It's a little weird though to look at you guys now without the glass, but it's a nice look, something different.

Um, you know, it's really hard because the person was being from not speaking here anymore and it just realized that I don't think you guys realize people didn't just run to just run against you, your constituents are suffering, and I don't think we understand the urgency of what's been going on in this community.

People come up here with their concerns, but yet we're not getting the responses.

And I want to ask going forward, because someone stated to me, well, since you lost, are you gonna work with folks?

I've been trying to work with folks and make suggestions.

I just don't come up here with just things that I want to talk about.

And for those who are parked in the front, eight o'clock, they're giving out tickets, so make sure you move because you guys put in this special events in place, which I don't understand why, because many people can't afford to park in the parking lots, but yet they wait till six o'clock because we still have four to six towing, which I still don't understand why that has been a rule and it's still a rule when businesses are trying to get money, but yeah, everybody's getting ticketed and told from four to six.

That's a very prime time.

So I would ask if we go forward to look into why is that a rule and why is it still in effect?

And then after six o'clock, we have till 12 o'clock the special events when you don't tell people.

So people like myself who come to the meetings and have nowhere else to park are getting tickets.

So then when you get a ticket and you don't report it right away, or it's fast track to hurry up and suspend you, you know how much you just paid to talk up here for two minutes.

But I just asked you to start looking into things that will help benefit because you already raised the tickets to 85, and it's like, why?

That's hurting the constituent.

You know, how is that benefiting?

I know we need to bring money in, but can we find other ways?

You know, people don't understand that now we have good debt going on, but when all these people talked about the debt before, I never heard of good debt, but that's a new term.

I want us to go forward to maybe start having real conversations and making real solutions.

We can't do it in the five minutes.

We need to have real town hall meetings where you come and talk to the constituents with their ideas, not your prepared agenda.

But if you don't engage with us, how do you expect to lead us?

Yes, you got back in, but do you realize how many people spoke up about their concerns?

But yet, no one's following up with us.

People are taking out time to come here to say something to you.

Well, what are we gonna do?

How are we gonna resolve it?

I get it.

You have the position, but we still had a power too.

So I want to remind folks.

Yes, this election was different.

I want to thank Young Blood for coming out because you brought the spark.

We didn't lose, we just didn't get in at this moment.

Your mayor before this, he went, he keeps saying 12, but it's like 16.

But I just want to say this.

We need to work together in order to get things done.

Yes, you have the position, but yet you're not engaging with us to go forward.

If you want North to really move forward, start talking to the people and start finding out why we're bringing these concerns.

We're not just here to be complaining.

Because I would like to know how do you put a landlord on the slum list?

Because my door has been illegally locked since March.

Oh, and I'm gonna say again, illegally locked out since March.

I'm not gonna put on blast who knew about it, but it's not resolved.

And we're supposed to have a meeting next month in June, but that's not on the books.

I want to thank you.

Have a good evening.

Thank you for your comments next speaker.

Darnella Lee.

I do not see Miss Lee.

Marilyn Sowell.

Marilyn Sowell.

Up here.

Hello, I'm Marilyn Sowell, North resident, my entire life.

I'm here today because I felt I wasn't clear at the prior meeting.

I'm in a horrifying situation that threatens the welfare of my family and uh.

I'm sorry, Miss Hole, before you continue, you pull the mic down a little bit so we can really hear you.

Okay, thank you.

I'm in a a horrifying situation that threatens the welfare of my family and I.

This situation will create serious problems for everyone.

Everyone's future.

If this is not rectified immediately, last year, North Airport, Air Towers lost control for a total of six minutes.

My jaw dropped when I seen this on the news.

I knew instantly how that happened.

I have witnessed cyber control and is a victim to their attacks being performed cyberly.

Each year that pass, the control grows.

I'm sorry.

Cyberly, each year, that pass the control worsened.

I can't take much more of this.

I really need some relief.

I do not want to be the first person to have a loved one die from someone using AI maliciously.

Now, North has a criminal cyber unit.

The definition to investigate crimes over the internet.

Can anyone tell me why they kept pushing me away?

If they knew and heard about the things that I was suffering from, Cyberstalkers was doing this back in 2019.

When the court shut down and resumed from COVID, I was there all the time, written many letters.

If they had done their job, my cyberstalkers would not be targeting my 76-year-old sister.

She almost died with their with their malicious controlling.

It continuously manipulates her medical devices.

I'm afraid to go to the doctor myself, because I know of their control.

We're living in different times, which promotes different crimes.

I'm restricted from using an oven.

My refrigerator is turned down.

The moment I'm getting off work, I come home, my ice trays are filled with warm water.

My washing machine stops on one second in attempts for me not to unlock it and pull the clothes out.

My bathroom bubs, they last two years, mine lasts every four months.

I'm restricted from watching certain episodes on TV or the news.

I can't even, I can't even cook a beef patty.

I uh I did some recording Tuesday on what it's like to use my microwave.

Sabotage is their motive.

If that's not, if that's not criminal, maybe this is my job, my paychecks cut in half, restricted from my dollar raise that's issued every January.

Vacation days, six days don't exist.

Federal taxes not being withheld in attempt for me to hold IRS.

My PSNG bill is at a shutoff point because of the cyber stalking.

They even stop distribution of certain items from getting to shop right in Walgreen.

My home is where they monitor everything that I say, and then they use that against me.

Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.

I thank you.

Thank you for your comments.

Next speaker.

Felicia Austin Singleton.

She's not gonna be here, not appearing.

Robert Pernell.

Robert Pennell.

Appearing.

Okay.

Councilman Kelly, I'm sure you were that St.

Mary's Villa was sold in January.

We have new owners, new management.

This management company is worse than the other one ever was.

We finally got wet of them.

We need some help.

We have no social worker that did away with that.

We have one elevator only for one.

I've been out of order for a whole month.

One of the fire doors on this A side, second level, does not work properly.

I told the new manager about it, even when upstairs and showed it to her a couple months ago.

She said, Thank you, Mr.

Pennell.

I tell to the superintendent, no we pay her.

Uh cop in the building smells, got stains all over it.

It smells like crazy in in the building.

I know you have to, you and other council.

I have COVID for need to come up there, Councilman Kelly.

Appreciate what you can do with your aids and start issuing some issues to the new new management companies.

They don't care.

They told us, they took away all the benches in the lobby area.

We have no place to sit.

That's a violation of HUD rules.

They'll have to make accommodations.

I go down there.

Oh, we'll working.

They don't I can't get an answer from them.

We're working on it.

They refuse to meet with the residents, have a meeting with the residents, tell them what the plans are for the building.

Nothing happens.

I mean, some of the old ladies have cats and dogs.

They came up to me crying because they're changing the rules around.

Come June the first.

I'm telling these people trying to help them out, but they're old and I mean, I can't help nobody out unless I have some help from this council.

And you, Mr.

Keller, I believe that you have the power to do something about it.

You and the council of people at large with Covenant for need to have the meeting there with the residents with the new management and owners there present to find out what's going on.

But really, Covenant Force need to get start issuing some um summons for these people.

I mean, I mean, packages are being sold.

I had Amazon package stole.

They sent me a picture of where it was.

I called up the police department, the police officer came there.

He went down.

Security cameras don't work.

And I have a documentation on that and everything else before I leave.

I like to leave that with you, Councilman Kelly.

We have no extermination service.

They cut back on that.

Used to get extermination service once a month.

Now they don't even come.

I had exterminator come with with the superintendent two weeks ago because I complained to the manager.

She wouldn't even want to talk to me.

And the superintendent came in with the guy from the company.

He goes, Oh, I'm sorry, Miss, and I have nothing to kill the roaches with.

I mean, you have nothing coming with roaches.

What good is it?

So he had to use my combat jail and this had a little 50 cent glue traps he put down.

And I'll have no trouble with no mice because I got door sweeping and everything.

But you can't get nowhere with these new management.

Trying to ask them questions that goes right through the air.

Oh, we're working on it.

The senior citizens are always every some springtime.

They were allowed to go outside and spank plant gardens.

This year, they tore up the garden, told them seniors they cannot plant garden this year.

They took all the plants out of the building through them and dumps it with the benches, no benches outside.

What people who sit?

I mean, I'd take the link program.

I mean, I'd walk with a cane sometimes, but some of these people in wheelchair and everything else.

But having forbid that fire door on second floor something happens to it.

I mean, some people are going to panic and having forbidden that something happened.

And that's been like that since last year.

I complained.

But management seems not to want to do nothing.

That's why we need to, Mr.

Kelly, appreciate it.

Get there with your staff and have a meeting with this new management company with the residents and everything and find out what's going on.

Let us know what's going on.

Because now it's a Haitian population is very bad, but but some people are starting to speak up and want to complain now.

One lady, they raising right rents on people because the old management company messed up paperwork real bad.

New management company calling people down saying they owe a couple thousand dollars, four hundred dollars.

I mean, it's a mess with the old paperwork.

And they only two people in this management office, a manager herself and the unit secretary has been there.

They're overwhelmed.

They don't want to hire no help.

Like I said, we only have one maintenance guy.

We've gone through two cut stones.

They need more help.

There's 300 some apartments here.

I mean, it's a it's a mess.

I mean, I appreciate any help you can do for us, Mr.

Kelly.

You are the councilman, you've been there.

You've been at St.

Mary's, but it's okay to come out and get food, but you need to take some action.

I mean, I'll be 72 next next Wednesday.

I want to enjoy my life.

Not come up here and fight with these, trying to get something fixed or not anything else.

They made one round in March with new maintenance companies saying what needs to be fixed in departments and they don't fix nothing yet.

Mr.

Pennell, thank you for your comment.

Can I bring this up?

Uh Sylvester.

If you can get that.

Yeah, it's paper.

I don't need it back.

It's copy of extermination and the rules and everything else as you can.

Thank you.

And back to the police report says, But Council McKelly.

Thank you very much.

It's for Councilman Kelly.

You can make copies.

All right.

Thanks.

Alright, just copy.

Next speaker.

Opal R right.

I don't see Ms.

Wright.

Not appearing.

Miriam Bay.

I think I saw Miss Bay appearing.

Good evening.

My name is Mary and Bay.

And uh I'm an investor in Newark.

I'm an owner in Newark, and I work for the city of Newark.

And I just want to say um to the sister.

Nadeira.

Happy 50th birthday.

Okay.

Be happy.

Where are you, Nadira?

Oh, she left.

Okay.

I wanted to tell her happy 50th birthday because April the 6th, I turned 75 years young.

Alright.

That's right.

God is good.

Okay.

I said that in the last meeting, right?

Because I'm so grateful to God.

The reason why I'm here today is because Council McKelly, you probably saw the pictures that I posted up on Facebook, uh, but the slum lords, and why and and how the block look and also councilwoman uh round tree, you know.

And guess what?

I posted it up again when they clean the streets, and it looks so much better.

And that you know why?

Because we gotta stop letting them be slumlords.

And I met the the uh the owner next door to my home, and so I told him uh why is the garbage garbage still in front of the house, right?

And so he said, Oh, well, I'm gonna move it because he had to get rid of someone.

I said, Oh, okay.

I said, Well, I posted the pictures of he said, Are you the one who posted that?

I said, Yes, I live here.

No, I don't I don't support slum lords, but he said something that was very interesting.

If you go in the post, you'll see some of the responses, and one of the things that he said that was very true is that tenants are responsible too.

So when we sit down and have meetings about the slum lords, we have to also understand about the tenants' responsibility, too.

You know, so but the key thing is that when you see the street, it looks so much better, like it looked when I first moved on the street, and I've been there for 34 years.

Okay, so now the reason I have this young lady up here and her daughter.

I know that she's not gonna be able to speak, but I met her today for the first time, and but many of the clients that I have, they have housing issues, and when I refer them to different places, the places don't have any money, and so now I'm starting to bring them up here so that you guys can talk to her, or then, so that we can know how we can help this young woman.

She also needs employment, so what I did was I also did a her resume for her so we can help her to get a job because she's a very intelligent young woman, and her name is Miss I was Richard.

That was not, that's okay.

I'm just meeting you too.

Hare Pritchett.

Okay, and you're in the which ward are you in?

Oh, you're in the East Ward, okay.

So someone from the East Ward should should speak with you, okay.

And I just wanted to bring her up, so you guys, the ones who who uh, uh Councilman Silva, right?

Eastward, okay.

Oh, okay, okay, great.

Okay, because see the key thing is is that housing is very very important.

We can't be having our brothers and sisters, and everybody know that when I say brothers and sisters, I'm talking about black, white Latina, you don't it don't matter to me.

They're Newark residents, and we can't have them out in the streets the way that they are now, you know.

So um, that's why I wanted to bring her up and let her know that we're going to be supporting her, all right, because she's going through some things like most of the clients that I deal with are going through a lot of things.

All right.

Okay, so having said that, I just want to say thank you, and um looking forward to working with you and keeping these, turning these slum lords.

Cause I had a very nice councilman Kelly had a very nice conversation with the uh person that had all the garbage in front of their house.

And he's definitely willing to work with us.

So that's a good thing.

Yes.

Thank you.

Thank you for your comments.

Next speaker.

Deborah Simmons.

Deborah Simmons.

Hi.

Hi, my name is Deborah Simmons.

I have came out of the conservative uh prison with Mary Ann Bay helping me out.

And I'm at this point of now out of work.

I'm doing the right path for citizenship.

And I have got honored with Mark Mark Obama, mayor, a lot of the boys.

The problem that I'm having right now is I'm in the YMCA right now for shelter.

I was staying in my car, living inside my car.

I had to get denial from the welfare, and they kept giving me the runaround with the denial paper.

But eventually they eventually gave it to me.

So I went to one 10 Williams Street.

The lady named Miss Weathers, she's helped helping me out too to get a voucher.

So I go back.

She said, be on them, gave her all my information and everything.

She said, be on them because it goes to our next person in 10 Williams Street.

I said, okay, I get there this morning.

So the lady said, Oh, you're Miss Simmons, I wasn't trying to get in contact with you.

She said, You're not eligible for a voucher.

I said, Why is that?

She tells me you have to be disabled or on drugs or um mental illness.

I said, I don't have none of that.

So I won't be qualified for that.

So I said, Oh, I gotta stay in a while for two or three years to order get eligible for anything, housing that goes underneath my income of my work.

I am a productive citizen of working and trying to go the right path and not go down that road back again.

And it's very hard to do that.

It's very hard out here.

I just ask for just for a little help.

That's all I have to say.

Yes, I have my sponge.

I do have my spongy, and that took that took a long time, Mary and Bay helped me with that.

