contact, we must make the connection and take this as an opportunity to do this job, and uh the second concern is with our title 10.

The Bureau, this is the uh law, the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.

We are with uh in Title 10.

There's uh information on our budget for uh the Bureau of Consumer Protection for Consumer Both Consumer Financial Protection.

There's in section 1017, there's the funding, and it's just specific about the um monies that are in the budget for each of the local cities, so that we could be able to contact and receive that protection.

Thank you for your comments.

Next speaker, Latoya Jackson Tucker appearing.

Good evening, Latoya Jackson.

Tucker.

I'm running for North Public School Board for the one year unexpired term, and my ballot position is B1.

So I'm gonna read this.

I read it every time I come here because I wanted to soak through my whole entire community.

I'm like in the middle of all of this, loving all of y'all that I don't feel like y'all not telling the truth.

I just want y'all to tell the truth in a way that we could get along if it is at all possible.

I have come, I know Auntie.

I have come to the frightening conclusion that I am the decisive element in my community.

It is my personal approach that creates the culture.

As a part of my village, I possess tremendous power to make my community life miserable or joyful.

I can be a tool of torture or an instrument of inspiration.

I can embarrass or empower her or hill in all situations.

It is my response that decides whether a crisis will be escalated or decales, de-escalated my community be humanized or dehumanized.

I do make a difference.

So I just want to piggyback on my boy Shakure Shakur Madougu with this public safety issue because it is one.

Um I went through public safety and wanted to know how they was ran so I can understand how to advocate for my people.

Now I have a situation with my son that the joint task force B O N is basically putting on North putting on them, but yet and still it's been 31 days today that my son is still sitting in accountant.

So I just need my message today is for all my black and brown men and women that take positions that y'all have to dance for us.

There's no other way.

Like we looking like clowns.

We are.

Um, we're moving the way that we are moving, and y'all is people up here that has helped me.

So I don't want y'all to look at me like that, like I don't appreciate you, Patrick Counsel, Amina Bay, Dupree Kelly, Lawrence Crump, and um Auntie Roundtree.

That's my auntie.

I appreciate you all, but we can no longer go along to get along.

Everybody that I put on my page, I'm gonna vote for them.

My vote hasn't changed because I support the people that support me.

But I'm tired, like I'm fighting for our black men, I'm fighting for y'all to have a reason to understand that y'all can reach and jump out the window.

I do it.

Like everybody's supposed to be scared of law enforcement, they'll come and get you.

I'm waiting for them.

I really am because it's a shame the way that we get declarated and be put in these offices, and then we don't understand the significance of us operating for our community the proper way.

Like I'm I'm very upset and disgusted.

And although I know y'all sitting on positions and it's ethics, I just ran for the one-year unexpired term because I'm sure that they have me up against the ethics committee.

Because there's no way I could sit in a seat and see all that's going on and not speak as candid as I do.

I'm living this stuff.

So there's no way that I can make it pretty for y'all.

Pretty for anybody, no matter what title they have on them.

Because God made us all, so we are created equal in that way.

We get declarated by these systems.

So I like I know that I'm not fighting y'all.

I'm fighting these systems.

And Mr.

Anibu Ramos, I have never said nothing to you, but I am.

I met the your pick for the school, the school board.

He's a pastor.

I had to hold my tongue because I was raised in the church.

So I didn't, he made sure that he did not say anything because people starting to talk and they know who I am, they know my mouth.

Some people scared to say stuff, others will approach me.

That's God fearing or whatever, but stop playing in our face.

Y'all gotta, except for Hassani, that whole slate is BF with a capital B's.

And I'm gonna say that.

I talk to them, they're unpolished.

I know I'm unpolished.

We know that I have college credits, but don't have degrees.

But the people that y'all put up before us to govern our children, like please stop playing with us.

I've been to court with the North Public School Board and watched them put paper, conjure up all this stuff to get my son out that school, do administrative transfers and all that.

Please stop playing with us in that way.

It's a shame.

Like for contract money or to be able to dictate whatever, and then you endorsing Josephine.

Like I have an issue with that.

A big one.

Thank you for your comments.

Next speaker.

Lamont Vaughn, North New Jersey.

Um, I'll begin tonight by saying justice for Wally Bay.

Um seen the release of the video.

Um, pretty sure you all watched it, and I'm still uh wondering how we can watch that video and how we can see that this officer was not in any kind of public immediate danger, neither did Wally Be present any immediate danger to members of the public.

And not only that, that he had space to move out of Wally Bey's driving off path, right?

Um, and even when Wally Be drove off, he just kept shooting like a public shooting, firing squad, right?

And he's still suspended with pay.

Suspend him, please without pay or fire.

And you all have the power to do it.

Um, ladies and gentlemen, residents in the city of Newark, I'm gonna breeze through this quick.

The book of Revelation in the Bible, chapter 13 talks about a hypocritical form of government.

It presents a picture of a beast that has the face of a leper, but the feet of a bear, right?

Um and what that suggests is real quick is that these people will be your friends in your face, they'll tell you what they want you want to hear, well, everything you want to uh get done, they'll say yes to it, and yes, yes, yes, yes, yes.

But when they walk away from you, you will be crushed.

That has been the pattern of the governments all over the United States of America.

Unfortunately, we are living under this system called capitalism and under the system of capitalism, money is the king.

You can call on the FBI, DA, HABA, Carlum from New York from Cincinnati, round them all up to come drain the swamp, clean up the house.

None of it is gonna work.

This is inherent in this system.

And I'm gonna tell you why.

The culture has been the same thing with the police department.

The culture has been created and has been allowed to fester, be perpetuated for so long that everybody who comes into it just has to be sucked up into it.

Or be marked as an outsider.

Now the truth of the matter is this.

The city council has the power in this city.

The city council controls the purse.

The city council's first obligation once convened after being elected is to do what?

Appoint a president and determine how much you all and the mayor will get paid, right?

Uh the city council's job is to legislate.

The city council's primary power is in oversight.

You guys have the ability to oversee everything, every department, every function in this city.

Everything that the taxpayer dollars are allocated to.

You all have the power to oversee it.

Anyone who's not doing something right in this city, you all have the power to call them to this council, rip them apart, and get answers for the residents in this community.

My name is Laman Vaughan.

I am on the ballot for councilman at large in this election cycle.

I am telling the residents of Newark as I go to their doors that I am different from every other candidate in this race for many reasons.

I come from the bottom.

President Obama said something years ago that I think rings true today.

Change never happens from the top down.

It must come from the bottom up.

Nor, the problem that we've been facing in this city is we've never elected anyone from the bottom of the bottom.

Who?

None of them.

No, no, no.

We're talking about somebody from the bottom of the bottom.

We're talking about a dropout.

You're talking about somebody that's former.

We're living in the city that has the highest dropout rates, right?

Schools of higher learning, professors, teachers, all of this around us.

But we can't solve the dropout rate.

You know why?

Because nobody's talking to the dropouts.

We're approaching things with this textbook approach.

You need somebody intimately involved, and that's me.

Thank you for your comments.

Next speaker.

Carnell and Lee.

Up here.

Good evening, everybody.

Good evening.

I want to thank the Lord for waking us up this morning, blessing our family, our friends, the homeless, the needy, our families, and our what I want to talk about, I'm a change.

I want to talk about Aisha Carter.

The situation I watched yesterday, the pre-meeting.

And I'm just gonna talk about fair is fair.

And we all know what it is.

I first want to say to you, I commend you to be so young, you're sharp.

You're on point.

You have your paperwork.

I hope people as well.

I just don't boast about it because that's not what it's always about.

I couldn't get to her like I wanted, but I pointed her into directions.

I gave her different people numbers because I couldn't get in touch, and I kept telling her, call this one, call that one.

And the mix I had had to come down here the day that y'all was pulling the numbers with me to see Round Tree.