That took like 10 years for me to get, and then I still the way it was a process.

And once I got that of this year, 2025, I got a job.

I couldn't get no job with that without that as punchment off my head.

It was living hell for me.

And it seemed like I'm going through living hell again without sheltering.

And that's all I asked is just for that little bit of help.

That's all I have to say.

Thank you for your comments.

I was somebody, one of our officers will come and speak to you, Miss Simmons.

Next, Helene Freeman.

I do not see Miss Freeman.

Oh, you're in the corner, Miss Freeman.

Can't see you.

Appearing.

When I become mayor, we become mayor.

I'm still the mayor, Freeman.

Once again, I'm placing on the public record my ongoing complaints regarding catastrophic consequences of this administration and the prior administration.

Booker don't get a uh free ride.

Uh uh, deliberate failure to enforce housing, sanitation, uniform construction codes throughout the city.

Um, and I've been complaining for over 12 years.

On May 17th, the one stable one family home that had been illegally converted into a dilapidated, overcrowded, slum-filled with itinerants, surrounded by accumulated refuse, caught fire in my neighborhood, and the property had been repeatedly reported to the city.

Children visiting the neighborhood saw the blaze, and before emergency responders arrived, the children attempted to put the fire out.

They went door to door knocking on people's doors, trying to warn them, and the itinerants refused to respond.

When they applied water to the flames, the fire intensified, placing them in immediate danger.

And yes, Mr.

Counsel, I filmed everything.

And for approximately eight minutes, the children were forced to risk their own lives attempting to contain the fire that should have never occurred and had this city enforced its laws.

You have endangered children who have attempted to stop the blaze.

The undocumented and vulnerable residents forced into unsafe crowding housing.

Adjacent homeowners and surrounding properties, the entire neighborhood now subjected to repeated fire hazards, flooding, rodent infestation, biohazards, and collapsing infrastructure.

This is the second fire in less than two months.

Another illegal converted uh house caught ablaze, and uh it had to be attacked by two sides of the street because the uh the overcrowding and uh parking prevented the uh firefighters from getting close enough to the building.

Um, residents now dealing with illegal overcrowding, persistent flooding.

Like I said, rodent infrastructure, rodent infestation, biohazard, fire hazards from unlawful conversions, parking shortages that also impeded response to the fire, uh, public urination and defecation uh linked to the overcrowding and transient people that I've caught on tape and submitted to you as well.

Accordingly, I demand emergency inspections of illegally converted and overcrowded properties, immediate enforcement of the uniform construction code and fire safety regulations, public disclosure of all complaints and violation and enforcement action connected to these properties involved in May 17th fire and the fire prior to that.

A moratorium on approvals for additional high density development projects until infrastructure, sanitation and enforcement capabilities are independently reviewed, independent of its investigation of the systemic failures with uh code enforcement and housing oversight, public hearings specifically addressing illegal overcrowding sanitation collapse, fire hazard citywide.

You had a homeless woman saying she's living in her car when you get millions of dollars to take care of the homeless.

You have supposed to have some type of housing program that's supposed to prevent homelessness.

Why is this woman here having to talk to you?

And all of you looking disinterested, Ramos, except for uh Reverend Brown Tree.

And a little bit from Kelly, I'm surprised.

Like he had a little bit of emotion on his face when she came up and spoke.

Um, this is unacceptable.

And Mr.

Purnell, you weren't paying attention to him.

I've been in his building.

St.

Mary's is a rodent-infested, um uh vermin-infested rat trap where you go and house um uh go and uh wrestle votes away.

Get these people to sign your petitions so that you can come back over here and sit.

You're holding these old people hostage, and you give them nothing but stale cookies and Vienna sausages, and then everything is dirty and filthy.

I wish I had smell a vision because I recorded all of that and sent it to HUD.

This is unacceptable.

And you sat up there and you heard him plead with you, and you're like, oh, we're gonna have somebody talk to you.

You should have had people when you were over there trying to hustle those votes and get your petition signed, you should have had people talking to them.

I know that they complain to you.

Unacceptable.

Thank you for your comments.

Next speaker.

Sharonda Allen.

Sharonda Allen.

Not appearing.

Munir Richards, Minea Richards, Manea Richards.

Not appearing.

Reginald Turner.

Regional Turner.

Appearing.

Good afternoon, everybody.

Good afternoon.

Everyone.

This is an incident that happened.

I'm in a 1060 Raw Street.

Oh, my name is Reginald Turner.

Incident, I'm at 1060 Graw Street.

I'm a resident there, so uh this altercation that uh take place like this, like the third time.

The staff or the workers, should I say, pushes the trash on the elevators while with our residents while we're on the elevators.

So I asked him respectfully, can you wait to the next elevator?

Which I was informed it's the elevator in the back, he's supposed to use.

So he said no.

So he tried to pull it on.

I have the uh documentation of what happened afterwards.

So through my emotions, I had just came from the emergency room.

I had got a uh ammonia shot, and I had some something on my lungs, so I had medication for it.

So now by this taking place at the same time that's happened on the 30th.

But I'm breathing by me breathing, uh kid poisons like secondhand smoke, different type of things get me sick because of my immune system is down.

But getting back to the point, I did, I I pushed it, I pushed the uh dumpster off the uh what you call off the elevator, which I could have dealt with it better, but going through my emotions of my sickness.

Now, I don't see how days go by.

And also went downstairs, explained the matter right after it happened and went to the office.

Two days later, this is in my door, no notice of lease violation, disturbance.

It was reported that on 4 30 26, you verbally assaulted one of our maintenance staff members and push his cart off the elevator.

I did push it, but he verbally came at me first when I asked him respectfully.

He he he's I'm not racist, but he's Hispanic, and he had no professional way of dealing with the situation.

He's already been working there for years, and it's like that's it's not even the only thing that's going on.

It's a lot of things going.

I'm gonna come back here with a list of things they do for the maintenance department.

It's a lot they threaten, I done watched them, threatened some people sitting on, you can't smoke out here, I'm gonna write you up, I'm gonna evict you, and it's a lot of things going on.

So getting back to the point, I respectfully ask if it's there's a way that they could uh use another elevator because it's not only is it a health hazard, but you got people older than me.

I just Monday I turned 60 64 and it's people older than me.

They have breathing problems, they have a little uh oxygen tanks.

But uh for this for me to get this warning for the violation or or or threat to be evicted, if I just but you have staff members that's very disrespectful there, and I washed them, I watched them on the side, talking like to the residents like the animals.

But I'm very quiet.

I just walk through because I don't disrespect nobody, but I'm gonna stand up for what's right.

And sometimes when I speak, I'm speaking for them too, because some of them can't even come down here.

They're in wheelchairs.

I'm grateful to have the limbs or whatever I have at 64 years old because I was athletic and I took care of myself a lot of my life.

But getting back to the point, they're very disrespectful.

I'm not trying to touch with you, but it's like I don't know if you're the supervisor or manager, but they got their little thing going on.

They plant fear in the fear in a lot of them.

It's like, yeah, because they're seniors, and some of them would love to come in because they tell me a lot of things, but by the time I get upstairs, I'll be wanting to write it down, but I forget, but I'm gonna have a list next time I'll let y'all know what they're doing because it's disrespectful.

And it takes more than that to fear me, you know.

That's all I gotta say.

Thank you for listening.

Thank you for your comments, huh?

I'm kinda miss back.

Miss Bay.

Ms.

Mary and Bay.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Uh, thank you.

Next speaker, Deborah Sanders.

Deborah Sanders appearing.

Good evening.

Council President, Council members, and members of the administration.

My name is Deborah Sanders, and I want to thank you for the opportunity to speak tonight.

I'm here because I need your assistance.

We need your assistance or in addressing a serious and ongoing issue involving best management.

I am not only speaking for myself, I'm speaking for my neighbors, many of whom are seniors, disabled, long-term tenants, and people who are afraid to speak publicly because of how they may be treated afterwards.

What we are experiencing is not simply poor management.

It is a systematic intimidation through neglect, passive aggressive harassment tactics, a pattern of deliberate non-response, and institutionalized disregard for tenants and where they live.

Best management behavior has created fear, confusion, and unsafe living conditions.

Since they took over management, four of my tenants, four of my neighbors have moved out because they became emotionally exhausted from the constant phone calls, sometimes four and five calls before 11 o'clock in the morning asking them to move.

I have also recorded conversations, which I'm willing to personally provide to council where representatives from best management discuss wanting a tenant removed from the property.

No resident, especially seniors, disabled tenants or long-term North residents should feel pressured out of their home through repeated calls, intimidation, and psychological exhaustion.

I have a neighbor who's a paraplegic and has an 89-year-old mother in his apartment.

They've lived there for approximately 35 years, and best management has called them almost daily, wanting to know when can I get my apartment back?

His sister is trying to find another place for them, but has been finding it very, is finding it very difficult.

This type of repeated pressure on a disabled resident is not professional management.

It is psychological pressure placed on seniors and disabled residents.

They have offered different amounts of money to different tenants, some zero, some 2,000 to 4,000 and even $9,000.

There is no clear explanation for this behavior, no consistency and no transparency.

Parking has also become inconsistent and unfair.

For the first time, tenants are being charged different amounts of money.

In my case, I wrote a letter about the cars being parked along the fence and making it difficult to park safely.

I can still pay my rent, but I have been blocked from paying from the for the parking which was included.

This is not normal business practice.

This feels retaliatory to me.

Other neighbors have been restricted at different times from paying their rent altogether.

Some from October of last year, some from January of this year.

This is not normal business practice.

Other neighbors, when a tenant is willing to pay and management blocks payment or manipulates payment access, this creates unnecessary fear and confusion.

There are serious maintenance concerns.

We have had snowstorms, and my son and two other neighbors have cleared this huge parking lot, not best management.

Since best management took over, our hallways for two months were pitch black, and they would not repair the problem with public service.

Recently, I took my car for an oil change and was told that a rodent had eaten parts of the engine cover.

My other neighbor over here, her wires were eaten up from rodents.

Rent increases have been unreasonable.

One neighbor was charged, not one, many neighbors were charged $400 for a rent increase.

I went to rent control and was told and got the information which was showed the allowable amounts that Newark has rules for.

Tenants have rights, and management companies should not be allowed to ignore the law and then pressure residents who question them.

Respectfully, I dispute best management logos.

We do the best for our customers.

The best for customers is not ignoring calls.

The best is not pressuring seniors and disabled tenants.

The best is not blocking payments, the best is not leaving hallways dark.

The best is not forcing tenants to clean common areas or pay out of pocket for repairs.

The rest of it, I have given you all a copy.

Thank you, Mr.

Saunders.

I don't know if you said what building.

Which building?

380 384 South Sixth Street, 16th Avenue.

So several buildings you're referring to.

Yes, several.

All right.

I believe somebody's gonna speak to you right behind you from one of councilwoman Bay's office.

Yes, Ms.

Edwards.

We'll take care of it.

Thank you so much for this.

Yes.

Thank you.

Next speaker.

Donna Jackson.

All right.

First of all, let me say congratulations.

Congratulations.

Congratulations to you.

I think I think you'll be sitting right here when you come up next.

Right in the middle?

Okay.

Sounds good to me.

You're close here in here.

Let's get the let's get the fire started.

Amen.

Amen.

What God has for me, no man can block.

Amen.

360 years this city is this year.

Full circle.

It's time for the dynamite to come.

And I'm on my way.

I came to work Wednesday, the 13th.

My clickboard, my pad.

I walked around.

Didn't like nothing I saw.

This building is out of control.

I don't even know who was working and who wasn't working.

But I got notes.

I got notes.

When are we gonna let the employees know they're gonna be laid off?

Because y'all know that's coming.

Councilman Rainbows, thank you for the questions yesterday.

Thank you.

Y'all know what time it is.

Let's stop playing, stop playing, right?

Because when I get up there, I got the book now.

So when they ask how much something costs and how much you spent, I'm gonna flip to the page and tell them.

Ain't gonna be no go to the clerk's office and open it.

That's not that's it's over.

So the jig is up.

God sent me, and it's over, it's fully over, y'all are complicit in these budgets not being done.

You are complicit with these employees not making money.

You are complicit with people running out of this city.

You are complicit with slum lords, managers that abuse people in this town, and you let them because they give you money.

You never thought on your brightest day that I'll be standing here.

Got my shirt on, not my shirt on.

Because I'm ready for work.

And let me tell all of y'all that I need a suit, I need to get my hair done.

I can't even say it no more, but you already know.

I'm coming in uniform.

I ain't coming to be cute.

It's nothing cute going on in this city, desperation, people dying, people that's working sleeping in their car.

We do nothing.

How did y'all let two whole buildings get closed down over at Creshma?

How is the legionnaires in this building since September of last year?

Ain't nobody impressed with y'all's new video.

Oh, we got the code enforcement out.

Oh, we're gonna pick up the trash.

Oh, we're doing a neighborhood cleanup.

Who cares?

When people can't breathe, who cares when people go to the hospital with pneumonia?

These fires is out of control.

You still do nothing, you say nothing.

The silence is over because I'm here.

It's not gonna be swept under the rug anymore.

It's over.

Y'all are letting firefighters get killed, get sick.

You're letting residents get killed, get sick.

Because you're letting these abandoned buildings sit.

When you got 15 people in here to national, can they buy the band of building?

No, you're not in the club.

You got people living next door to the band of buildings been there since y'all been sitting here, since this administration been in, since Corey administration.

And you gotta invest what?

Invest in yourselves, not invest Nork, because we have invested in no one.

Where's the madness emergency plan?

If I had not gone over the crushman yesterday, them seniors probably still be standing outside today.

It was 90 degrees yesterday.

And I did a live.

And I don't care what the restrictions of this office are because I'm still a person, I'm still an advocate.

It ain't gonna change.

Stop calling me telling me who's gonna be my staff.

Because I don't need no help.

See, I already had my team when I was running.

That's why I only needed 1900.

Because I got the people on my back, the people on my back.

I wear my city.

I put on for my city.

Nobody else don't put on for this city like me.

Nobody.

And guess what?

I'm international now.

Got a call today from Ghana.

Say go girl.

You go girl.

Ghana.

Doing food pantry.

Hmm.

I told her send the garbage trucks back though.

Send the garbage trucks back.

Demolition happening.

No water.

No permits.

Y'all letting all this asbestos and stuff go in the air.

Y'all killing people.

I don't know who the new code enforcement director is, and there's no disrespect.

But is she licensed?

Does she have the uniform construction code badge?

Y'all just hiring people.

Stop it.

And it's not personal to the young lady, because I don't know what maybe I'll do.

I don't know.

But y'all gotta stop this.

Every department is a failure.

Everyone.

Oh, we're doing good over here.

We're doing good over.

Where?

Where?

Where?

Tell them when, shut up.

Tell the workers when the layoffs are going to come.

How deep the cuts is going to be.

Because let me tell y'all something.

When you start laying them off, they're gonna be on my back too, and y'all gonna be gone.

Trust my word.

Thank you for your comments.

Next speaker.

Jocelyn Moore.

Appearing.

Good evening.

My name is Jocelyn.

Good morning.

I said good evening.

My name is Johnson and Moore, and I'm a citizen at 224 Cesar's Avenue.

And I'm an activist.

I'm speaking for the people.

But when I was talking to them today and yesterday, before, thank you.

Before I'm a little short one.

Before leaving, my answer to some of those statements was this.

If you have a house or an apartment, and you are redecorating, and the wall is really messed up, you don't even like it.

Your wall is just a straight wall, plain wall, but the wall is like a brick.

Do you tear down the wall?

Or do you change your decoration plan?

And what I I'm saying that to say this, as far as changing the administration's concern, I just don't see it right at this point.

Although it's not for me to say.

This man, this man, I have to honestly say that because the topic of my uh speech was to be um do we need a new mayor or do we need a new city?

And the reason I said that is because it's like you wouldn't destroy a whole wall, you would just decorate, fix it up, because this man has a vision.

And like I was telling some of the people there, when you have a vision and like he has a vision, we're part of it because we're here.

Let's give it a chance and let's just see.

I'm not vouching for or against, I'm speaking for the people.

Think about that.

But what I do want to say is this as being an ex-landlord for most of my life in order to even survive.

I was just kind of thinking and looking at High Street and some of the other streets that you have.

And why not, for once, be on behalf of the landlords?

Because I was a landlord.

Some of that money you're spending.

Why not put it in some of those buildings?

Those are very good buildings, although they're oh, we need homes.

The people at 224 asked me to speak.

We need some place to stay, and we do not want our families dismantled and separated anymore.

Please consider that, Chairman Ward and Ms.

Mayor.

Thank you.

Thank you for your comments.

Next speaker.

Chesaree Adams.

That's right, Adams.

I don't know if I saw him.

Cesare Adams, not appearing.

Chay Coulter.

Check out.

I don't see.

Oh, there he is, appearing.

Mr.

President, I know you're not there right now, so whoever's assuming the former role as vice president, I would ask the person to speak, step up at this time.

I'm going to elect Quintana to do that.

So I'm addressing Mr.

Quatana as the president.

Mr.

President, Chay Coulter, Che Coulter, I'm talking to you, President Quintana says the president, Mr.

Crump has stepped away.

I'm coming this evening to address you as a parent, father, and the citizen of North, the working class Nork.

First, we want to salute the fact that Donna Jackson has exercised her civic right to return to a formal representation in the at-large capacity.

We need her service, dedication, commitment, persistence, and legislation to work with all other eight of her colleagues.

In addition to that, we want to look at not only the issues of the budget, but be squarely.

Good evening, Mr.

President.

Good evening.

So we'll surrender position back to Mr.

Crump from Mr.

Quintana at this time, since he's back present with us in terms of Robert's rules of order.

I'm here, Mr.

President, this evening to address your counsel that this government, we hold these truths to be evident that this government is broken and out of control.

And thank God for sending us a sign of Miss Donna Jackson being duly elected and formally elected by the citizens of North.

I come today rising, I rise today as a father, taxpayer, working class North, to both congratulate Miss Amina Bay on her victory.

And although I was on the other side, I want to encourage you on working across and collaboratively to encourage a better administrative science in this next term.

I'll congratulate Mayor Rasbaraka on his re-election, although uh we know that there is better programmatic thrust and administrative functions that we need to service all 500,000 Norkers.

We are putting the South Ward residents on due notice that you are in fact in a runoff election.

We have business to still complete residents.

I'm talking to you moms, I'm talking to you dads.

I'm talking to you, Mr.

President himself.

We have uncompleted homework in the South Ward in the form of a runoff.

And we want to not only elevate a spirit of passion for North, but we don't want it to end in a spirit of hate.

Our changes and our choices of changes on the menus of political elections are the rights of the people, prerogatives of people, and the tradition of the people.

We were freed as slaves in 1865.

Why are we still conducting ourselves as slaves in 2026?

I wrote a speech, but I threw it in the trash because the one thing that I want to see out of this out of the mayor in congratulating him in the new election is for him, Donna Jackson, and Luis Scott Roundtree to go meet with the president of the United States, regardless of his political thing, because I think, and Mr.

President, you can come with them too if you're still the president.

But we got stuff to do with New York Housing Authority.

We can't be feeling no kind of way against Trump.

We need some people in the room that's going to sit across the room from him, save the uh nonprofit, non-violence money.

If they're saying Trump's gonna take it off the table, you gotta take people like Don Jackson, Louis Scott Roundtree, and Amina Bay in the room with you, Mr.

President, to get it done.

Trump don't understand Norfolk.

So it'll take you and Miss Roundtree to take him around to explain why we need the money.

We want to have Mr.

Pence up so late at night.

And I'm speaking in the mic, and thank you, sisters and brothers, Deborah, Sheila, everyone.

I leave, everybody.

I appreciate all 500,000 residents.

And I came here from work, and I want y'all to remember the working class norker.

I know my speech is not so formally structured this evening.

Next time I'll come with it written.

But Mr.

President, I want you and the mayor and Miss Roundtree and Miss Jackson to go meet with President Trump, regardless of politics to save the programs and the funding of the programs.

That's my concern.

And for us to do what Ken Gibson did and what Sharp James did, whether it was Reagan or Bush, Clinton or Obama, Trump or Biden, that y'all will represent all 700,000 of the residents.

And we're up to a million at some points in time, depending on the pace of traffic.

So I'll conclude with the fact of please don't treat the public safety budget like an unwanted stepchild next year and next year's budget.

Can you not treat the public safety like an unwanted stepchild?

Because what you do is you drive crime higher.

And then we gotta deal with crime before we call the police.

That's what I'm asking you to do, Mr.

President.

Don't treat public safety next year like an unwanted stepchild.

Get serious about it.

Listen to Silver.

Get in these meetings.

Find out from Gonzalez what we need taxbook based wise and work with our big sister Donna Jackson in this new elective season.

Thank you.

And so God be the glory.

Thank you for your comments.

Next speaker.

Not appearing.

Oh, this is.

Okay.

Appearing.

Let's let's have let's have some quiet in the chamber so we can hear speaker.

We still gotta come here, don't we?

Oh, I got a new name for y'all.

Good riddance.

Council eight.

That's our new name.

Because we ain't gonna include that one council person.

New York residents.

Oh, we've been coming here 30 years.

The fight continues.

Though we fatigue, exhausted, bitter, angry, the fight continues.

New workers, four more years.

I said it yesterday, of slavery.

Because that's what they run in this uh city hall like a plantation, plantation politics is what you call it.

Corruption, mismanagement, poor municipal services, and the list could go on.

Y'all ain't gonna get no better.

You got people, what, 30, 40 years?

You only got 3,000 the last two years.

You went from almost 5,000 to three.

Norfolk ain't even pleased with you.

But they settling, and they ain't even coming out for you.

We gotta please make the call.

Because you said it in that text, balance.

When you say balance, it's the ballots.

Make the call for a ballot investigation.

And I guarantee you, none of y'all ain't here.

You just stole the election again.

And that's what y'all been doing.

And I'm gonna get you how you stealing it.

Also call to end the mailing ballots.

And call in for voter identification.

And also make sure they legal, cuz somebody just went and got diet the other day, right?

They wasn't even legal voting.

It's a lot of this stuff been going on for years.

Term limits is a must.

And there's a movement uh on term limits.

Anybody interested, we're gonna join a movement.

Fiscal mismanagement fiscal management is desperately needed in the city.

Now Ron Rice left out, and I Ron was good with legislation.

Oh my god.

I miss some daily with that, but all that other Kubaya stuff he talk about on the internet.

He created a budget advisory committee for the residents so we can sit on and be a part of the budget, right?

And I want to talk about the budget.

You got somebody making $300,000 a year, and having delivered a budget in all those years that he's been here in a timely manner.

Late budgets, uh, a 300k salary with no return on investment, a budget deficit, no revenue generating ideals or no nothing, a billion dollar budget, and nothing's in it but lifelong Norkers.

It is just a crying out shame.

And y'all just sit here and disallow this man with a 300k salary.

We called on a state, we called on everybody to look into our budget, and we warned you, Norkers.

We warned you.

How many times we came up here and asked for a forensic audit on our budget?

How many times we called on for his removal?

And y'all did nothing.

So what is four more years of nothingness?

Barack are you going down the history as the worst black and Latino administration in the history of New York?

Your leadership is a void, though you are selected.

Show us your accomplishment for the residents.

It's nothing.

It's nothing.

Oh, you guys get you on there with your kumbaya speeches on Facebook and social media.

Rock my Kubaia speech, Tariq Tucker, Kumbaya speech.

You uh pet counsel the other day, kumbaya speeches.

You had somebody coming here that you sit on Newark Housing Authority as a commissioner, crying out to you about 130 Chancellor Avenue, and all you came to say is what?

Oh, oh, send it to my uh representative.

Thank you for your deserve another seat.

Next speaker, Asia Norton, for South War, run him out of all.

Say my name, Keisha.

I'm sorry if you didn't hear me.

I did say Cassandra.

Appearing.

Okay, I'm here.

Cassandra Doc.

Congratulations, Miss Jackson.

Let me congratulate your campaign manager.

Oh, but you didn't have one.

Let me congratulate your street team then.

Oh, but you didn't have one.

Well, let me congratulate God.

And the 6,000 or more people that voted for you.

I didn't ask for your comments.

Do you want to work back?

You want to work back there again?

Okay.

Well, right, Eric.

So anybody that knows me knows that I like to talk about all levels of government.

I want us to be engaged in all levels so bad.

I want us to know what's going on with all levels so bad.

So tonight I'm gonna talk about federal and state and something that they're doing that's gonna affect both.

So, but the problem I have, because I don't know who really did it, but who did they ask?

So most of us know that the president is elected due to electoral college votes.

So now they got this new thing going around in B NP VIC law, where they want to do away with the electoral college vote.

Some of us want that to be done.

But you gotta ask the residents, do they want it to be done?

So I don't know if Murphy did it, I don't know if Mikey did it, but about 18 to 20 states have bought into this new law.

New Jersey is one of them.

So most of us know that with the electoral college vote, how that works is you have each state has two senators, and that's how you have the hundred senators in the Senate.

So Corey and Kim are ours.

And then we have the 12, New Jersey has like congressional, well, every state has congressional districts.

So New Jersey has 12.

So you take the 12 and you have the two, and that's what make up the 14.

So now with the new MPVIC law, instead of giving that those 14 to the Democrat or the Republican, whichever the delegates decide they want to do, they're now deciding to give that to whoever got the popular vote.

So at one time, Hillary would have won because he had the popular votes, and I think Gore would have won because he had the popular votes.

Trump would have won because he had both.

He had both the popular vote this time and the electoral votes this time.

The problem I'm having again, is who did they ask?

Why do we sit here?

As somebody said earlier.

Why do we just allow anything to go on, not inform the residents about what's going on, don't let us decide whether or not this is something we want to do, something we don't want to do.

Why?

Why?

And why do we let people that manages these buildings disrespect us?

Because that's what they're doing.

If Donna didn't show us nothing else, she showed you that elections can be won off of what you do, or for actions.

No money.

So guess what?

She ain't got answered to nobody.

So if they call her, a manager of a building call her, guess what?

She don't got to meet with them.

Just get over there and fix it.

That's it.

That's it.

As a matter of fact, I'll meet you over there.

Fix it.

That's what you should be telling them.

Fix it.

Now, okay, Cassandra, say it right.

You can say blacks.

It's going to be six blacks, three Latinos.

Who we gonna blame?

Huh?

Who we gonna blame?

Because they're the minority.

Who you say it right, Cassandra?

Black people, who you gonna blame?

If it's F'd up, if we homeless, if we don't have employment, who the F are we going to blame?

Blacks, blacks.

I want to call you something else, but blacks.

So then from now on, you don't need the donations.

You don't need the money.

You don't need it.

Fix it.

Thank you for your comments.

Negroes.

Next speaker.

Appearing.

Good evening, New York, Deborah Salters.

So I'm not going to congratulate any of you because you've done a terrible job with the city.

To Newark, you did not show up for yourselves.

You had an opportunity, like the sister said, do we pick a new mayor?

Do we pick a new city?

If things don't change, you're going to be kicked into a new city.

So you've been warned.

You've been given all the necessary information, and you did not show up for yourselves in this election.

I'm going to say, shame on you, district followers, because you surely are not district leaders.

Um, I don't even know that you know what your job is in the community.

Um, because we see five, and it's a bunch of you out here, and part of your job is getting the information to the community, encouraging the community to vote, translating the necessary information, and it is a travesty.

So, New York, you failed yourselves to the acting vist and the 735 of you that jumped out here, decided to get your name and lights and out here making noise and in the way.

Umgratulations, you played yourself.

Because who do we have here?

You thought you were gonna force a runoff.

What happened?

Because you don't study and you don't listen.

And this is why the administration is still here.

The ones that you complained about repeatedly, the things that you said you wanted fixed repeatedly, and you did not show up for yourselves.

So don't blame anyone but yourselves.

Because now what are you going to say?

What are you gonna say?

They have been consistent, consistently wicked, consistently wrong, but they've been consistent.

The inconsistency comes from we the people, period.

You had several opportunities to show up for yourself and you did not.

So worrying for the people is gonna be fighting a little differently, because I will not be standing here yelling at folk that you put back in office, because when you don't vote, you vote them back in.

And as Donna has showed you, your vote counts.

Those of you who say my vote don't count, they won't do what they want to do, blah, blah, blah.

Well, do you think they wanted Donna to just be?

I'm just saying.

So that shows you that your vote matters.

And to those of you who have told the people not to vote, shame on you.

Because instead of encouraging them, you help their demise.

So when you can no longer live in this city, blame yourselves because you've had plenty of opportunity.

So stop your complaining.

Stop it.

Just stop.

And also I wanted to say something.

Um, Gonzalez, thank you.

I asked you not to be a lame duck on the way out yesterday.

Very poignant questions.

I like how you put Allison Ladd on the spot.

Uh Ramos stepped in.

Oh, and you, uh, Mr.

Crump.