But in the fact of the matter that she had to leave for an emergency situation to get to her child.

We all know what's going on with the paperwork, how everything gets missing.

I've been dealing with my situation for five years.

Started out with 10 to 12 bodies.

Just for the mayor to allow all these bodies to die well over 100, and it's just not in 516 Burton Street, but to do a cover-up.

And y'all allowed it.

Last Thursday, I had Catelyn and I mean, not Catelyn.

Catelyn had some people in the task force.

I don't want to talk about it because we still got to get them time.

But when I come to the mic and I talked about them going next door, the mold department and cleaning out and scraping, I just said it, didn't believe they do that.

When I went up to open it, then the day was open, y'all.

I took pictures, but I got so much going on to bring y'all open the side that they said I think was didn't have it clean.

My side, scrape came back.

Same as her pictures.

She got a uh uh artistic child.

My nephew is autistic.

He's 29, 28, functionable.

He went through Camden.

He had the helmets, went through all so I take that personal.

I'm thinking, bring it in the safe house to hook up a child machines.

Y'all got safe houses.

Y'all could have did that.

I have been offered spots to go as well as her.

You can't offer me a spot where the motor's already there.

You can't offer me a spot where it's already.

I know where my spots at.

Now I gotta go learn the other spot that y'all don't cover it up for about a year.

You take the little white little wiping, whatever it comes through.

Y'all know what it is.

These are some people lies.

You talk about mold, lead, asbestos.

The kids can't learn.

You talk about 12 and three and fourth grades.

That's been like that.

Since me and Dana Ron been doing this.

We gotta get on it.

Everybody know the problem.

What with her now?

So, what is the solution?

She needs to be put into something brand new because she should be afraid to go behind something that's been patched.

She got children.

Think about that.

Let's not think about politics right now.

Let's think about the safety and the care of these kids.

Not just uh, Tisha Davis, it's other kids, other, not Vera Brown.

She came to the mic to complain to help.

I hope all the time.

I'm in a situation where I can't help like I want to.

Because my mind is all over the place.

I gotta do go here and think about this, getting a 30 day, getting this and this and that.

But I am one of the ones that God appoint me to help people.

I don't know no other way.

I get that from my mother.

It's in my family, my sister Elaine.

That's what we do.

So we gotta help her.

She mentioned Miss Amina Bay, paying her rent.

She mentioned everybody, Kiana, everybody.

But I said, let's go here.

My sister, oh, I went there.

Okay, let's go to round tree.

She didn't get there.

Let's not put the blame on somebody.

Let's do something.

Let's do something to help her.

Get her in a place so a child can use the machines.

So she can have a peace of mind.

Because I know what it is when your mind is all over the place when you're thinking about others, because that's what I do.

I get bags because I care about people.

Let's care.

Let's show some all the names who's been here at the mic.

It's like the Epstein survivors are here to talk about it.

What about the ones that can't?

We should give her recognition that she's here to talk about it.

Let's help her.

It was a thing, North do something.

A lot of y'all up here, y'all help.

I'm talking about the ones that don't.

Let's get together and help her.

Help her, Tisha.

Thank you for your comment.

Carter, please.

Next speaker.

Rodney Davis.

Okay.

Good evening.

Good evening.

I'm totally confused.

You know.

We live at a standard like this in New York.

Standard should be up here.

The uh the gas pipe.

On Magazine Street in the East War.

Total incompetence.

I know the lady that owned the house.

I know the contractor.

In the city of New York.

I know they do it in the building department.

Engineering.

I don't know what happened.

You have to have a markout.

You have to, you just don't go out there digging.

You have what we call in the state of New Jersey, United States of America, a markout.

The mark tells you where's the gas line at where's the water.

I don't know what would happen.

We got a total incompetence.

We live at a standard like this.

We gotta come back to a standard like that.

Let's not forget about the snowplow.

You know, just because the water water washed it away.

You know, it all begins at the top.

Can't blame the directors if you ain't got another apparatus.

Think the men and women of DTW.

Any construction site.

Before you send the people out there to work, you make sure they have uh the proper equipment.

In the city and do you don't have the proper equipment?

There's no excuse for that.

You gotta you gotta be ready.

This ain't not move your car when you move the car, you see the car.

Total incompetence, total uh confusion.

The people don't want to do, you know, you ain't got your garbage can, go to Home Depot, buy your own garbage can.

Wait for the people to buy a garbage can, you know, get your own garbage can.

Maybe maybe make a deal with Home Depot ever the residents buy it in bulk to get it cheaper.

Right now we got total incompetence.

Time to start fooling around.

Time to stop having cushion.

It's more than your little city vehicle riding around, not paying for gas, car insurance, parking.

Car insurance, parking.

You know, they're giving out uh illegal tickets left and right, right and left.

But you guys don't get it, you don't see it.

You don't see it.

Giving out tickets because they feel like and then the cops, they're not properly trained.

They nobody does traffic and signal.

Traffic and signal gotta have a uh a seminar, a learning session with the newer police officers to write out a uh a ticket.

They don't even know how to read the error.

They there will go one way to copy you the uh uh the ticket for the wrong way.

You know, that guy that gotta stop.

I mean, what you gonna do?

You can't balance the buttons.

Why you ain't got a balanced budget in the first place?

You're supposed to have a balanced budget.

You know that.

You gotta have a balanced budget.

Maybe get off the laptop and get a balanced budget.

You know, you over there, right there on the laptop.

Now I'm gonna listen to the ladies' talk.

I just told uh I just told Donna, you want to get some stuff done, get some women.

Women, you know, you get it done for you.

I depend on y'all, I won't get nothing done.

Now, uh, what you call uh huh?

You have sleep anyway.

I don't know why you came everybody else here.

I talk louder for you, Eric.

You know.

We gotta put the DPW.

And uh if your mother was here, first of all, we'd have had everything we needed.

Because she don't wait, she ain't gonna wait till the snow start and then make some videos in March, April.

She's gonna have everything, she's gonna be asking questions because she knows what the deal is.

She knows this day gonna come.

She's not gonna wait for the day to come.

Gotta get back on our game right here.

With the Lord, you gotta stand it right here.

Gotta get back to up here.

I'm not here to hurt your feelings, you don't like because I'm running against your man and them.

Your man gotta get on his job.

This is we the city of New York never had so many people running before.

This is a this is uh the election like no other.

Everybody and their mother running because they they pissed off.

Gotta get back on the game.

You know?

Inshallah.

Yo, they know everybody running.

And uh, some people say I'm fed up.

I don't know who's gonna be the councilman at large.

I told somebody, you know, you figure round tree and Quintana, they probably would win it.

But you got so many other little power houses running and might go to a runoff.

I don't know who's gonna win.

You know what I mean?

And you shouldn't think that you got it like that because you don't.

You know what I mean?

Don't get too comfortable.

Stay frosty.

Next speaker.

Donna Jackson.

Somebody talking about the car.

Lies, more lies and lies.

Let's go.

Boy, boy, boy, in that corner.

You should have never ever tried to answer me because you can't.

Incompetent, uncapable, can't negotiate, can't do nothing.

So shut your mouth, Raz Baraka, because you don't know what you're talking about.

You never even answered the question.

You make it yourself look like an idiot that you are.

And y'all all take the glory with them.

Donna Jackson, Hellraiser for New Jersey, North New Jersey, West Ford resident about to take over the whole city.

Let's go, paperwork number two.

And I'm telling y'all tonight, shut up.

Mr.

Pennetton, shut up.

Don't answer me.

Cause y'all lie all the time.

Let these people know they're gonna get laid off, June 1.

Stop waiting.

Let these people know they're not getting there retro pay.

Stop lying.

How in the world are we appropriating 83 million dollars for one month?

January 2026.

What y'all doing?

Where's the money?

How we 800 million dollars in debt with the state.

Don't sit there looking at me.

Y'all just finished paying fines.