I was like, oh, did he forget she's the man's designee?

Because you like, wait a minute, because you're missing the point.

She was very disrespectful and she was very rude.

So don't take back the disrespect and make it cute, as in, you know, no.

She didn't show respect.

Leave it as it is, not a courtesy.

She doesn't get to have a courtesy.

You don't work for her.

Understand the power that you possess and use it.

So I was glad to see that you made her stand up here.

Now, I don't know what happened after the cameras went off, but I'm glad that you checked her yesterday.

Round tree, stop letting these men over talk you.

And every time you go to say something, it's like, oh, I didn't hear you, I didn't see you.

Speak up.

You're the one doing the work.

You are the at-large that's doing all the work out here in the streets.

So I need you to speak up.

I don't know what deal was made, bump that.

Okay, stand toes down on business.

You're up in here.

Now, things can be done, new workers, but are you willing to follow through to get it done?

Because guess what?

You know, I'm gonna work on the things I've been working on prior to the election, but as for you and your house, you better decide what you're going to do.

Because pretty soon you're not gonna be able to live here if you don't make some moves.

Now you've been told this over and over.

So I don't know if you're gonna stand up or lay down, but either way, you're gonna have to do something.

Thank you for your comments.

Next speaker.

Eddie Crockett.

Eddie Crockett, Lady Crockett, not appearing.

George Tillman Jr., Mr.

Tillman is appearing.

Good evening, Council.

Good evening, Council President.

Congratulations to all those who won in this election.

Um this war on poverty that we started back in 2025 throughout this campaign for Central Ward.

One of the things we talked about was these tax abatements and these economic incentives.

It was very surprising to me that the governor got involved in this nonpartisan election.

This election showed a lot of things and it's still ongoing.

It shows that this war is still ongoing.

There was a voter interference, that was by the state, because the governor represents all of us.

And it's nonpartisan.

But with all that, with all of that, with all of that rally and all of that money that was spent to bring all of that in, you still lost the seat.

And you still got in the runoff because of some organization, some organizing that's going on in this city.

See, it wasn't just by chance that Miss Jackson won that election.

It was the work that she did for over the years in our community.

And it's still, and she's still gonna keep continuing to work, and I'm looking forward to it.

That runoff over there, it ain't nothing personal.

It's all about Team Baraka.

I told you, you know, Team Baraka, you know, this dismantling of this administration, it all starts, you know, one step at a time.

The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.

And no, we took one step, about to take one more step.

And that's South Ward.

And it ain't nothing personal.

Like Donna said, this is God.

Intervening in our local politics.

Because we ain't got no money.

We got no money in that South Ward.

We had no money in this whole entire election.

We just been in them streets, letting people know that what's going on in the city is wrong.

They don't.

They understand now that through those tax abatements, we've been losing over two to three thousand jobs a year for the last 12 years.

We've been losing over half a billion dollars for contracts to local contractors annually because of the non-enforcement of our New York resident employment policy.

How many South Ward residents benefited from the last 12 years under this administration, all that development in the South Ward?

How many South Ward residents benefited, worked, made those jobs at $65 an hour, and was able to take care of their households?

How many of them became entrepreneurs?

How many became homeowners?

How many local contractors over in South Ward benefited for the last 12 years from all that development?

I can tell you, as a sworn employee, a whistleblower.

From the mayor's office of employment, mayor's office of affirmative action, a senior program analyst.

I can tell you that we've been losing.

I've been coming to this microphone.

We still, you still haven't, and I stayed away for the whole entire election.

We still haven't addressed this New York resident employment policy.

We still haven't addressed why New York residents aren't working.

Why are we not getting no contracts for all these economic incentives?

So, yes, I will continue to be in the South Ward.

I am supporting Asia Norton as I've been supporting it throughout this whole campaign.

It's nothing personal.

Is that we have to get a change?

We have to change this whole demographic of everything that's going on.

Thank you.

Thank you for your comments.

Next speaker.

Deborah Dawkins.

Deborah Dawkins, Deborah Dawkins, not appearing.

Council President, Council members, that concludes the hearing states.

Ordinances on public hearings, second reading, and final passage.

6P SFA is an ordinance granny.

I'm sorry, I'm sorry, before we get there.

Anything from the council?

Councilman Kelly.

Thank you, Council President.

I just wanted to um just uh address some of the things Robert uh Pennell, believe I'm saying his name right, Panel addressed.

Just wanted to let him know we were uh myself and my staff.

We went to St.

Mary's Villa, I think believe it was the end of February or the beginning of March.

I have to look to see what exact date to speak with the new management, new ownership, find out which what some of the things that were going on because we have we have reports from the tenants that they were mad about the benches being removed.

Um I don't know if the elevator is new.

I know that if they were working on the elevator, it wasn't the elevator down when we were there.

Um the main problem that they had when I when I addressed it, and they said they have a new exterminator was the rodent problem, that the building was infested with rodents.

That was the first time that I heard um somebody complain that the building was infested with rodents.

Um they said they were dealing with that with the new exterminator.

Also, um we're gonna address, I'm gonna have another meeting with them to set up a resident management meeting so you guys can address the concerns right in front of them.

The packages being stolen, we're gonna address that as well.

Um I did speak to them about cameras not working.

They assured me that the cameras will be working, but you're saying that they're still not working, so we're gonna address them.

But I just wanted to let you know some of these concerns that you brought up, we already addressed probably like the end of February or the first week of March, and I will be going back to this time.

I want the residents to be at the meeting.

Thank you for uh bringing the concerns to us, thank you, councilman.

Councilwoman Scott Bay.

Oh, Scott Bay.

I actually have a friend who's got that.

I just wanted to go forward, like to my council colleagues, because I am at large, and sometimes I miss some of these meetings, so I'm just gonna request um that when these meetings are set up throughout the city with the five ward council people, that I as an at large, I think my other colleagues would like to be invited.

A lot of times things happen and meetings are done, and we're not privy to the information.

So just as we move forward into this season, if there's a meeting with any landlord, any problem, slum lord, if I don't get the email or councilman Kelly, um, Councilman Kintana, um, uh Councilwoman Jackson at this point, she'll probably have the information, uh, but just the same, I would like to make sure.

So, in reference to St.

Mary's village, that was in February.

I think that maybe we should try to see whether we can meet with the management, and they're saying they're not allowing the tenants.

They're not like having tenant meetings.

So I don't know who the tenant person is, the new tenant person, or is it the same person?

Maybe we might want to try to put something together after you meet with management, or after management, and then give chance to hear from the tenants and see, can we go down a checklist um to see what they did repair, what they did not, so that we can have a better relationship with the tenants and their concerns.

Thank you so much.

I did that too, councilwoman.

I wasn't there.

So I'm just saying, like, yeah.

No, we we um they have a new tenant association.

Right.

The past tenant association is no longer, and they kind of had a riff with each other about what association is going to be.

So um, you know, we're dealing with a lot over there between the Haitian population, um, the old regime and the new regime, but we are we are approaching it, and it's it's not as bad as as uh people think we they are ready to talk.

Thank you.

Councilwoman's councilwoman Bay.

Yes, thank you, Councilman.

So, yes, so uh follow-up to councilman Calyansa, Councilwoman Scott Rowtree, um, Miss Ms.

Sanders and her um her comments about best management and the issues going on.

My office has been receiving multiple calls and people showing up um from different places.

Talk about this predatory practices that's been going on that landlords and and building owners are literally trying to harass people into eviction and harass them into vacating the property for whatever reason.

Um, and we've been working with them on this, and again, uh my staff met with just um Ms.

Sanders.

So these are there's some things that really need to happen legally to make sure that these landlords and these building owners cannot push people out arbitrarily because they want to go ahead and get larger rent and more rent for different things, um, whether they're seniors, whether they're disabled, or whether they're you know, able-bodied people going to work every day, it is legal and you cannot push people out.

So that's something that we're definitely working on, and I agree with you.

Um, we will be working together, all of our council colleagues and Ms.

Moore, um, regarding two um 224 Sussex Avenue.

We're definitely going to be following up and working with you on the situation there.

Thank you.

Thank you, Councilwoman.

Anything else from the council?

Councilman Ramos.

Yeah, thank you, Mr.

President.

I just want to um address a matter that Miss Freeman brought up.

And um, you know, I I do agree with her that the issue of illegal conversions in the city is almost at a crisis point.

And I would ask through your chair and the clerk if we can bring in the relevant departments that are involved in doing these inspections so they could explain to us um from a very basic standpoint, you know, what the inspections entail of what kind of uh right of entry do they need access to, you know.

I I identified a property, there are numerous properties in the neighborhood on Montclair Avenue and um Highland, it's it's a one family, supposed to be registered as a one-family.

I believe the city was able to get entry, and they determined that the property wasn't in violation.

But if you drive by that property, they have illegal doors that are visible from the street, they have about 12 vehicles that are parked in the parking lot.

Uh they have at least 10 different garbage cans that are identified, you know, through a magic marker, listing different apartments in this allegedly uh one family home.

So, you know, if I could see it from the street and I'm not trained as a city inspector, I I don't know how our folks are not able to uh flag some of these clear violators in the neighborhood.

And this is just one of dozens of properties, and you know, in the case where you do have a fire, there's there's safety concerns, there are parking issues associated with these um illegal conversions.

You got people living in basements, people living in garages.

You know, we we have to figure out a way um to to deal with these uh operators, and and we need to understand what the process entails.

Is it die when it go to court?

Like, what is it that that's allowing all these illegal conversions to get away with this practice?

Thank you, councilman.

I definitely agree.

At the next opportunity, let's bring in the departments.

Anything else from the council?

Administration.

Good evening, Eric Bennington Business Ministry.

Just uh really two issues.

Uh the first of which I'm gonna ask um Ben Guzman, the finance director to address him while he's coming up, I'll deal with the second issue, which relates to what one of the things that Councilman Remus just said.

There's only one department for the most part that's involved with this, and that's engineering.

They have both the UCC and code enforcement.

Uh and ancillary department is fired, so they could come as well.

Um, we're happy to have that presentation, but uh UCC is the one that addresses illegal conversions for the most part, but your concern about having a legal door and those types of things that can be seen from the street code enforcement can uh address those as well.

So we can certainly have that taken care of.

Um the new code enforcement manager was referenced as perhaps not having the appropriate qualifications, and quite frankly, she has all the qualifications necessary for the job.

She's a tire police officer with uh 25 years' experience.

The certifications I think that were alluded to are UCC certifications, subcode officials, which is not required to be the manager of code enforcement.

Uh, we think she's doing a fantastic job.

Uh she's been uh uh zealous.

There's no no question about it.

Uh, but she's been zealous in ensuring that businesses are in compliance with business licenses, fire inspection certificates, that they have to have uh appropriate health inspections for with uh food.

Um she has authorized uh the closure of businesses that have been out of compliance for years in some cases.

Uh I've actually met her at one location on Bloomfield Avenue where the the business owner had spoiled food in his container.

Uh and perhaps people think that we should give them a break and let them stay open.

Um those are not the people who would take any of that spoiled food to their families.

Those are not the people who would have uh uh rodent infested uh fruit and and vegetables uh taken home to their children, and we don't want anybody else to have to deal with that, and that manager that we have is going to continue doing that.

I think one of the things that we have to do a better job of is alerting the public and the business owners that we are coming, and we're not giving them a grace period.

Uh there is no grace period for the potential infestation that will occur to people, to uh the their children and babies who may ingest uh baby formula and other items that are expired, so there's no grace period.

So every owner should know from this microphone and elsewhere that they are subject to follow all the rules and regulations of the city of Newark and the state of New Jersey, and we're certainly going to continue to be aggressive and enforcing that.

Uh as well as Councilman Ramos, your point, uh we're gonna do a better job and a more aggressive job with residents as well.

But we have not done as good a job as we should, and uh to your point, I think I know about the place you're talking about, but we'll follow up on that as well, but but others uh as well.

In fact, I actually responded to an email today that would about a property that was brought up by a uh public speaker at the last meeting indicating that it was a firefighter who owned the building.

Well, we that that home is going to court, and I'm also gonna follow up with uh UCC to ensure that they've been appropriate cited appropriately.

There will be a discussion as to whether or not we're gonna make that property return to the status quo ante, and that means take the third floor down.

Don't know if that'll happen because if the work was done and it looks like it was done in compliance, we may give them an opportunity to have architectural drawings, open up the walls, look at the plumbing, look at the electrical, and if it was done properly, we will probably allow it to go forward, but they'll have to have a certificate of occupancy and all the co-compliance standards will have to be met.

Uh, and so that that's the approach that we intend to take.

So, everybody out there who's listening to this voice and what the council people have to say, uh you're warrant.

You all notice that uh we are coming.

If I could, if I could have um Ben Guzman speak about uh uh the comment about Moody's, I'd appreciate it.

And I'm also saying that Miss Freeman is not the one who tells me when I'm done, Council President, if you tell me I'm done, I'm done.

But Miss Freeman doesn't get to tell me we're not finished talking ever.

I could just say whatever it is I need to say unless you say stop.

Except when I'm finished, and now I am.

Mr.

Goose.

Thank you.

Okay.

Good evening, Council President, Council members, Benjamin Guzman, Acting Director of Finance.

Uh, to the BA's point uh regarding uh the recent uh Moody's Investor Services uh rating update for the city of Norwork.

Uh recently Moody's uh released a rating update for the city after the city had sold some bond participation notes.

They had decided also to update since we were uh approaching the one-year anniversary of the last uh uh ratings update from the city.

Um, Moody's has maintained the city's rating at a BAA1, uh, but they have changed our uh our outlook from stable to negative.

Uh the reasons behind that negative outlook uh is uh a number of reasons.

Primarily is uh in uh increases of inflation, cost of products, uh not just for the city of Norfolk, but also within the region.

Uh primarily, one of the uh the areas that they uh identified in their rating was the cost of health care.

Uh, due to those increased costs, and particularly the cost of health care, it has taken an effect on the city's reserves year over year.

And due to those declining reserves, that is what uh poised them to change our outlook from stable to negative.

They did point out as well that there are factors that can help us turn that around from negative back to stable.

One of the areas that they identified is that the city of Newark for its size has a moderate to low level uh of debt outstanding.

Uh and also notice that within the last five years, our outstanding debt has been declining.

Given that that puts us in a position where our we continue to pay off our debt and reduce our costs for debt service year over year.

Um, they also uh pointed out that we do have the ability and the possibility of increasing that rating back uh that outlook back to stable, uh, given that we are an anchor to many industries and many uh job opportunities, primarily the airport, the universities, and other large organizations within the city of Norway, and the increased development over the last few years that is increasing that development and that increase in revenues.