Out your own council money.

Because we don't have this right.

So now y'all put us in a position 2024 and 2025 are not approved by the state.

You don't even need to work on 2026.

Because we ain't got no money.

Better tell these office or something.

You better tell these firefighters something.

People trying to go get pension money, ain't none.

Look at this litigation tonight.

This is because y'all allow this building to be run like a whorehouse.

Everything.

How are we paying $575,000 as a settlement to Miss Woods?

How are we paying $80,000 to the estate of Malcolm?

That means the man was here, did some work, and you let the man die.

Now you're gonna give it to his family.

Probably why he died because he ain't had no money, because y'all don't give a damn.

Settlement again.

David Burgos, what's that about?

I don't know who he is.

Give him his damn check.

You ain't got the money to pay that either.

I guess that's why all this gotta come out the insurance fund.

Settlement.

Mr.

O'Neil, 182,000.

This is on your agenda.

So don't get mad at me.

I'm reading y'all stuff.

Now, Mr.

Baraka, you want to play games with me?

I'm not the one Negro, because I know what I'm talking about.

And this all falls on y'all because you allowed it.

I mean, you was the only one who wasn't here.

But this all fall on y'all.

All of it.

Because you allowed it, team Baraka.

Touchdown, illegal motion on the field.

Illegal motion on the field.

All of y'all.

198.

Yes, I'm doing 198.

1.9 million dollars.

I can eat the paperwork.

Calm down, relax.

The shelters had to sue y'all because you didn't pay them.

Come on now.

Talk about it, Donna Jackson.

And let me tell you to all my children on TikTok, all of y'all nine to 15 that been reaching out to Mama Donna.

I did not get the check.

And I'm not gonna get the check because the boy don't got the check.

They want to know if I got the check.

I gotta tell them.

Mama Donna didn't get the check because the boy don't have it.

So, Mr.

Barack, when I said five million dollars, let me undress you tonight.

Your office in miscellaneous funds for the year 2025, you sorry sack of Sud, 69 million dollars in miscellaneous.

And that's why the state rejected the budget, and y'all know it.

Y'all know it.

So that probably was 60 million dollars for 2024.

Y'all allowed it.

Now I got the 2026 paperwork.

Let's go.

Let's go.

Raz, I need a job.

Oh my god.

Sex for hire.

You damn right.

All day long.

Why the water department?

The water department.

12 million dollars miscellaneous.

Why?

Why?

Miscellaneous for what?

What we stealing?

We ain't fixed one treatment plant yet.

We ain't fixed the dam up there yet.

We had a fire up there, and you keep allowing these contractors.

I it's nothing but God that them two babies in that East War didn't die the other day.

But this ain't the first explosion.

This ain't the second explosion.

Right on South Orange Avenue in Littleton, they wiped out the whole internet.

Roman construction.

Y'all keep letting these unincompetent, non-permit having people operating this city, because that's what y'all do.

You put in people's lives in jeopardy.

I was in court all day today with this young lady right here.

Got there at eight o'clock.

We ain't leave till one.

Y'all don't have the right to let people suffer in this city.

People been coming to this mic, and you have done nothing.

Y'all better find this money and kids keep calling me because we want the checks.

Next speaker.

Let me see how much I can do that.

I do not believe he's here.

Not appearing.

Malik H.

Cooper.

Mr.

Cooper.

Or no love.

Or no people that fight.

We can rid of all of y'all.

Better start pushing on residents.

Y'all better leave Shakino alone.

Great day, everyone.

Great day.

Um, just so we on the same page, city council and um whatever the young lady is that name that says people's name.

Keisha Daniels, my name is Malik.

My apologies.

Thank you so much.

I appreciate it.

See how that works?

We can work together, right?

You say what you want, you get it.

See how I said what I wanted, and I got it, right?

That is a problem.

I'm sitting here and I had another topic, and I couldn't get it copied and put out.

And I said, you know what?

The universe don't want me to talk about that yet.

The universe wants me to talk about everything that everybody else is talking about today.

It is 2026.

The young lady Didi Lee been telling y'all for five years or so that there's mold in these complexes.

Yes or yes.

Great day.

Yes or yes, right?

Because I'm talking to my teachers.

My teachers can I hear uh was room for my teachers.

My teachers say yes.

We've been telling you.

Now my problem is this, Villa Victoria.

How long do they have to say it before our kids end up on the same deathbed as the seniors?

How long and how many times will they have to tell you for you to react when our children become the common denominator?

I know y'all are not allowed to answer.

I'm letting you know when I get in city council, I need y'all to be able to say everything you say because I'm gonna sit up there praying to give you an answer.

Because this is not about you sitting and listening.

This is about you teaching.

I said it the last time, and I watched after you threw somebody out, you decided you wanted to teach.

Yes, I am South Ward Council.

Uh, watched the live after we left, and you wanted to tell everybody what they should do now.

You felt like that was the time, and it was the most disrespectful thing you could have ever done because the time for you to do that was before the altercation.

See the timing.

Time is money, right?

I'm gonna hit you with this other thing.

We're gonna get you a little lesson.

Part of the problem in this system is that y'all are not doing what systems are made to do.

System, get y'all pen out.

Another teacher on the mic.

System stands for save your self.

Time, energy, and money.

I need to find out is the present council doing that.

Is he doing that for the community?

Anybody can tell me, any one person on the council, including the mayor, including anybody that's dealing with them.

Let's just say it all and put it out because I've been tiptoeing, not trying to say this stuff, but then you're looking at the women standing up as usual.

As usual, what happens now?

Again, our children end up the deficit.

It's always gonna fall back on them.

I found the little thing, it says, you know, you got the little rolls, crack pipes, they in the store.

Y'all ain't did nothing yet.

The kids get to see the crackheads walk around the street, smoking crack, right out the store.

And there is an ordinance that you can put together that uh the other cities, just like North, Camden, Patterson, and all of these cities have an ordinance to stop the crack pipes from being um sold in the stores.

What is North doing?

I asked, I found out.

You they're using the crack too.

Wow.

Wow.

Okay, so when you're wondering what's happening in our community, I don't believe what the information I just said is because I'm actually walking around a community.

I'm actually in the stores while you're sitting in your car riding around, acting grand.

There are people on the ground really loving on this community.

Y'all should try some of that.

Walk around, use your feet, and some of you won't be fat.

Thank you for your comments.

Next speaker.

Cassandra Doc.

Appearing.

Correct.

Cassandra Doc.

Let me first say thank you to all the women.

It's Women History Month.

I want to thank all the women who have worked hard to try to improve the lives of all of us around this this country, this world.

And of course, you know, I believe in Jesus, so I want to thank Mary for Jesus.

And I want to say congratulations to Shabazz, Barino, and uh Company, our tie, and Michael B.

Jordan for winning the Oscar.

Then I want to say.

I want to Senator Teresa Ruez.

Senator Scottori.

Now, Scuttoria, I know you are responsible for making sure weed is illegal.

You pushed it for a long time.

Senator Ruiz, I know that when we had the grand opening of the weed store in Newark, somebody sent me a picture.

You went down there and you came out with a bag.

I'm gonna assuming it was your weed.

Well drafted Bill S3 53.

S353.

And I'm gonna assume that that was crack, sir.

Yeah.

Crack inside that weed.

It had to be.

Because there's nowhere in the world you would have drafted this bill.

This bill is talking about immigration, tenant protection act.

You want to protect great immigrants, non-citizen.

You saying to landlords, you cannot, and I wish I had my glasses because I really wanted to read it.

You saying to the landlord, they cannot disclose a citizen's status.

So you telling me as an owner, I cannot tell the law that somebody is in my on my property in my unit illegal.

It's the law.

And so unfortunately, there's Senator Ruiz have a couple, the Senate has a couple of bills down there.

Because all we seem to care about now is illegal aliens, immigrants, undocumented, whatever you want to call them.

Because y'all are gonna cause this war between Americans and non-Americans.

And the president is not lying when he said they are committing fraud because they are.

We know the brain shops only take cash.

They don't want to take any other form of money because they're committing fraud.

Because they don't want to pay taxes.

We know that our Latino community that sells the ICs, they don't want to take nothing but cash.

Fraud.

We know that our Jewish community section 8 fraud.

And then this Negro on the second floor had the nerve to say, you see something to his employees.

Say something when it comes to ice.

He had the nerve to say when the ice was chasing their perpetrator and the perpetrator of according to what the paper said, hit the car.

He said we're gonna take action.

What action you gonna take?

Because you didn't take no action in 2018 when your police was chasing somebody, their perpetrator and hit somebody.

You didn't say you were gonna take action where today they up on Levin Street chasing somebody.

What action you wanna take?

Y'all think we're gonna sit around here and let y'all uh come across, including at the uh federal level, Corey Booker, make it seem like illegal immigrants, undocumented or more important than us.

And lastly, Senator, let me leave you with this.

Think about Lauren Marshall.

Laura Lauren Marshall was coming home with her mother, her sister, and her sister's father with a truck.

Mother got out to change the tire, a truck hit her.

Lauren's six years old, because this happened two years ago, May 8th, 2024.

Lauren gets out of the car, jumps on her mom, saying, Mommy, be okay.

She wasn't okay.

She died.

They went to court.

The illegal, undocumented immigrant did not show up.

He has a warrant.

So he's probably so well driving for somebody else.

And she also wants these immigrants that's living in these units to get rid of assistance.

Are y'all serious?

Thank you for your comments.

Yeah, Lauren Marshall.

Thank you for your comment.

Senator, every time you go to sleep, Lauren Marshall, the illegal.

Thank you for your comments.

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

Thank you.

Anything from the council.

Anything from the council.

So I will say one thing.

Just one thing with regards to what uh Miss Clyburn mentioned in regards to 2-12.

I did get an email.

I did respond.

Uh, and I have brought code enforcement in on that matter, and I'm going to continue to follow up with that.

Um, I'm anything from the administration.

Okay.

Can we please get get some quiet so that we can hear the speakers?

Three five three zero.

Ms.

Doc.

Thank you.

Good evening, Eric Pennington Business Minister.

Just a couple of things.

There were a few comments uh about the the budget, some of them.

Um erroneous statements, perhaps unintentional.

Who knows why?

Uh, but the state does not allow an unbalanced budget.

And since we have been here under Mayor Baraka's leadership, we've never had an unbalanced budget.

We have had uh every budget that we have submitted has been approved by the state, and uh we have operated under that budget right now.

We have temporary appropriations because the budget, which is not due, has not been presented to the council yet, uh, so it could not have been passed.

The uh eighty some odd million dollars, I think that was referenced, is about one twelfth of the budget that we will ultimately pass, which makes sense for one month's appropriation.

So there's nothing untoward about that.

Um, and I suppose if anyone wanted information from my office, they could contact me and I'll give a brief tutorial on why we have to have appropriations uh until the budget is passed.

I'm I'm I'm fine with that.

Uh, with respect to uh comments about uh Kawita Towers, which is a 100% affordable project that's going up uh in the central ward downtown and in the central ward.

Uh just to respond briefly, the C D BG funds, the community development block grant funds which were allocated for the prior projects, has not been spent uh and is not missing.

Um it just wasn't used for that project because the project did not go forward.

There is now a pending sale for that property in the amount of about a half a million dollars, um, which we expect the developer to move forward with in the near term and develop that into 100% um affordable units.

The property was demolished, which was part of each of the two uh plans to develop that piece of property because there were some safety concerns, so the city demolished that property to ensure the safety and integrity um of that of that building.

Um we'll you know continue to move forward with that project with the hope that the development, the actual shovels in the ground development will take place within the next within the next few months.

So we expect that that will happen.

Um the other allegations of uh general allegations that come out about fraud and corruption and those things.

Anybody can make those allegations when they come up here, but not one of the people that made any reference to allegations of fraud or corruption or criminality has come forward with any specific information.

The only one who came forward, I think, who who claims to have come forward with something is uh uh one of the first speakers who who handed out something that claims to be recordings, which just means he's uh a snitch somewhere, and if that's what he is, that's what he is.

Uh so be it.

I mean, he's admitting that he's a snitch to some degree.

We don't know what's on, I don't know what's on there, but presumably whatever his uh information or him being an informant or a snitch has not had the impact that he expected.

The other people who throw there throw out these allegations, they ought to come forward with some specifics.

And as it relates to me, I stand by uh my record when I came in here.

There are people who talk about some allegation about me eight years ago.

If they can't come up with something better than what they say in these last eight years about my integrity, go ahead and keep on and say what they want to say.

If they want to come ahead and make an allegation that has any teeth to it, by all means do so.

And if they can call out it's fine with me, then they are subject to uh litigation for defamation, and I'm fine with that.

I don't have anything else for anybody else's uh anything else for me.

Thank you.

You're welcome.

Uh did you want to I don't know if you want to talk to me?

I don't know if you wanted to talk about anything about the handicapped spaces.

Are you going to address that now?

Yeah, we have uh I thank the council for bringing to the administration's attention several complaints about uh applications for handicapped spaces, existing handicapped spaces being denied uh for having obstruction in their property.

All those existing spaces for whatever reason that are being denied, unless, of course, uh it's because they don't live there anymore or they're no longer are alive.

Ms.

Doc, please do not call out.

Uh there will be grandfathered in.

They will be approved.

I am told that no signs have been removed.

And if any of the council members have a specific location where signs being removed, please let me know, and I will have it replaced.

But I've been told by engineering and our traffic signals department that no signs have been removed, but everybody who has has an active license and they have statutorily complied with every other requirement for having a handicap space, it will continue.

We will be grandfathered.

The mayor has directed that, and we'll follow through on that.

Thank you.

Well core counsel.

Uh good evening, Kenya Store City of North Corporation Council.

So there was a few comments in reference to um the unfortunate incident that took place a few weeks back when the uh ICE agents were uh chasing a vehicle.

And I think people are a little confused about what the rules say in reference to uh police officers' ability to check excuse me.

Ms.

Doc, do not call out.

I think that people are a little confused about what the rules say in reference to law enforcement chasing people in vehicles.

So you just be clear about this.

Law enforcement has the ability and can chase vehicles if they understand that that person in the vehicle poses an imminent threat to someone, immediate imminent threat.

So for example, unfortunately, if there's a law enforcement officer who witnesses or is we are responding to a carjacking or shooting or things of that nature, and they believe that the person is still in that process, they can chase that vehicle, right?

They have to have the license on the things of that nature.

In a situation when it comes to the ICE agents, unfortunately, they were chasing a vehicle that did not pose an imminent uh threat.

They indicated that the people that were eventually captured were involved in theft.

That is against the rules.

You cannot do that.

And the reason why they have those rules is because what we are afraid of is we're afraid that in that process of chasing the vehicle that is not an imminent threat, and you cause harm to someone else, i.e.

an accident, and some kids get hurt.

That is what we are afraid of.

Unfortunately, we've lost people uh to tragic accidents as a result of that.

So that we're clear what the ICE agents did were completely unlawful when it comes to New Jersey, New Jersey law.

Thank you.

Ms.

Doc, if you continue, we're gonna ask you to leave.

Why would we keep lying?

I'll ask you to leave too, Ms.

Bomani.

Are you finished with this?

Thank you.

Thank you.

Let's go with the agenda.

Council President, Council members, we are on page four of the agenda item five is reports and recommendations of city officers boards and commissions.

Council as a whole to adopt.

Roll call.

Okay.

Yes.

Council?

Yes.

Gonzalez.

Yes.

Kelly.

Yes.

Yes.

Ray Mos.