Uh, they do recognize that there are some difficulties given the current uh uh financial struggles that the city is facing.

Uh, but again, that's something that again is regional, not just I uh specifically identified to the city of Norfolk.

Something that is shared around other municipalities around us, but that we do have an opportunity to correct that uh even as soon as some point throughout this year.

Thank you, Director Councilman Ramos.

Yeah, I mean this is I'm sorry, I'm sorry, hold on one second.

Let's get the BA to come up and say, What?

Uh I just want Ben to talk about the uh gross debt relative to net $640 million and where it comes from it.

Okay.

Yeah, uh, yes, absolutely.

Uh again, uh the rating also mentioned uh the uh of the outstanding debt of 640 million.

That is the gross authorized debt that is currently outstanding for the city of North.

Uh, but that also includes uh debt that the city had issued on behalf of the school district and debt that is issued on behalf of the water and sewer utilities.

Now, due to the fact that the school's debt is qualified under state law and state qualified bond act for the schools, uh that is deducted from the gross net for the city of Norfolk.

Additionally, the debt issued for the water and the sewer departments, being that the water and sewer utilities are self-liquidating, which means their revenues exceed their expenses annually, you can deduct 100% of the utilities debt from uh our gross debt.

If we were to deduct that, those uh numbers, both the school and the utility debts from our gross debt, the city currently sits on 260 million dollars of net debt, which is what uh the city is at this point truly responsible for, because the qualified debt is guaranteed and covered by the state of New Jersey.

Thank you, Councilman Ramos.

Yeah, and I I mean this is an item that we could be here all night just going back and forth, and I think at some point we definitely need to add this to an agenda for a special meeting because you know they're sure there are a lot of questions.

Um the email that the reporter sent to us followed like a conversation with representatives from Moody's, and one of the things that was stated by whomever that individual was that one of their concerns was the fact that we were late consistently with the audited financial statement.

Is that an accurate assessment that they made in the e in the email?

And if it is, then what's being done to correct that?

Absolutely.

Historically, well, not the last few years.

A lot of that had to do with due to the COVID period, which extended the time frame, and we've been uh fighting to get back on track.

Uh the city uh has uh filed their 2024 annual financial statements.

We are already starting on the 2025 annual financial statements and uh excuse me, uh 2025 audit, uh, correct myself, which uh this year the state of New Jersey has extended the due date to August 31st.

Uh and then therefore it will be August 31st every calendar year after the close of the fiscal year for us.

Uh so we are working on completing the 2025 audit.

Uh we are uh shooting and striving for to complete it on time and being heavy filed with the state of New Jersey by that uh due date.

And when we had that conversation, can you break down the um the overall debt in terms of what what percentages or what amount is allocated towards school projects, you know, water and sewer capital projects?

I know the city borrowed money in order to pay the county share that they owed because our reval was late.

Um, you know, I'd like to see a breakdown of that 600 plus million dollars in terms of where is it parked?

You know, absolutely yes, we can provide that information for you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Councilman Gonzalez and then Councilman Silva.

What is the the due dates on the on the debt?

I believe it's more important that to how much we owe.

They say uh we have to pay that within five years, ten years, twenty years.

Well, uh councilman, your question, it varies depending on when the bonds were originally issued.

Some of the bonds that the city has issued have a uh life expectancy of 15 years, 12 years, some of them are 20, 25 years.

Uh and based on that payment schedule, that's when uh the city that's when we pay our debt services.

And you can you send us uh the detail by let's say by due date?

Let's say yes, yeah.

We we could definitely provide that to you with all our outstanding issues.

We could provide you when they're due and and when when the city pays those.

Yes, yes, yes, yes.

Thank you, Councilman Silva.

Uh, yeah.

So uh I don't know if you can answer this question, the BA.

Um, I saw a couple of things in the article that said that either we get state aid or raise taxes, and I'm just concerned what a reval next year.

Are our residents gonna see any s changes or significant increase in their taxes for 2026?

Thank you.

Uh Eric Pennington Business Administrator to uh Councilman Silva.

Reval, again, is a rebalancing of the budget.

It does not increase the budget at all.

There's a zero dollar increase associated citywide with the revaluation.

What it does is it looks at the property values and recreates the assessment based at what the actual values of the properties are.

So it's a zero sum game.

So that means that there are some properties that could go up, and there's some properties that could go down.

What we're also have to be taken into consideration is since the last revaluation, we've had tremendous growth in industrial properties being built, warehouses being built, and other commercial properties, some of which are not in the tax base at the appropriate level either.

It is highly likely that those properties will be assessed at a higher level, and so the residences are not going to take a particularly uh significant increase in their taxes.

The tax rate will be the same for everybody.

Businesses, commercial, individuals, the tax rate is going to be what the tax rate is.

Um, so it will make a determination as to whether or not your house has improved in value relative to your neighbor's house, uh house's value.

So that's what's going to happen.

But there's not going to be some huge increase in one location versus another.

Oh, I have a qu uh question.

Anything else from the council?

So has the city performed any analysis or or let's just say analysis on revaluation as how it may affect different regions in the city?

Uh no, we have to get uh information from the revaluation company, which we expect to get in the fourth quarter.

We will have that information, and it'll lay out uh where the changes are uh in in the city, and but again, if if we have a you know we're expecting five hundred million, a billion dollars in tax revenue, that's not gonna change.

Yeah, it's just a question of where it's gonna come from.

And our expectation is that more will come from the non-residential sector than the residential sector, all right.

Any other thank you.

Thank you, Director.

All right, let's go to the agenda.

We are on page four of the agenda, item six, ordinances on public hearing, second reading, and final passage.

Six P SFA is an ordinance granting a twenty-five year tax abatement to 1080 Bergen Developer Urban Renewal LLC for a project in the South Ward to construct a new five-story mixed use building.

Is there anyone wishing to be heard on this ordinance?

Good evening, George Tillman Jr.

Good evening.

Yes, um, this is in the South Ward, correct?

Yes, okay.

Um, sixty-six residential units, and fifty-three of these units are market rate.

Can you please tell me why are we giving this this entity a tax abatement when the majority of these units will be market rate?

It looks like what we're doing all over with this affordable housing, because this is only a form of gentrification.

There's no way you can build 80% anything in our city, and it's gonna be market rate, and you're gonna say that you're gonna do the other 40% at this and that.

That does not help our our our um housing crisis.

This is exactly why we need such uh change in leadership.

When we talk about these tax abatements and these economic incentives, first the benefit to our community is not getting there.

The jobs that are promised through these tax abatements are reaching our community.

The contracts that are that are promised in these and these tax abatements and these economic incentives are not reaching our community.

Why?

Because that affirmative action review council, that I I don't know if you have mantled it, if it's functional.

There has not been any update to what is this entity that is a part of these economic incentives for you to be able to give out these tax abatements if it's functional, but we're still giving them out.

I keep saying we're still giving them out, but we're not in compliance.

But now, councilman council, here we are in South Ward, building more development in the South Ward, and here we are as market rate, and still we ask him why we're giving out these tax abatements on market rate projects, so still looking for answers to why we're giving out these tax abatements on market rate.

We shouldn't even be giving it out right now because we're not even in compliance, Councilman Council.

So please help me with that.

Thank you.

Thank you for your comments next speaker.

Of course, you already know we're getting tax abatement in the way that you all do it.

It's just horrible.

But now I need to know when you do the breakdown, 40%, 60%, 80%, of what?

From now on, include the medium income in the ordinance, so that we could get a better look at what you want people to make in order to be able to live in this apartment.

So in other words, a studio.

How much is a studio gonna cost on Bergen Street?

Wow, how much?

How much?

How much?

And I'm only trying to be careful with what I say because of Miss Jackson, because other than that, no.

I say what I want.

Because that's just how I feel.

How much?

How much do y'all want a studio to cost?

And then put yourself.

Put yourself.

Say, for instance, if you were not elected officials.

Say, for instance, if you did not even, you know, have the income.

But you lived here.

Right?

Let's say you were um someone that just wanted to move out of your parents' house.

Put yourself in the shoes when you're talking to the developer.

Include, please include, so we'll know what you're talking about.

40% of what?

60% of what?

80% of what?

So we can get a better picture.

So we can see the games.

And we can see we don't care.

Bottom line.

We don't care.

Thank you for your comments.

Next speaker.

Nearer elbow money.

What do y'all gonna answer?

Because I think I'm trying to Google in the uh, that's that's that building uh cabori tucker development, right?

Somebody say yeah, because y'all know.

Wasn't this the Kabori Tucker project across from the um ice cream parlor and the uh Aisha's Halal Chinese restaurant?

Hello?

Hello?

And then someone um also proposed that whoever purchased properties or redeveloped that they come before the council?

Oh, hello?

Hello?

Did they come before us?

Hello?

Then somebody said, oh, let's go out, let's put a moratorium on tax abatements.

Hello?

Hello?

Y'all here?

Y'all somebody said that?

Which one of y'all?

Hello?

Hello, Gonzalez?

Moratorium?

Before you leave.

Hello?

Hello?

We haven't gotten a return on investment yet.

Hello?

Council 8.

Is this the Cabori Tucker Project?

Did it change hands?

Is he a silent partner?

Hello?

Oh, y'all don't know?

Who lives in South Ward?

Council.

You're not gonna answer.

Is this the Kabori Tucker's project?

You live in South Ward?

You still there?

Oh y'all ain't gonna answer, huh?

Is the person coming before the council?

Did they come yet?

Hello?

Didn't you say something about that yesterday?

At the pre.

Got your head down.

One tapping, this one doing that, that.

That one doing this.

He got his eyes shut.

No answers.

We're not against development.

Oh, we haven't received a return on investment.

Or I'm our affirmative review council person.

Got kicked off of it.

Answers was getting too deep, huh?

Y'all gonna answer?

Caboy Tucker, where are you?

I see you at the meeting.

Thank you for your comments next speaker.

So, Deborah Salters.

So you all talked about a couple of you.

Having the developers show up here, right?

I mean, it's respect.

It's called being respectful.

You want to know what's going on in your wards.

You all said that when Allison Ladd was up here, trying to push y'all to do what she wanted you to do.

Fire sale real quick.

I need you to push this through.

So we're the developers.

We need to see them in here, explaining what's going on and why they're getting what they're getting in the community benefit.

Now, Newark, unfortunately, this is what you're stuck with for the next four years.

Thank yourselves because you didn't show up to vote.

Because clearly they've shown us that they're going to push these things through.

We get up here and we say why the tax abatement shouldn't be given.

We're not against development.

We say it all the time.

Well, how does it benefit we the people?

But we the people didn't show up, so guess what?

They really don't care now because all they know is you talk and complain, but you don't do anything.

Yeah, because Crump said very confidently yesterday, I ain't going nowhere.

So, Newark, they've told you where they stand.

And you did this because you didn't show up to vote.

So get used to more of these because no matter what we say, they're gonna say yes, yes, yes.

And uh I don't know, you might find yourself on a curb in another town because you can't afford to live here anymore.

You complain all the time, but you didn't show up.

And another one.

Thank you for your comments, next speaker.

Good evening, Council Lamar Vaughn, City of Newark.

I just want to talk to the residents, not about this particular uh issue in the uh the uh bill here, but in the overarching sense of the issue with respect to affordable housing in this city.

I said it on my social media over and over again throughout this election process that the entire process is rigged.

Right.

Here it is, we're calling this affordability, but what is affordability, right?

We haven't even defined that here in this community as a people.

We the people of this community, or you as the leadership speaking, representing the people in this community, right?

Secondly, we're excluding a lot of people in this community, large segments, as a matter of fact, of people that live in this community from the affordability process, because you have to have a 650 credit score, you gotta pass these background checks, you gotta have all this other stuff in place that a lot of the residents in this city who need affordable housing do not have, cannot attain low-income housing.

Right.

Right?

So, so we need to start talking about low-income housing, building that up, and listen, I like some of the speakers said I believe in the development thing.

But if we're gonna talk about diversity, equity, and inclusion, let's really stand on that business and diversify these developments, include all of the people in this city from every genre, walk and all of that, and and and and uh diversity equity, and that will show the equity in the process to the people here, and we won't have the issues.

Our seniors are living like you don't give a damn about any of them, but they're at the chicken dinners that you give, the giveaways and all of that stuff that you guys throw, and still have to go back to the one elevator, wheelchairs waiting for the one elevator that smells like piss with hallways that smell like piss and crap.

Literally, I don't want to get kicked out and banned anymore.

Let's speak towards the ordinance, closer towards the ordinance, please.

Yeah, we're speaking about affordability and then all of that with respect to the residents in this city.

That's the ordinance.

Lastly, I'll say, with all due respect, the way that you did me at that last council meeting where you kicked me out, sucked the police on me, downplayed my entire candidacy before the public, ended up on top through it all, and I ended up on the bottom through it all.

That will be rectified by paperwork hitting your desk soon.

You shouldn't have done that.

And I'm asking you for your continue that course next next administration going forward, brother.

It won't be good for Newark.

And there before.

State your name for the record first, please.

John Tucson Coulter here to speak before you on CFA, the ordinance granting a 25-year tax abatement.

Long-term abatement.

It reads to 1080 Bergen developer urgan renewal.

My concern is not in the opportunity of this deal, because I understand that opportunities are something that people prepare for and then go for.

So a contractor has put their skin in the game for building affordable opportunity.

My concern is on the incentive, the incentive to provide a 25-year tax abatement without consulting our two particular entities.

The fiscal advisory board, which is supposed to exist in the finance department.

It does not exist.

We're hopeful that after Donna Jackson is sworn in, the fiscal advisory board is something that's operating implemented under the Faulkner government, form of government that the city of New York has to support our at-large formal members, formal elected members, in evaluating these tax abatements and getting more skin in the game from our school district.

By that I mean not the superintendent.

No, no, no.

Let Roger Leone stay at his office.

The legislative elected members of the school board are able to, by their open obligation, participate in the repayment of tax abatement, technically called pilot programs, and how that money is gonna fund our local school system.

I know this seems like a foreign language that I'm speaking, but I'm speaking as English as I can get it within three minutes.

But Mr.

President, speaking to you as one parent to another and a special education advocate, under God, this is high rail robbery.

One, this is exit 144 robbery, how we know it.

If you need to see it on body cam, check in with Silver.

She can show you what robbery looks like in real time.

Okay.

The taxpayer, the homeowner, the senior, and those who have yet to be born, should not be robbed through legislative ignorance.

The inaction is complicity to Wall Street wolves coming into North and circumventing our school board to get the correct payments that we should have for a long-term sustainable school system for our young boys and girls.