Yes.

Scott Roundtree.

Yes.

Silva.

Yes.

President Cromps.

Yes.

Ordinances on public hearing, second reading and final passage.

6P SFA is an ordinance amending multi-way stop intersections by designating 18th Avenue and South 13th Street as a multi-way stop sign intersection in the South Ward.

Sponsored by Councilman Counsel.

Second by Councilman Kelly.

Is there anyone present wishing to be heard on this ordinance?

Anyone wishing to be heard on this matter?

Yeah.

I just want her to say it again.

Did she say on 18th Avenue or 13th Street 4 ways?

Designating 15th Avenue and South 13th Street as a multi-way stop sign intersection.

Mr.

President, and uh city council, municipal counselors, Chay Coulter.

Again, I rise again as citizen on this uh 6 PSFA.

Um just speaking very briefly to you, Mr.

Uh President.

This is long overdue.

And for some reason, I'm not certain if it's the municipal government not interfacing its data systems with the local board of education, along with interfacing both of those governments' information with the state, Department of Education and the State Department of Senior Services.

But where we have our uh populations uh who are been diagnosed with both Alzheimer's on the senior citizen side and then on the parent student side, um out time um not Alzheimer's, but uh in fact uh falling on the spectrum of autism.

I think that there's not only a need for this stop sign, but several others uh probably within all the respective wards.

And I think that um even if we can't establish the funding for street lights in every area where there's a high higher concentration of senior citizens and uh children who need that visual uh safety delineation, we should at least have this, what's in this ordinance uh a stop sign in some of those areas where we now have a creasing population.

Um the central ward would be an example of that because the population there is increasing, and there's still areas of the central ward that are uh operating traffic and signal standards that are I would say certainly within 10 years behind in terms of population of both foot traffic and uh motor traffic.

Um, secondly, Mr.

President, um these kind of blinking stop signs.

I am hopeful that not only do the Southwood and uh Westwood councilmen who are sitting have a more comprehensive discussion on this, both for those other hot spots around their wards where there's a concentration of senior citizens, both being those over the age of 65, the diagnosis of both the the um Alzheimer's side and then on the child side of everything ranging from autism all the way to um other uh diagnosis, whether uh boys and girls who are in our special education population who are still gifted and talented.

Their humane gift of living life should not come at the expense of waiting for the engineering department to get funding.

You all as legislators should be determining that and prioritizing that at the beginning of the budget year.

I'm more independent these days than leaning Republican or Democrat, but y'all are make y'all are proving the points of the Republicans a little bit too.

Mr.

Coulter, please speak to the ordinary.

This is long overdue, Mr.

President.

That's what we champion.

That's what we campaign a clean government.

I'm trying to speak to you in clean character and respect will always be a two-way street under this golden.

Thank you, guys.

Thank you for your comments.

Next speaker.

Are you shot?

I see Donald Jackson.

I think we should put the flashing.

My grandson used to play hot water football, and they used to practice in Westside Park, that intersection.

I mean, if we stop, it's a start, but it needs to slow down because from South 17th Street coming down, there's nothing slowing it down.

The traffic that is created, and I know it's not here, but the traffic that's created at the school there on South 17th Street and 18th Avenue.

Um KIP, I think, might be North Star, but the school that's there, North Star and South 17th, the crossing guard is overwhelmed at that intersection as well.

So I think we need to flash it.

And the reason I say that is because people are still flying down 14th Avenue, bless you.

People are still flying down 14th Avenue underneath the parkway.

Even though we have signage, but they're still flying down there, especially at night, and they have the construction going on.

I know that's not here, but I'm just using that as an example.

So I know that when I used to go out there with him, and I see the games out there now, and the kids out there playing, it needs to be flashing.

Because as we are encountering all these different drivers that for whatever reason, not understanding where the stop sign is, they don't know if it's stop, they don't know if it's yield, they don't know if it's no turn on red, and so we're going crazy.

I think the flashing red will give everybody a clear signal that you must stop.

Um, and I think that after we put this up, we need to monitor that area to make sure because those kids are crossing.

Everybody doesn't get dropped off at the park.

Some of those kids walk home, going towards 16th Ave as well as 18th Ave towards Springfield.

So I this is a good idea, but I would like to see us make those flashing stop sign.

If you need an extra 20 bucks, I'll get it and come back with it.

But I think we need to seriously, you know, make sure that's flashing.

Because when they fly down 18th Avenue, uh particularly to my sons and daughters that don't pay attention to the 25 mile per hour speed, because we have a lot of those, not me, but them.

We need to really slow it down on 18th Avenue coming into that intersection.

Yes, long overdue.

Glad you're doing it, but let's make sure they see the stop sign before they get to the corner.

Thank you.

Thank you for your comments.

Next speaker.

Because not only are they running through them like they don't see them.

So I mean it's one thing to put them up, but we need more police presence in these neighborhoods.

Emily Aikins has been getting up here for years talking about public safety.

Literally, if the light turns green or if you're sitting at a corner, you can't just go.

You have to wait.

Because people are just running through the streets, like there's there's no sign.

There's no like so I I agree with the blinking.

Um we need we need it to be visible, but we also need police presence.

Because it's as if the signs and signals, like, what are we doing?

And it's everywhere, all over the city.

So I'm glad this spot is one that's being taken care of.

But we need to make it visible, uh, not just a sign, like Donna was saying, blinking, make it aware, but we also need, and I'm gonna keep saying this, we also need police presence because even with the uh the guards, the crossing guards, it's dangerous for them as well.

These folk need to know that it's not just something blinking, but if you run through this stop sign, there's gonna be somebody there waiting for you because it's it's just lawless, it just is right.

So that part of public safety, we need presence there as well.

Thank you for your comments.

Next speaker.

Just to add to that, yes, the blinking on the um stop signs, but also you need those uh walkway uh signal lights too to let you know that somebody's about to walk.

You get the yellow blinking signal that the children or elders or community people are walking through, so they need to add more of those.

And I want to know, because you spoke about this uh also the police presence.

So why do we have so many on uh ferry street and east ward as opposed to, and I and I brought that up and I take a lot of videos and we got speaking to the ordinance.

No, it's not about listen.

Listen, I I I just can't in the South Ward.

She brought up police presence.

So I'm saying that we need adequate like police like we got over in the East Ward, because they got them all up and down, and yeah, every other block, and they walking the beat.

Okay.

So she said something about it.

I get up here and say you want.

So am I being picked on?

This just tell me right now, Larry Crumb.

Absolutely not.

Are you are you picking on me?

Because that's what it sounds like.

We are he.

Oh, I don't know about him.

But anyway.

Because I'm saying the same thing.

The walkway light, they push the button, the yellow light signals that somebody's getting ready to walk.

Could we get more of those in the community?

Not only in that area, but also throughout.

And what's the budget for that?

Because we haven't seen uh not a lot of those either.

So uh can we get that in the community?

Stop picking on thank you for your comments.

Next speaker.

So um, I just want to know, Cassandra Doc.

I just want to know will this project be done with the funds um coming out of 7R 1-C.

Is that $25,000?

I don't have glasses coming from PSC and G.

Is that what Ms.

Daniels?

I mean, you would probably be the one to know as well.

These lights that are going up, are they will it be done with the funds that are given in this grant, 7 R1C from P S C and G.

Thank you for your comments.

Any other speakers?

No other speakers appearing.

With the administration, just to answer that question.

Oh, okay.

Never mind.

You got the BA spawn.

Eric Pennington Business Administrator.

Ms.

Stock.

The answer is no.

The funds will not be used from the PSC and G greenhouse gas funds for this project.

Thank you.

Roll call.

What did you say?

What did you say?

No, it's not coming from those funds.

That's and I'm sorry, that's it, Ms.

Dodd.

It's not coming.

Roll call.

Council members bay.

Yes.

Council?

Yes.

Gonzalez.