11,000 of Norfolk's children are being raised by grandparents, and these abatements force the state to have to continue to subsidize us when we can fund ourselves.

My God.

Thank you for your comments.

Next speaker, Donna Jackson, three quick things.

We know when they throw these buildings up because nobody's watching.

The structures never sound.

Question I have for you, you're giving a 25-year tax abatement.

How long is it going to take you to put that tax abatement on hold?

Because you letting people get away with murder.

How long is it going to take you?

Every building that you have going up in this city right now has that pressed wood.

That is not legal.

It's been raining, it's storming out there now.

Some of that house is gonna be down the street, especially that stuff on South Arntag.

Gonna be down the street.

13th Avenue, that's gonna be down the street.

The stuff in the South Wall is gonna be down the street.

Everything they're building right now.

You ain't checking them stairs because they got 40 stairs.

What person is coming home from work with groceries bag walking up 90 stairs?

Who came up with this dumb design?

Nobody wants to be walking up them stairs, especially if we got two, three little kids.

Y'all got 20, 30 stairs in front of these houses.

Who?

What urban developer y'all hire came up with that dumb plan?

Right?

So I just need to know how long is it going to take you to enforce the law?

Because you're not doing it now.

Teachers' village.

I remember when the man came here six years ago talking about the mold in teachers' village.

You did nothing.

I don't need anyone.

Did nothing.

We're not holding anybody accountable.

How long is it gonna take?

Now when this building goes up, people move in.

How long is it gonna take for you to enforce the law?

These buildings leaking out if they just opened.

Foundation settling because they're not putting there properly.

They're filling in the ground, they're throwing sandbags in there, and you know why they're doing it because nobody's watching.

I appreciate Mr.

P's uh explanation of the new lady at um the director.

Excellent.

But who's watching?

And I'm questioning the credentials of the people that are watching.

She could be fabulous.

What about the people working for her?

They don't know the law, what good are they?

Because if they're doing what they're supposed to do when they write these buildings up, we should be rolling in the dough.

Are we not?

We just had a situation on Clinton Place.

Code enforcement went in, turned electricity off via PSNG, code enforcement, and the North Fire Department.

And guess what y'all did?

Walked away and left them there.

Children and family.

279 Clinton Place.

We left them here.

So I just need to know how long before we're going to enforce it, and how long is it going to take you to change the AMI?

Because everything else that you've built, you gotta make 85 to 120.

How dare you?

Change this one.

Make it from 20 to 50.

Make it from 20 to 50.

So some real families that's here suffering can move in.

Include some seniors who want fixed incomes.

Change the AMI, enforce the tax abatement, and I'll be impressed.

Thank you for your comments, next speaker.

Public hearing is now closed.

Is there anything from the council?

Councilwoman Scott Rounder.

Yes, I I just want to um address AMI based on federal guidelines that we're dealing with here in the city of Norfolk.

I know I've heard comments in meetings before that the municipality can um create whatever they choose based on our governance.

Um, I'm gonna be talking with uh council president and my colleagues in regards to how we deal with the tax abatements.

Uh, there is committee meetings as a held public.

The public is always, as a matter of fact, there are two people in the council chambers that are all when they haven't seen them in the last couple of meetings, but they are open to the public.

I don't know whether people are getting the notifications that the developers come before us, and if you're not, then we might need our officers contacted to find out why you're not getting the notifications because you are entitled to come because it's a public meeting to meet with these developers and hear them when they do their presentations.

We're not at liberty to tell them legally as council elected officials what they can and cannot do when they come before us, but the committee, the public can speak at these meetings when we have them.

Um, Mr.

Tillman has been to them, Miss Salters has been to them.

I haven't seen a lot of the people that are speaking about the tax abatements at since I've been on the committee at any of these meetings.

I met with Mr.

Tillman regarding to his concerns about the issues in the ordinance.

As a matter of fact, the entire administration, a representative was sat around the table, and I said I was addressing that ordinance being corrected because if it's a law that we've created and we're not following, that's a problem.

So I've asked for that to be addressed as well.

And this is going to be a different four years.

There's some things that are going to change.

So I know that if there's something that has come before us, you can best believe that we're not going to be talking about it in six months.

If the Lord makes it possible and we're aligned, they have to be addressed.

But once again, the tax abatement meetings are public to have these developers.

If it's requested that they come before the public here, they might not be able to make it to the meeting.

The clerk, how he would like to address that so that those things can be done.

They were coming before.

But we can't we cannot do this and make it comfortable and convenient for them, and then we have to hear the public say what they're saying.

We're making it convenient for them not to show up for you.

They do show up in the tax abatement committee meetings, which you're invited to, they do.

But if it's a request from the public for them to come and let us see their faces, I don't know why that is a big issue.

If the public is asking for it, so I don't know how we can deal with that, madam clerk and brother president.

But let's see how we can address that issue because I don't want you for the next four years hear the same thing, and I'm sure you don't either.

So if we can address it and see how we can rectify some of this stuff step by step, then let's try that.

But once again, the pet tax abatement committee meetings are open.

I just want to know whether the public is getting the information so that they can show up and hear these developers when they're doing a full presentation.

Thank you very much, Brother President.

Thank you, Councilman Scott Rounder.

Councilman uh Council.

One more thing.

Um, we're not gonna call out Miss Bobani.

We're not gonna call out Ms.

Bomani.

All of that can be addressed.

Uh that will be addressed with the council president and clerk, uh, the Times.

I also want to ask, because the general public does not have access to charts.

They might not be familiar with federal AMI, and these are things that people that might be watching are not aware of.

So when we're talking about AMI and federal and all of these things, they're like, well, what's the chart?

What's the income?

Where do we find this information at?

So I'm asking for each project that comes before us for tax abatement.

Maybe, madam clerk president, we can find a way to put a little chart up under the project to address that particular project and what the cost of the resident would be.

At least to give the public that's sitting here with an agenda that doesn't have access to legislator nor the project details.

Thank you.

Thank you, councilwoman.

Councilman Council.

Council President, I'm um not clear on what what that was, but let me be clear about this project.

One, someone keeps mentioning the name of someone else that does not own this project.

This project is the old C and Bank that sits on a corner of Bergen and Lyons Avenue.

It has been blighted for a long period of time.

It's been an eyesore.

We have had many community conversations around this project, which is privately owned, and was purchased by another private developer.

And when they came to get the abatement, Mr.

Tillman was at the meeting, and he spoke at the meeting.

So I'm not clear uh about uh the questions or concerns about it, but I know that the community uh fought at the planning board meeting.

Uh we stood with them.

Uh, they organized around what they wanted this facility and building to look like in that community and the economic and housing development work to ensure that they met the IZO criterias uh of the uh facility, they were pre- and post-job fairs.

Uh, and it's my hope and always my hope that affirmative action does the job that they're supposed to do that they've been hired to do, but to speak to councilwoman elect Jackson's point, I'm at the site every day because it's my ward, I'm visible, I'm present all around the ward all of the time from laying concrete or to bricks.

There's no wood that's being laid at this site.

Uh, and we make sure that they're meeting the mandates.

I heard Mr.

Vaughn mention something about people wanting tax scores.

Uh, and Ms.

Doc did a wonderful job trying to explain why we need to engage in federal legislation because of the fair credit housing act, which allows these individuals to ask for your credit when you're looking for an apartment.

And so we have to navigate and agitate on all levels of government for proper services uh to make sure that it happens.

Uh, do I uh uh agree with uh most people who come at the table and want to try to develop and do things in the city?

No, but I'm gonna fight for the benefit of what is needed for the residents of this ward and make sure that they get uh those things that are needed uh here in this ward.

This is a uh development project that would hopefully spur what is happening on the corner of Bergen Alliance and push traffic out from Beth Israel Hospital that they can possibly explore with this 5,000 square feet of space that we can turn into something that will bring people along the corridors, create density and walk in traffic to draw economic development in our community and our wards.

I just wanted to you know uh point those things out uh and let and let folks know that I'm I'm always uh here to ensure uh that the city is doing what they're supposed to be doing to meet the mandates, been allowed as critic about it, been a loudest critic about illegal conversion since I've got on the council in 2022, been at sites, been in areas and been speaking about those things.

So I look for all of those you know, challenges and uh, you know, don't see a problem with this particular uh project.

But there are individuals, again, as councilwoman rounds we stated, you know, can come to all of the tax abatement meetings and can ask a plethora of questions uh around uh the abatement issues, what questions they have, what is it look like in terms of how many projected construction jobs may be there, what is the role of affirmative action to assure them?

What is New York's uh doing to make sure that the back end of those jobs are happening, when the jobs get posted, how are people getting the information and how we are getting out into those spaces, right?

And our job is to make sure that we're putting the right people on those jobs to do the job, and then not trying to go and create a workforce and paycheck for ourselves, but to make sure that we're doing it for the residents of the city and putting them on the site and not looking for uh, as most of our folks in the crowd say, backdoor deals.

That's right.

Thank you, councilman counsel.

Anything else from the council?

Roll call.

Council members, yes, council, yes, and dollars, yes, Kelly, yes, yes, Remo.

Yes, got round three.

Yes, yes, yes.

B and C are amending the rent control ordinance, B is for corrections and additions, and C is to revise the definition of an income eligible individual, sponsored by counseling counsel, and second by councilman Kelly.

Is there anyone wishing to be heard on these ordinances?

Before you come up, uh Ms.

Jackson, can we get to make it easier for everyone?

Let's get an explanation on those two ordinances, please.

Good evening.

Lady Daniel, legislative coordinator for economic and housing development.

In regards to the two ordinances before you six PSFB.

Uh basically, what this ordinance is doing is combining the two rent control ordinances so that it allows for everything to be handled out of the rent control office in regards to landlord registration.

This would stop duplicate registrations on parts of the landlord and would allow the rent control office to control this, which would also make it easier for them to issue the certificate of have ability to the landlords once they have been inspected.

So that is the um only changes for 6 PSFB.

In regards to 6 PSFC, what this ordinance is doing, this is in regards to legal services in regards to evictions, or office of Senate and Legal Services.

What this will do is increase the eligible residents' annual income from 200% to 300% of the official federal property guidelines as published by the U.S.

Department of Health and Human Services.

So it's increasing the actual property guidelines to assist more residents with assistance and eviction um issues.

Thank you.

Let's hear from the uh residents of public hearing.

You're welcome.

Donna Jackson, I know you wanted to say cleanup gallery, right, counselor.

I don't know.

It sounds good though, really.

I'm only messing with you.

Okay, so two things.

On C, because we are we doing both together?

Yes.

Okay.

So on C, um, I'm glad we're changing the income.

But legal service is not helping nobody over at Landlord Tenicle.

I'm over there.

They're not helping anybody.

Right now, we're doing 400 to 430 cases a day, Monday through Thursday.

I'm over there.

I've been over there for three years.

They are not legal service is not going to those hearings.

The legal services is not sitting here when people are signing agreements.

It's not happening.

They're not doing it.

I'm just telling you.

And all that people you got on the first floor, they're not going with people to court either.

You know what they do?

Oh, just tell the judge.

And when the tenants walk into the courtroom without representation, and the LLC boys have their representation, the tenant 90% of the time is not heard.

I'm there, I'm telling you.

So I mean, we should change the income.

I don't disagree with that.

But legal services isn't helping anybody.

They're not.

I'm telling you, just do a random check.

100 people a day over the last four months, that's hot people.

Landlord registration, habitability.

Let's just talk about that real quick.

The apartment I'm talking about on Clinton Place.

The lady been in there six months.

Six months.

Who inspected that?

Lady on the first floor, section eight.

Lady on the second floor pays full rent.

Lady on the third floor is in the illegal conversion.

Who's paying for that?

Who inspected that?

They got water running through that place.

So I'm telling you, if the lady had not gone downstairs because the lights went out because they had the air conditioner on, because it was 9,000 degrees.

We all agree with that.

Thank you for turning the air up because it was getting hot.

And saw the sparks, they've still been in there.

So who inspected that?

Who gave them a habitability letter?

Guess what?

Lady on the third floor doesn't have one.

Well, guess who's paying the owner?

Section 8.

You gotta work together.

DCA got to get it together.

North Housing Authority got to get it together, and North has to get it together.

I know we have a new director.

Give a little breathing room, but you need a whole crew to deal with what's going on in housing.

People are really living in situations that are life threatening.

People think when the breaker goes out, they can just flip the breaker back on.

Doesn't work that way.

That's where the fire comes from.

So I'm just saying in terms of the registration and the habitability, there should be a way for the tenants through the rent control or whatever we're doing here to make sure that the certificate is given.

And we need to make sure that it's properly given.

Because we got a property on 19th Street in our area, sir.

They said had an escalator in the elevator on the inspection.

What uh four family house was that?

So I just want us to be careful.

Thank you.

Thank you for your comments.

Next speaker.

Sandra Doc.

Um, I just want us to when we use this uh kind of language here when we say income eligibility, um, just include around about the income.

So if you need an idea, and I know you were talking about, you know, the guidelines for HUD for AMI.

Most of some of us know that, some of a lot of us don't, but also, you know, tell what the AMI stands for, so that people know that.

So put it in here so that people would know exactly what you're talking about, and they can follow you.

Because even with me, sometimes when I'm talking and I'm talking about all levels of government, sometimes if you're not into it, you can't even follow me.

Because I'm talking about something that you really don't know about.

So again, if you put it in there, it'll be a little easier for people to follow.

Thank you for your comments next speaker to um counseling, counsel's point, uh, with respect to the credit people, giving them the authorization and the right.

Listen, you guys are the city council, y'all have the power and invested in you all to determine the destiny of this community, the people who come in and do business, the developers that are invited.

So, Mr.

Vaughn, we're talking about the rent control.

We got you.

Mr.

Uh President, trust me, rent control will be addressed in my three minutes.

But I want to, you know, respond to something that the councilman did mention with my name in it, and correct the record.

This is the time to speak to the ordinance, though.

I will.

Can I speak to the councilman first?

Yes, about the ordinance.

So so, you know, you gotta run this city, period.

Let these people know when they're coming in what you guys expect, what the people expect.

That's the bottom line.

So either they want to play ball or they don't.

That's to your ordinance.

Listen, South Ford, Patrick Council.

Let's get them back in June 9th, man.

And let's get this stuff passed for the South Ward and develop that South Ward for real.

Cause it's looking that what you talked about on Bergen and Lions, crazy.

We got a couple of more edifices, crazy.

Get it right, Pat.

You're doing that.

I like that.

Thank you for your comments.

We with you.