Yes.

Kelly.

Yes.

Mintana.

Yes.

Ramos.

Yes.

Scott Roundtree.

Yes.

Silva.

Yes.

President Crump.

Yes.

Resolutions.

7R1A through C are temporary emergency appropriations.

A is for a body armor.

B is for the tree canopy initiative.

And C is for sustainable Jersey grant.

Council as a whole to adopt A through C.

With the noted sponsors on A, Councilman Silva and Scott Roundtree.

Roll call.

Council members bay.

Yes.

Council?

Yes.

Gonzalez.

Yes.

Kelly.

Yes.

Quintana.

Yes.

Ramos.

Yes.

Scott Roundtree.

Yes.

Silva.

Yes.

President Crump.

Yes.

D is an external transfer of reserve funds to pay outstanding obligations.

Council as a whole to adopt.

Roll call.

Council members bay.

Yes.

Council.

Yes.

Gonzalez.

Yes.

Kelly.

Yes.

Quintana.

Yes.

Ramos.

Yes.

Scott Roundtree.

Yes.

Silva.

Yes.

President Crump.

Yes.

E through G are the use of state contracts for purchasing.

E is for office furniture.

F is for radio equipment.

And G is for police equipment.

Council's a whole to adopt E through G.

Roll call.

Council members Bay.

Yes.

Council?

Yes.

Gonzalez.

Yes.

Kelly.

Yes.

Quintana.

Yes.

Ramos.

Yes.

Scott Roundtree?

Yes.

Silva?

Yes.

President Crump.

Yes.

H is an RFP for competitive contracting to provide operations of the restaurant concession at Military Park.

Council as a whole to adopt.

Roll call.

Council members bay.

Yes.

Council?

Yes.

Gonzalez.

Yes.

Kelly.

Yes.

Yes.

Ramos.

Yes.

Scott Roundtree.

Yes.

Silva?

Yes.

President Crump.

Yes.

I is the extension of an emergency contract.

To extend the emergency contract for the reconstruction of the Bay Floor Fire Engine 5.

Council's a whole to adopt.

Roll call.

Council members Bay.

Yes.

Council?

Yes.

Gonzalez.

Yes.

Kelly.

Yes.

Quintana.

Yes.

Ramos.

Yes.

Scott Roundtree.

Yes.

Silva?

Yes.

President Crump.

Yes.

J and K are contracts with grant recipients to provide community-based violence intervention and prevention in youth mentoring and/or safe passage.

J is for Ironbound Community Corporation.

And K is Leaders for Life, sponsored by Councilman Council.

Second by Councilman Kelly.

Council is a whole to adopt J and K with sponsors.

Roll call.

Council members Bay.

Yes.

Council.

Yes.

Gonzalez.

Yes.

Kelly.

Yes.

Quintana.

Yes.

Ramos.

Yes.

Scott Roundtree.

Yes.

Silva?

Yes.

President Crump.

Yes.

L is application acceptance of grant funds to prepare a historical preservation plan for the rehabilitation and restoration of the interior of City Hall.

Council is a whole to adopt.

Roll call.

Council members bay.

Yes.

Council?

Yes.

Gonzalez.

Yes.

Kelly.

Yes.

Quintana.

Yes.

Ramos.

Yes.

Scott Roundtree.

Yes.

Silva?

Yes.

President Crump.

Yes.

7R2A through F our private sale and redevelopment agreement.

A is new construction of a three and a half story residential building, all units designated to households earning 60 to 80 percent AMI.

Council is a whole to adopt.

Mr.

President, Councilman Ramos.

Yeah, I'd like to defer just so I have the opportunity to meet with the developer to go over this the project.

All right, so the motion to defer.

Okay.

ROCO.

As a whole.

Council members bay.

Yes, it's defer.

Council?

Yes.

Gonzalez.

Yes.

Kelly.

Yes, to defer.

Quintana.

Yes.

Ramos.

Yes.

Scott Roundtree.

Yes.

Silva.

Yes.

President Crump.

Yes.

B is to rehabilitate the property into a tailoring shop, offering customized tailor services and a training space for youth to learn tailoring design and entrepreneurship skills.

Sponsored by Councilman Council.

Second by Councilwoman Scott Roundtree.

Rocco.

Council Members Bay.

Yes.

Council?

Yes.

Gonzalez.

Abstain.

Kelly.

Yes.

Quintana.

Yes.

Ramos.

Yes.

Scott Roundtree.

Yes.

Silva.

Yes.

President Crump.

Yes.

C is to rehabilitate single family home to be owner occupied in the South Ward.

Sponsored by Councilman Council.

Second by Council President Crump.

Rocco.

Council Members Bay.

Yes.

Council?

Yes.

Gonzalez.

Yes.

Kelly.

Yes.

Quintana.

Yes.

Ramos.

Yes.

Scott Roundtree.

Yes.

Silva?

Yes.

President Crump.

Yes.

Council is a whole to defer D through F.

Roll call to defer.

D through F.

Council Members Bay.

Yes.

Council?

Yes.

Gonzalez.

Yes.

Kelly.

Yes, a defer.

Quintana.

Yes.

Ramos.

Yes.

Scott Roundtree.

Yes.

Silva?

Yes.

President Clump.

Yes.

G is approving assignment agreement.

Consenting to the assignment of the financial agreement for an affordable housing project.

Council is a whole to adopt.

Roll call.

Council members bay.

Yes.

Council?

Yes.

Gonzalez.

Yes.

Kelly.

Yes.

Quintana.

Yes.

Ramos.

Yes.

Scott Roundtree.

Yes.

Silva?

Yes.

President Crump.

Yes.

7R3A is a bid contract to award Broad Street Phase 2 pedestrian safety improvements.

Council is a whole to adopt.

Roll call.

Council members bay.

Yes.

Council?

Yes.

Gonzalez.

Yes.

Kelly.

Yes.

Quintana.

Yes.

Ramos.

Yes.

Scott Roundtree.

Yes.

Silva?

Yes.

President Crump.

Yes.

Mr.

President.

Who said that?

I'm sorry.

No, that was me.

Oh, I'm sorry, Council.

Um, through your chair and the clerk.

Can we can we get a list of the streets that we can expect to have paved over the next few months?

Broken down by ward.

I know there are streets that we approved years ago for for grant programs and for what for whatever reason they still haven't been paved.

So North Ward again.

You want me to list all the streets?

You want to list them all?

Yeah, I could name name a few.

Second Avenue, uh Chester Avenue, Treadwell, the area on Heller Parkway that goes over the city subway.

There are a number of streets that we we approved as part of programs many many years ago for whatever reason.

We still haven't seen any paving.

So some of those streets are on the list.

So one I hope the director is taking notes.

Go ahead, Councilman.

I travel on Sequen Avenue every day.

And that thing is a full of craters.

And it's only on this section that is on Newark side.

If you go to the section that is on this orange, it's fine.

They say the paving is fine.

Everything is neat.

But in our side, that's a lot of craters there.

All right.

Thank you, Councilman Madam Clerk.

Let's send a memo to the uh yes, sir.

Yeah, and director.

Thank you.

7R5A is amending application acceptance of additional grant funds.

Amending public health emergency preparedness preparedness links 2026 grant.

Council is a whole to adopt.

Roll council members bay, yes.

Council?

Yes.

Gonzalez.

Yes.

Kelly.

Yes.

Quintana?

Yes.

Ramos.

Yes.

Scott Roundtree.

Yes.

Silva?

Yes.

President Crump.

Yes.

He is a contract with sub-recipient to provide housing assistance and supportive services to persons with HIV aids.

The YMCA of NORC.

Council as a whole to adopt.

Rocco.

Council members bay.

Yes.

Council?

Yes.

Gonzalez.

Yes.

Kelly.

Yes.

Quintana.

Yes.

Ramos.

Yes.

Scott Roundtree.

Yes.