Next speaker.

So, Donna, you was right about uh legal services.

Because I done dealt with them.

I gotta deal with them again with the habitability.

But you got uh Judge Spencer, she does the Marini hearings.

Now I had an issue with a door, and they try to say that it wasn't a part of the habitability.

Now, if you got a door that you could put your hand up there, your hand around the side, and what do you call um flushing?

Isn't that uh considered habitability?

That's and and then and then you don't your your your locks and everything, but anyway, who do you address with the habitability stuff?

Because if you got judges that allowing the property managers to get off the hook, with that, what steps do we go when the judge, you know, she don't offer you rent abatement, she don't offer none of that.

Who do you go to?

Do you come back to the city?

Who do you go to?

And what is consider habitability?

Because she's she's saying that it don't apply to the doors, it don't apply to leaks, but when you read the habitability, it applies to all of that, but you gotta judge that go both and go in the interest of the of the landlord.

Ramos, this is your war.

And I got a habitability issue right now.

Leaks every day in my living room.

Destroyed everything.

Which I'm living in now.

I'm just bringing this up.

This is like the third time with this property manager.

Slum Lord intensified in your ward.

And this is exactly why they harassed me and they told my vehicle illegally, which is going through the court system with a suit.

Because I keep making these complaints.

Debris, garbage, trash.

Which I sent your email, right?

Gonzalez.

You sent the code enforcement people.

Well, my whole thing is is that what do the city do with the habitability?

And regards to holding these uh slum lords accountable.

Ray Mos.

Thank you for your comments.

Next speaker.

No other speakers appearing public hearing is now closed.

What I will say before you come up, uh, first of all, anything from the council.

I will say I have been the landlord tenant, Miss Jackson, a few times, and I have not seen anybody from legal services, tenant legal services, but I don't know if there's a schedule where they do come.

And it just so happens is uh Judge Spencer was there both times, but maybe uh through uh Madam uh clerk we can get some kind of information on whether uh legal services does appear, and if so, when do they appear?

Uh in landlord tenant, um, madam.

No, batting your head, I don't know what you call it.

Wait, uh yeah, yeah, uh, deputy mayor.

I didn't think so, but they judge mayor.

If not, it's okay.

I think we're we're we're comfortable to move forward, but uh good evening, council member, council members, uh Allison Ladd, Director of Economic and Housing Development.

Um, yes, we are prepared to provide some information and uh we can let you know first on the office of tenant legal services, the um one of the reasons why we cannot represent everyone in court is because of the federal poverty level restriction that we placed when we originally created the ordinance.

It's just we can't help everybody because we had a 200% of federal poverty level before.

So increasing it, we know we'll be able to do more.

So on that, I would tell you though, the cases that we've had based on application.

We have uh 206 active cases, um, and we've had to refer 17 uh to other um legal services, and we've also had to unfortunately just deny 27, and that's just this year.

The overwhelming reason for um someone working with the Office of Tenant Legal Services is for non-payment of rights.

Thank you, Deputy Mayor.

And I could tell you the federal poverty level.

Okay.

So the last part was is that the federal poverty level.

I do agree that a percentage is not digestible, so um, so we apologize for that.

Um 300% of the federal poverty level for one person is 47,880.

Uh 300% of federal poverty level for two people is sixty-four thousand nine hundred and twenty dollars, um, and for three people it's eighty-one thousand nine hundred and sixty dollars, and for four people it's ninety-nine thousand.

And I'll just close with um Mayor Baraka also felt similar about the number of people we were serving, which is why he asked to increase um from 200 to 300 percent on federal poverty level.

So thank you.

Thank you, Deputy May mayor.

Uh uh, roll call.

Councilmember Spain?

Yes.

Council balance yes Kelly yes you can Ramos yes round tree yes yes yes D is an ordinance amending solid waste management by amending collection and removal of bulk waste items when creating hazardous conditions and associated penalties sponsored by councilman counsel second by councilman reamos is there anyone wishing to be heard on this ordinance why don't we do the same thing before you get up Miss Jackson if we get a brief explanation of what the amendment is interim director DPW council president council members this ordinance is uh limiting the um 10 day waiting period to two days um to removal of uh um I'm sorry well this ordinance is um clarifying the amount of bulk that you could put out 10 pieces and anything more than 10 pieces is uh 250 per piece but it also is limiting the two day the the waiting period for us to abate it from 10 days to two days and if we see that it's causing an immediate health hazard mean by the department director or right will uh remove that thing the same day thank you if the owner's expense yeah Ms.

Chair if the owner's expense council McCouncil yep it's it and and also the ordinance speaks to the fact that if someone has more than 10 pieces out that they would be responsible for removing the remainder pieces so they would have to find a private harbor or put the things back in their yard and still be charged for it.

So I just want to talk about the extensive component of it so there's only uh 10 items that are supposed to go out for bulk if someone puts out 30 pieces or put out an entire house that uh the DPW department will remove the the 10 pieces then they will come in cite uh the house and then ultimately uh fine will be assessed those individuals will have to get a private harbor and if the DPW has to come back to remove the stuff then the owners of that facility will have to pay the fine uh for removal as well so all of that is under the the addition of this ordinance.

Yes council president council members in addition um we do see people lately the last several months have putting out their whole apartment they're they're dumping almost uh three or four dumpster lows on certain blocks of apartments during the first of the month by doing that first or second book pickup.

Thank you Council Ramos.

Oh yeah I definitely support this I applaud the department for coming up you know I think we we regulate and create a lot of different ordinances to to empower you know your department um I'm hopeful that some of this revenue can be utilized so you guys can hire some weekend and evening enforcement because that's typically where you get your biggest violators and we still have those same apartment building owners in the north ward that have Monday garbage pickup and they put out hundreds of bags on Sunday morning so that stuff is sitting out there 24 hours before pickup um same building owners are the ones that are putting out bulk garbage pickup we received an email from 5155 complaining that the city's not picking up and you guys gave them a dumpster for them to put out their garbage to dumpsters so you know I think this is a step in the right direction but some of this revenue needs to be reinvested in the department as far as like manpower and equipment as well.

Thank you, Councilman.

Anything else from the council?

Thank you, Director.

Public hearing.

Sandra Doc.

Now, Kareem did address it, and I want to thank him very much for addressing it.

But I do like the fact that the city has opened up various.

I think they Kareem said they still have three um places where you could take bulk to.

Um, I think it's Monday through Saturday, and I know one is on 12th Avenue and 12th Street.

But um also I also I brought to Kareem's attention that he had a one particularly an employee who were kind of like uh harassing residents when they came to bring bulk there.

Um she even made a statement that um even to me, oh, you can't come back here again.

Kareem did address it, but I want the staff at these different facilities to understand that these facilities, and maybe people, I don't know if everybody is aware of it.

You have three facilities where you can take bulk on your own too, and we don't need the staff members to harass people when they utilizing this service.

Thank you.

Thank you for your comments.

Next speaker, Donna Jackson, just a couple of things.

Uh agree, or we can handle this different.

Not gonna let you penalize no seniors who have their grandkids come over on the weekend, clean out the garage for them, and they put it at the curb, right?

So we also know to create a service and possibly charge for it, right?

Because we I I know who the LLC boys and the developers are and those that's doing construction, we know who those are that are dumping, but we also know that we have some older elder folks in the community still.

You know, you let three of them keep their houses and they be doing some cleaning and may not understand the 10 piece rule.

So we need to work that out because I don't want to see them over there in court because I have a neighbor on my block.

We tore the garage down by ourselves, and then he was back and forth in court, 10,000, 15,000.

I thought I was in East Orange, that's what they do.

So I understand it, but we need to make it easier for our elder homeowners, and we know who they are, we know who the elder homeowners are.

We also need to help the homeowners who these drive by night drop off at the people's house.

Need to help them too because we don't do that.

You penalize the homeowner, and not gonna do you because you're the council, and the young lady right here comes with her truck and dumps in front of my house, right?

So I didn't put it out there.

I might have had a piece out there.

Somebody comes with a truck and they're doing that as well.

So the it, you know, everybody doesn't have the ring doorbell and the cameras, etc.

But I think we need to make it easier for homeowners now.

Um, director Dean and I had a conversation uh last week, and I want to include it in here, since you're doing hazardous waste.

I'm talking about recycling.

I'm tired of us allowing, and it is illegal and against the law.

Y'all letting these people steal the recycles out of our cans.

At one time, we had the police arresting those folks.

I don't know what's wrong with you guys.

We was over in the South Ward.

These people got a garage, a house, a garage full of plastic bottles and cans.

What are we doing?

What are we doing?

You know the tonnage.

I was on uh Mel Rose, Montrose.

I don't know.

And thank you, Mr.

Dean, for answering.

Why aren't we tackling that?

Y'all see it?

You see the people pushing the cars around with 15 plastic bags on there with all them bottles.

Y'all don't even stop them.

I come out my house.

You're not stealing no cans on Telford and Smith.

It's not happening.

It's not doing that.

They stop them in these orange.

What's wrong with enforcement in New York?

So there's a simple solution.

Just like I said, hire the traffic officers, and don't have to be police officers.

You need to hire trash officers, and then Mr.

Dean doesn't have to send the supervisors out because we're handling that, and also, lastly, create the program for the elders.

Let's think the we could do it with the trees and you're talking about generating.

Okay, I'll take care of it.

Thank you for.

We'll see you next week.

I'll take care of it.

Next speaker.

No speak additional speakers.

Public hearing is now closed.

Anything from the council?

Roll call.

Council members Bay.

Yes.

Council?

Yes.

Gondolas.

Yes.

Kelly.

Yes.

Yes.

Ramos.

Yes.

Scott Roundtree.

Yes.

Nova.

Yes.

President.

Yes.

E is an ordinance authorizing the acquisition of property for a new water and sewer utilities complex.

Sponsored by Councilwoman Bay.

Second by Councilwoman Scott Roundtree.

Is there anyone wishing to be heard on this ordinance?

Donna Jackson.

Not what you expecting.

Let's make it happen.

Let's go.

I'm serious.

Let's go.

And let's look at the rest of the buildings and make it happen.

I don't need to see any more critters running around in our firehouses, police departments.

We need to get these buildings done.

And guess what?

This is why we're telling you to stop the tax abatements.

These folks coming in here to develop, they should be building new facilities for us.

Bottom line.

Bottom line.

Then we don't have no arguments.

Let's make this water facility.

Can I have some input on the drawings?

I'm sorry.

Director Dean.

Council.

I'd like to have some input, right?

Because we have emergency situations.

And we may need to make sure that we have some rooms.

When we got water main brakes so our staff can stay.

Because they might not be able to go home.

Another winter storm.

Pipes breaking like we had the last couple of years.

We need to think that into whatever new it is that we're doing.

Right?

As we're having this low water pressure with these fires.

We may need to keep staff on.

We need to train staff.

So where's the training facility?

So we're building a new one.

What are we doing at the old place?

Right?

Because we should be training our residents, male and female, and pipe fitting.

I don't know why we haven't been doing that for the last 10 years, but it's okay.

It's never too late to start.

Okay?

So yes.

Let's get that new facility done, but couldn't I see the drawings first?

So I can make sure we have the appropriate rooms.

You know, I might want to come over there and hang out a couple of nights with the guys and ladies.

You know, might want to put some pipe down myself, amen.

Okay, I'll be like Donnie.

You can't do that.

Can't go down anywhere.

It's all love.

It's all love.

Have a good night.

Thank you for your comments.

Next speaker.

Seeing no other public hearing is now closed.

Roll call.

Council members day.

Yes.

Council.

Yes.

Condolas.

Yes.

Kelly.

Yes.

Yes.

Ramos.

Yes.

Scott Round Tree.

Yes.

Nova.

Yes.

President.

Yes.

Resolutions.

7R1A through H are temporary emergency appropriations.

A is for the operating budget.

B is for Federal Highway Safety Grant.

C is for the Innovative Community Crisis Response Partnership Grant.

D is for the immunization program.

E is for the Firefighters Memorial Park Climate Resilient Community Space Grant.

Sponsored by Councilman Silva.

Second by Councilman Kelly.

F is for the Distracted Driving Grant.

G is for the Youth Boxing Program Grant.

Sponsored by Councilman Kelly.

Second by Councilman Council.

And H is for the water monitoring program.

Council as a whole to adopt A through H with sponsors, please.

Roll call.

Council members Bay.

Yes.

Council.

Yes.

Gondales.

Yes.

Kelly.

Yes.

Yes.

Ramos.

Yes.

Got Round Tree.

Yes.

OVA?

Yes.

President Prump.

Yes.

I through Q are purchasing contracts.

I is for the bucket truck for licensed plate readers.

J is an emergency re for emergency vehicles for public safety.

K is for repairs on the bay floor of engine 19's firehouse.

L is for the maintenance and repair service for the OEM and non-OEM vehicles.

M is for the firefighter protective gear and supplies.

Sponsored by Councilman Kelly.

Second by Councilman Kentana.

N is for the tire removal and disposal services.

O is for gas cylinders and related equipment.

P is for ammunition.

And Q is for locksmith services.

Council's a whole to adopt I through Q with sponsors, please.

Council members, May.

Yes.

Council?

Yes.

And Alex.

Yes.

Kelly.

Yes.

Ramos.

Yes.

Scott Round Tree?

Yes.

Silva?

Yes.

President Crump.

Yes.

R through C are resolutions from the Office of the Business Administrator.

R is a contract with recipient, North Community Street Team, to provide community-based violence intervention and prevention.

Sponsored by Councilman Council.

Second by Councilwoman Scott Roundtree.

S is a competitive contract to provide consulting and technical assistance for HUD entitlement programs.

T is a co-op agreement for grants management software subscription.

U is an application acceptance of grant funds for the Newark Safe Gateway Pedestrian and Traffic Calming Project.

V is application acceptance of grant funds for the Firefighters Memorial Park Climate Resilient Community Space Program.

Sponsored by Council President Crump.

Second by Councilwoman Scott Roundtree.

W is an application acceptance of grant funds with a water monitoring program.

X is a memorandum of understanding to support the development of Lionsgate Studios and Y and Z are both support for Class 5 cannabis retail businesses.

Council as a whole to adopt R through Z with sponsors, please.

Roll call.

Council members may.

Yes.

Yes.

Kelly.

Yes.

Ramos.

Yes.

Scott Round Tree?

Yes.

OVA?

Yes.

And then Clark.

Yes, on all except the abstention on Y and Z.

7R2A and B are both private sale redevelopment agreements.

A is a rehabilitation and conversion to market rate apartments in the central ward.