Silva.

Yes.

President Crump.

Yes.

7R6A through E are settlements with the law department.

Council as a whole to adopt A through E.

Roll call, I'm sorry.

Council members Bay.

Yes.

Council?

Yes.

Gonzalez.

Abstain on four.

On the four.

All of them.

Kelly.

Yes.

Pintana.

Yes.

Ramos.

I abstain.

Scott Roundtree.

Yes.

Silva.

Yes.

President Crump.

I abstain.

Mr.

President.

Councilman Ramos.

Yeah, I abstain because I didn't get a chance to participate in the executive and I had a few questions.

So you're the same name here, Mr.

President.

Understood.

Thank you, Councilmembers.

Next item.

F is a professional services contract to provide legal services concerning bond council services.

Council as a whole to adopt.

ROCO.

Council members.

Bay.

Yes.

Council?

Yes.

Gonzalez.

Yes.

Kelly.

Yes.

Donna.

Yes.

Ramos.

Yes.

Scott Roundtree.

Yes.

Silva?

Yes.

President Clump.

Yes.

Louis.

7R8A through D, our municipal council resolutions.

A is the reappointment of Councilwoman Scott Roundtree to the Central Planning Board.

B is a ceremonial street designation for Marshall E.

Cooper, sponsored by Councilman Quintana.

Second by Councilwoman Scott Roundtree.

C is recognizing and commending.

And D is expressing profound sorrow and regret.

Council is a whole to adopt A through D with sponsors.

Roll call.

Council members Bay.

Yes.

Council?

Yes.

Gonzalez.

Yes.

Kelly.

Yes.

Dana.

Yes.

Ramos.

Yes.

Scott Roundtree.

Yes.

Silva.

Yes.

President Crump.

Yes.

7R9A is the appointment of a special police officer, Newark resident.

Council as a whole to adopt.

Roll call.

Council members bay.

Yes.

Council?

Yes.

Gonzalez.

Yes.

Kelly.

Yes.

Dana.

Yes.

Ramos.

Yes.

Scott Roundtree.

Yes.

Silva.

Yes.

President Crump.

Yes.

Mr.

President.

May I ask a question?

Councilman Gonzalez.

Yeah, we have the deputy chief here.

And uh I wanted to know if we have a intentions of having a class for specials.

Because uh, we have some individuals that wanted to have they say to become specials, but uh a class hasn't been formed.

Thank you, Councilman.

Yeah.

I think a number of of us have candidates.

Respective candidates.

Good morning, Council President.

Uh good morning.

Good afternoon.

Good evening, good evening.

Members of the council.

Uh at this moment we do not have a uh proposed uh uh class for specials as it pertains to uh the special in question this evening it's on the agenda.

Retired York officer, he was a special, moved out of the city, and uh gave up his commission since returned to the city and wishes to return.

Respectfully uh recommend that uh his application be given every due consideration.

No, that one we don't have a problem with that.

I might my question is whether we are going to appoint more newer residents uh uh have a class in the future.

I haven't been part of those discussions.

I can't answer that at this time, but I can get back to that.

I'm sorry, so councilman, maybe we could send a uh uh through through the clerk's office uh a memo asking yes, yes, yeah, Mr.

President.

Councilman Ramos.

Yeah, I think we've been asking for for a while.

I mean, I think lately it's been convenient to just appoint retired police officers as specials, you know, and I understand you know the convenience because they've technically can still carry the had the training, but years ago the purpose behind this council commissioning specials was to give North residents the opportunity to assist uh the city with law enforcement responsibilities, you know, understanding they still gotta go through the background, they gotta pass the the academy, but we haven't had a class in probably 18 years.

So I I think it's it's time there's a lot of posts that are mandated because they have special conditions, whether they're bars, taverns, or board of ed hires a few full-time specials.

So I think the need is there.

So I agree, council councilman.

We we know they need more specials to take care of all the issues.

I may add, let's say some some uh officers are making a hundred fifty thousand dollars in overtime and and in some cases even more.

So I believe that having more specials that would uh cover those uh extra hours would reduce the budget of the city uh and uh perhaps use that money for something else within the department of a police department.

Thank you, councilman.

Thank you.

Thank you.

B and C are acceptance of grant funds, B is for the drunk driving enforcement, and C is for body armor.

Council is a whole to adopt B C.

Sorry, roll call.

Council members Bay, yes, council, yes, Gonzalez, yes, Kelly, yes, yes, Ramos, yes, Scott Roundtree, yes, Silva, yes, President Crump.

Yes, 7 R 12 A through C are intergovernmental agreements for construction easements on Route 23.

Council as a whole to adopt A through C.

Roll call.

Council members Bay, yes, council, yes, Gonzalez, yes, Kelly, yes, yes, Ramos, yes, Scott Roundtree, yes, Philba.

Yes, President Crump.

Yes.

Communications items 8A through E are appointments or reappointments to the Affirmative Action Review Council.

A is Mamie Osevansu, B is Rachel Lapor, C is Asatu Bay Barra, and D is Amorelis Alevo Macabi.

Council as a whole to adopt A.

I'm sorry, I forgot one.

And E is a reappointment of Dosu Casemunu.

Council as a whole to adopt A through E, please.

Roll call to adopt A through E.

Council members Bay.

Yes.

Council?

Yes.

Gonzalez.

Yes.

Kelly.

Yes.

Yes.

Ramos.

Yes.

Scott Roundtree.

Yes.

Yes.

President Crump.

Yes.

F is an ordinance amending special improvement districts to revise terminology and clarify collection and administration of the tourism improvement district license fee.

Council as a whole to advance the first reading.

I'd like to advance and adopt.

Right.

Can we advance and adopt this?

Certainly.

Roll call to advance and adopt.

Council members bay.

Yes.

Council?

Yes.

Gonzalez.

Yes.

Kelly.

Yes.

Yes.

Ramos.

Yes.

Scott Roundtree.

Yes.

Philba.

Yes.

President Crump.

Yes.

Mr.

President.

Councilman Ramos.

You know, related to the improvement districts.

I'm I'm hearing from our improvement districts that the city is looking to potentially keep a percentage of the admin that's allowed for them to budget.

You know, I know the law does allow them to do so because there's always a delay in the collection of of taxes or the special assessment.

Um, I just want to have a conversation about that because the districts are now gonna be forced to cut back on certain aspects of their budget in order to release that admin back to the city.

So you know, I know that's that's something that they've been informed about.

Um I just want to make sure that we understand what the improvement districts are planning to do in order to make up that reduction.

You know, in my case, Mount Prospect is a relatively small district, they don't even have a full-time director.

Um they they use most of their resources to pay for security and maintenance, the same thing as on Bonefield Avenue.

You know, they they operate with uh part-time person.

Uh the board kind of runs the organization, and any reduction in their resources is gonna mean they're gonna have to come back on services.

So just want to see if the VA can look at that for us and maybe give us some information.

Mr.

May.

Uh right.

Councilman Gonzalez, while the BA.

This a I understand that uh currently they are uh charge a one percent of their budget, and uh the proposal is one point five percent, I believe it is.

It's two percent.

Two percent.

So is you're we're planning to double the amount that they pay.

Uh yes, Eric Pennington Business Administrator, the fee is the to cover the costs that the city uh incurs to send out the notices, collect the money, uh bring it into the city, remit it back to the uh uh to the bids, um, and to keep the the record keeping.

I mean, it's uh you know I'm not saying it's a lot of work, but the amount of money is relatively small per entity for the amount of work that the city does.

That's that's what it's for, nothing else.

I I I understand the purpose, Eric, but when you have a relatively small district with minimal overhead, and most you know, I could understand if they have kind of a huge administrative budget, which some of the districts do.

You know, downtown district historically has had a pretty sizable administrative budget, so the reduction doesn't impact them as much as other districts that spend most of their money on services.

So that's and I heard from a few of the board members who serve on these districts.

So Mr.

Bayet, can we can we get uh a detail of how much each of the bits have paid the safe for the last couple of years?

Sure, absolutely.

Yes, I shouldn't say I don't mean to be so informal.

Yes, Councilman, we can get that council president, uh Councilman Silva.

That's why I asked uh Director Guzman yesterday when I saw this, because I was advised for us in the East, it's $30,000, which is a significant number, uh, considering everything that we do from the snow removal to special events and all that stuff.

So uh yeah, if you can give us like uh I don't know what the answer is, but again, I think $30,000 is a significant amount, especially when we add services to what DPW does and assist another aspects.

So I certainly appreciate that, Councilman.

Our you know, I I don't want to counter as if what you're suggesting isn't uh significant.

It is, uh, but I will say that it's a relatively small amount, given the amount of administrative work the city undertakes to make sure they get their money.

They get their money, whether we get our money or not.

It's not a uh, you know, there's a reserve, but the money goes to the bids, and then we would have to get it back if we're not able to collect the taxes.

We don't do that.

So we could do that, I suppose, and it would be offset somehow.

We don't want to do that.

Um, but we do want that we should be able, our tax collectors office should be able to be compensated uh relative to what they do to make sure that the bids get their funds.

But I'm happy to look at it.

I'll get you the money.

We can certainly have an offline discussion about it, uh, or more public discussion.

Either way, I'm I'm happy to do so.

Councilman Gonzalez.

Mr.

BA uh in terms of let's say if we don't collect the they say the county tax, we have to pay anyway.

Do we have to pay uh the the bits whatever we collect or the tax that is due, no matter if we collect it or not?

No matter whether we collect it or not, but there is a reserve that they are supposed to keep for uncollected taxes, and we can get it back.

We typically do not, but we can certainly pursue that.

And that would would that tax become a lien on the property that the city could uh foreclose on that property if that tax isn't paid?

I I don't know.

That's uh that's a good question.

I don't know the answer to that.

Will you please uh let us know?

Yeah, I I I could do that.

I would I'll ask the I'm gonna put up put a burden on your clerk and and see if she can't uh extract this and give it to me.

We'll we'll get answers to all of this.

Thank you, Mr.

President.

I keep looking over there.

I'm sorry, Councilman Ramos.

Like a ventriloquist today.

Um so Eric with with the additional uh uh fee.

Do do you does that mean now that we can expect these improvement districts budget to be presented to us on time as opposed to them coming to us midway through the year?

Um more money for administrative purposes, and then secondly, a few years ago on Mount Prospect, we had a big problem because a lot of the property owners were assessed incorrectly, and that was really like the city's um snafu.

So many of those property owners paid a lot more money than they were supposed to that year, and we got like tons of phone calls, and when we checked, you know, it originated from within whoever works in that department.

So the additional money I would hope means that we're gonna be a little more efficient with this process.

And it's been better.

I gotta tell you, it's been a lot better.

I was just gonna say uh councilman.

I think the vast majority of the bid's budgets have been approved already.

It's definitely an improvement.

It's March.

I mean, it's uh the budgets are all more snafu's on incorrect bills, right?

We work on that, absolutely.

Thank you, thank you.

You LB is an ordinance amending business and occupation records to include persons exempt from toll fees and releases of motor vehicles to include notice requirements for certain vehicles involved in a criminal investigation motion to advance and adopt on first reading as 6 FB sponsored by councilman counsel and second by councilwoman Scott Roundtree, Mr.

President, Councilman Yeah.

I I just saw this at the meeting yesterday.

Could can we get um just some correspondence from the police uh division regarding this as to whether or not they reviewed it, um what's what's their their take on this?

I just want to make sure so noted anything else from the council, council members bay, yes, council, yes, Gonzalez, yes, Kelly, yes, quintana, yes, ramos, yes, Scott Roundtree, yes, yes, President Crump, yes.

H is an ordinance to amend solid waste management by amending the time to obey waste and violations for violations for penalty.

My apologies, penalties for violations motion to advance and adopt our first reading as six FC, sponsored by Councilman Silva, second by councilman council.

Roll call, council members day, yes, council, yes, Gonzalez, yes, Kelly, yes, quintana, yes, Ramos, yes Scott Roundtree, yes, yes, President Crump.

Yes, Council President, uh Councilman Silver uh Councilman Council.

We changed some language on this today.

It was very important.

Say that again.

We changed some language on this uh between yesterday and today, and I want to thank councilman council for you know pointing those things out that are very important that again are gonna give us more schools in our toolbox to be able to enforce against these slum lords, absentee landlords, and I appreciate his uh his looking out for this, and again the BA, thank you, and uh to Madam Clerk, thank you for getting this done.

Thank you, Councilman.

The ordinances adopted today, our first reading will be advertised in accordance with law, and a public hearing will be held at a regular meeting on April 1st or soon thereafter in the council chamber.

At its starters, 7R1 AS is the acceptance of a gift for license of the 2026 state and city address.

Council as a whole to adopt.

ROCO.

Council members bay.

Yes.

Council?

Yes.

Gonzalez?

Yes.

Kelly?

Yes.

Quintana?

Ramos?

Yes.

Scott Roundtree.

Yes.

Silva absent.

President Crump.

Yes.

7R2HAS is the redevelopment agreement authorize the execution of an agreement for the sale and redevelopment of land in the city of Newark.

Sponsored by Councilwoman Bay.

Second by Councilwoman Scott Rountree.

ROCO.

Council Members Bay.

Yes.

Council?

Yes.

Gonzalez.

Yes.

Kelly?

Yes.

Quintana?

Yes.

Ramos.

Yes.

Scott Roundtree.

Yes.

Silva absent.

President Crump.

Yes.

7R2IAS is a resolution of support for tax credits sought by developer under the Aspire Tax Credit Program.

Council as a whole to adopt.

ROCO.

Council members bay.

Yes.

Council?

Yes.

Gonzalez.

Yes.

Kelly.

Yes.

Quintana.

Yes.

Ramos.

Yes.

Scott Roundtree.

Yes.

Silva absent.

President Crump.

Yes.

7R8EAS is waiving special event application permit fees for the Juan Pablo Duarte celebration.

Sponsored by Councilman Quintana.

Can I have a second, please?

Second.

Second by Councilman Gonzalez.

Roll call.

Council members bay.

Yes.

Council?

Yes.

Gonzalez.

Yes.

Kelly.

Yes.

Quintana.

Yes.

Ramos.

Yes.

Scott Roundtree.

Yes.

Silva?

Yes.

President Crump.

Yes.

And and I'll second the second one.

Thank you.

7R8 FAS is a whole harmless and indemnification agreement for the Women's History Month luncheon.

Sponsored by Councilman Council.

Second by Council President Crump.

ROCO.

Council Members Bay.

Yes.

Council?

Yes.

Gonzalez.

Yes.

Kelly.

Yes.

Quintana.

Yes.

Ramos.

Yes.

Scott Roundtree.

Yes.

Silva.

Yes.

President Crump.

Yes.

8IAS is an ordinance authorizing the mayor to authorize the sale and transfer of property for sale and redevelopment.

Motion to advance and adopt on first reading as 6 F D.

Sponsored by Councilwoman Bay.

Second by Councilwoman Scott Roundtree.

ROCO.

Councilmembers Bay.

Yes.

Council?

Yes.

Gonzalez.

Yes.

Kelly.

Yes.

Quintana?

Yes.

Ramos.

Yes.

Scott Rountree.

Yes.

Yes.

President Crump.

Yes.

Again, the ordinance adopted today on first reading will be advertised in accordance with law, and a public hearing will be held at a regular meeting on April 1st or soon thereafter in the council chamber.

Council President, Council members, that concludes the agenda for this.

Thank you, Madam Clerk.

Anything before motions from the council.

Yeah, just some announcement.