And B is construction of 80 to 100 unit residential apartment buildings in the South Ward.

Development of a truck and trailer parking facility in the East Ward and redevelopment for industrial use in the North Ward.

Council is a whole to adopt A and B.

Mr.

President.

Councilman Ramos.

Could the department just address we we received like at the 11th hour a letter from an attorney objecting to the sale involved in 7R2B as in boy?

I think the questioning the properties that are on Riverside Avenue.

I know the clerk shared that letter with us, so I don't know.

The department can address it, whether this has been reviewed already.

To the question posed.

Um, the letter that you received was from an unsuccessful bidder.

They were not the highest bidder um and would not have won at the auction.

Um and um that was the reason.

Uh and then second, it was because of the appraised value.

And um Mr.

Chair, and through the clerk, can you just memorialize the deputy May mayor's statement and send it to us?

So that's fine.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Roll call.

Councilmember Spain.

Yes.

Council?

Yes.

Gonzalez.

Abstain on AMP.

The abstaining on both.

Yes.

I'm stenching on both.

Kelly?

Yes.

Uh I'm staying.

Yes.

Scott Roundtree?

Yes.

Yes.

Yes.

Uh, Councilman Kintana.

President.

Uh I'm going to change my vote to a yes.

The letter I I was not able to see the letter to just recently.

Was in my folder, but I will change the vote to a yes.

On both A and B.

Yes.

All right.

So noted.

Thank you, Councilman.

Ms.

Mr.

Um, Councilman.

Chairman.

Um, when we have that conversation about the um finances, could the BA address the amount of money that the city's anticipating and generating in some of these high value property sales?

You know, we did see two um fairly valuable properties that were on the agenda today.

And I would imagine that in the June meeting, we'll probably we'll see a few more.

So it's it's clear to me, and you know, I'm not sure if I'm treading in the wrong direction that these high value property sales are needed in order for us to present a balanced budget.

So I just want to know like what the target is as far as um the amount of money we need to generate from some of these high value sales as it relates to the budget.

And if I can add based upon our conversations yesterday, make sure that we're aware of it in plenty of time before we get to the June 17th meeting.

And through you, Mr.

Chair, I do appreciate that very much.

You know, I'm I'm familiar with these few properties that are in the North Ward, but until I saw the agenda for this meeting, um, I never had an opportunity to sit down with the department or the prospective developer to see what their plans are for this site.

Now, Matt, mind you, this site right now is uh every week we have garbage being dumped off of Chester Avenue on Riverside.

So uh we would love to see a private property owner just clean up and fence up the lot, but you know, minimum it'd be nice for us to have an opportunity to see what they're proposing to build ahead of time.

I don't blame it on them, it's really the city that should make that introduction.

Council President Eric's business administrator.

I just I just want to sort of set a uh uh sort of overarching theme.

It's not a secret.

I mean, I think we've been talking about uh trying to sell some of the high value properties for quite a while, uh, in part to uh uh close a budget gap that we have that's and we expect to raise 50 to 60 million dollars when it's all said and done with respect to the sale of high value properties.

But there are to your point, Councilman uh Ramos to Council President Councilman Ramos.

There's a couple of reasons.

One, these are underperforming, non-performing uh properties that the city has no uh useful purpose for.

We want development on these properties, in addition to the uh sale price, they will generate development and uh taxes.

So there's a multi-pronged approach uh to why we are selling these properties.

And if I apologize if we had not gotten you this information timely enough to have an appropriate inquiry, uh, but it's been my intention for at least a month or more uh to make you aware that that was part of the uh process that we were going through.

I thank you, uh Mr.

Bay, Councilman Gonzalez.

When we go through this auction, so we set a minimum price, or we allow the say the bidders to determine what the price is.

Yeah, Councilman Gonzalez to the council president, the minimum price was supposed to be the appraised value.

Each of those properties were appraised, and uh the appraised value was the minimum price that was uh established at the auction.

There were some other issues with the auction, that's why it wasn't validated, but still our plan was to have uh these properties sold at or close to the appraised value, not the assessed value of the appraised value.

Okay, thank you.

Yes, well, yes, definitely.

I said that because we take that from you from from things that you have raised over the last year or two with respect to selling the property that the appraised value.

Some of the properties were sold for less than the appraised value.

We have had discussions about the appraised value not really representing necessarily the value of the property, so we did appraisals on all these properties, so uh that is much more accurate.

As indicated by Councilman Ramos is the properties in the East Ward and the North Ward are properties that uh have been contaminated.

If it be uh people use that area there to dump uh tires, to dump uh the refrigerators to dump everything that they can.

So I believe that uh have having that property developed is uh is a step in the right direction.

Thank you.

Thank you, Councilman Silva.

Yeah, I just questioned so to remote avenue.

Obviously, intent is to build warehousing.

Will those developers still sit with us, or you guys already have an agreement in place?

Uh well the agreement has not been uh signed, um, but you absolutely will have uh an opportunity to speak with the developers and uh voice what it is your concerns are, what you'd like to see there, um that's a discussion.

Thank you.

Anything else from the council?

Thank you, Mr.

B.

C through F are the balance of economic and housing development resolutions, C is an application acceptance of grant funds from the American Planning Association of New Jersey, D is a redevelopment agreement to authorize the execution of an agreement for the sale and redevelopment of land between the city of Newark and Essex Reservoir Urban Renewal LLC, sponsored by Councilman Kelly, second by councilwoman Scott Roundtree, E is a site access agreement right of entry for the flood relief for the iron bound area, and F is a subordination agreement in order to permit the redeveloper to obtain the financing necessary for the development of a new five-story mixed use building in the South Ward.

Council as a whole to adopt C through F with sponsors, Council members Bay, yes, Council.

Gonzales, yes, Kelly, yes, yes, Ramos, yes, Scott Roundtree.

Yes, Silva?

Yes, President Crump.

Yes, 7R3A through C are engineering resolutions.

A is a change order for the installation of pavement markings on various streets, B is a professional service contract for remediation at Ironbound, Little League, Turf Field, sponsored by Councilman Silva.

Second by Councilman Quintana, and C is a bid contract to award North Morris Canal Bikeway Project.

Council as a whole to adopt A through C with sponsors.

Okay, Councilmember's Bay.

Yes, Council, yes.

Gonzalez, yes, Kelly, yes.

Yes.

Raymo.

Yes.

Scott Roundtree.

Yes.

Nova?

Yes.

President Crump.

Yes.

7R4 A and B or Finance Resolutions.

A is an application to the Department of Community Affairs for funding for the UEZ citywide beautification project.

And B is an application to the Department of Community Affairs for the use of UEZ funds for public safety project.

Council as a whole to adopt the A and B.

Roll call.

Council members Bay.

Yes.

Council?

Yes.

Gonzalezales?

Yes.

Kelly?

Yes.

Quintana?

Yes.

Ramos.

Yes.

Scott Roundtree?

Yes.

Nova?

Yes.

President Crown.

Yes.

7R4C.

Council as a whole to defer.

Motion to defer.

Council members Bay.

Yes.

Council?

Yes.

Gondales.

Yes.

Kelly.

Yes.

Kintana?

Yes.

Ramos.

Yes.

Scott Roundtree?

Yes.

Silva?

Yes.

President Crump.

Yes.

7R5A is accepting grant and amending grant for the immunization 2026 grant.

Council as a whole to adopt.

ROCO.

Council members Bay.

Yes.

Council?

Yes.

Gondales.

Yes.

Kelly?

Yes.

Nitana?

Yes.

Ramos?

Yes.

Scott Roundtree?

Yes.

Silva?

Yes.

President Crump.

Yes.

B through L are contracts with sub-recipients to provide HIV AIDS related health and support services.

B is Norick Beth Israel Medical Center.

C is Morris Town Medical Center.

D is Rutgers Infectious Disease Practice.

E is Rutgers Clinical Quality Management Program.

F and G are Apostles House.

H is Iris House.

I is Edge, New Jersey.

J is Zoofall Health Center.

K is Positive Health Care.

And L is Hyacinth AIDS Foundation.

Council as a whole to adopt B through L.

Row.

Sorry.

Council members Bay.

Yes.

Council?

Yes.

Gondales.

Yes.

Kelly?

Yes.

Kitana?

Yes.

Ramos.

Yes.

Scott Roundtree.

Yes.

Silva?

Yes.

President Crump.

Yes.

M through R are contracts with subrecipients to provide emergency housing.

M is Isaiah House.

N is Real House.

O is United Community Corporation.

Sponsored by Councilman Kelly.

Second by Councilwoman Scott Roundtree.

P is the YMCA.

Q is Catholic Charities.

And R is Fairmount Health Services.

Sponsored by Councilman Kelly.

Second by Council President Crump.

Council as a whole to adopt M through R with sponsors.

Roll call.

Council members Bay.

Yes.

Council?

Yes.

Gondales.

Yes.

Kelly?

Yes.

Quintana.

Yes.

Ramos.

Yes.

Scott Roundtree.

Your vote, Councilwoman.

Yes.

Silva?

Yes.

President Crump.

Yes.

S is acceptance of grant funds for the Innovative Community Crisis Response Partnership Grant.

Council as a whole to adopt.

Rocal.

Council members.

Bay.

Yes.

Council.

Yes.

Gondales.

Yes.

Kelly.

Yes.

Quintana.

Yes.

Ramos.

Yes.

Scott Roundtree?

Yes.

Silva.

Yes.

President.

Yes.

7R6A through I or Settlement Agreements.

Council as a whole to adopt.

Rocco.

Council members Bay.

Yes.

Council?

Yes.

Gonzalez.

Yes.

Kelly.

Yes.

Quintana?

Yes.

Ramos.

Yes.

Scott Roundtree?

Yes.

Toba?

Yes.

President Crump.

Yes.

J through M are professional service contracts for the law department.

J is for labor and employment matters.

And K through M are all litigation defense matters.

Council as a whole to adopt J through M.

Rocco.

Council members B.

Yes.

Council?

Yes.

Gonzalez?

Yes.

Kelly?

Yes.

Quintana?

Yes.

Ramos?

Yes.

Scott Roundtree?

Yes.

Silva?

Yes.

President Crump.

Yes.

7R 8A and B are council resolutions.

A is the attestation review of the city audit.

And B is accepting a gift and license agreement with NJPAC.

Council as a whole to adopt A and B.

Roll call.

Council members Bay.

Yes.

Council?

Yes.

Gonzalez.

Yes.

Kelly.

Yes.

Yes.

Ramos.

Yes.

Scott Roundtree?

Yes.

Soba?

Yes.

President Crown.

Yes.

C is recognizing and commending resolutions as a motion by Councilwoman Bay to amend to include the central high school girls' flag football team on their 10 to 0 season.

Roll call to amend.

Yes.

Council members.

Bay.

Yes.

Council?

Yes.

Andales.

Yes.

Kelly.

Yes to amend.

Yes.

Ramos.

Yes.

Scott Roundtree.

Yes.

Yes.

President Cron?

Yes.

Motion to adopt as amended, please.

Roll call.

Council members Bay.

Yes.

Council?

Yes.

Gondales?

Yes.

Kelly?

Yes.

Ramos?

Yes.

Scott Roundtree?

Yes.

Yes.

President Cron.

Yes.

D is expressing profound sorrow and regret.

Is a motion to amend by Councilwoman Bay to include Sharon Wells.

Roll call to amend.

I'm sorry.

I would like to also amend Council President to Madam Clerk to uh add our condolences and sorrow and regret for Robinson Rodriguez, a captain firefighter in our city lost his life last night.

Yes.

Roll call to amend.

Council members Bay.

Yes.

Council.

Yes.

Gondales.

Yes.

Kelly?

Yes to amend.

Quintana?

Yes.

Ramos.

Yes.

Scott Roundtree?

Yes.

Yes.

President Crump.

Yes.

Motion to adopt as amended.

Roll call.

Council members Bay.

Yes.

Council?

Yes.

Gonzalez.

Yes.

Kelly.

Yes.

Kitana?

Yes.

Ramos.

Yes.

Scott Roundtree?

Yes.

Yes.

President Crump.

Yes.

7R9A through C are public safety resolutions.

A is an application acceptance of grant funds for the youth boxing program.

Sponsored by Councilman Kelly.

Second by Councilman Quintana.

B is a professional service contract for psychological services.

And C is a network system software for support and maintenance.

Council as a whole to adopt A through C.

Roll call.

Council members Bay?

Yes.

Council?

Yes.

Gandales?

Yes.

Kelly?

Yes.

Kintana?

Yes.

Ramos?

Yes.

Scott Roundtree?

Yes.

Soba?

Yes.

President Crump.

Yes.

Communications.

Item 8A is an ordinance ratifying and authorizing a 10-year extension of the tax abatement granted to Claremont Park.

I mean, sorry.

Claremont New York Urban Renewal LLC for a project to undertake improvements to the existing FBI building.

Council as a whole to advance the first reading.

I'm sorry, can you just get finished what you were about to say?

Just council as a whole to advance the first meeting.

Okay.

Councilman Gonzalez.

The word year is not included here.

Just notice that too.

So we're extending 10 times to actually wait.

Scribner's error, 10 year.

Roll call.

We should amend, I believe.

You think we should amend that?

I think we could do a script's error, but I will say defer to the body.

Roll call to amend.

Authorizing a 10-year extension.

Roll call.

Council members may?

Yes to amend.

Council?

Yes.

Gonzalez.

Yes.

Kelly.

Yes to amend.

Yes.

Ramos.

Yes.

Scott Roundtree.

Yes.

Silva?

Yes.

President Crown.

Yes.

No.

Motion to amend.

Adopted as amended.

Council members pay?

Yes.

Council?

Abstay.

Gandales.

Yes.

Kelly.

Yes.

Mintana.

Yes.

Ramos.

Yes.

Scott Roundtree.

Yes.

Yes.

President Cron.

Yes.

B is an ordinance authorizing the mayor and or his designee to authorize the sale and transfer of property to Essex Reservoir Urban Renewal LLC.

The motion to advance and adopt on first reading as 6FA.

Sponsored by Councilman Kelly.

Second by Councilwoman Scott Roundtree.

Rocco.

Council members Bay.

Yes.

Council.

Yes.

Gonzalez.

Yes.

Kelly.

Yes.

Mintana?

Yes.

Ramos.

Yes.

Scott Roundtree?

Yes.

Yes.

President Cronk.

Yes.

C is an ordinance for special an ordinance amending special improvement districts to amend various sections increasing the administrative fee retained by the city tax collector from 1% to 2%.

Council as a whole to advance to first reading.

Rocco.

Council members pay.

Yes.

Council?

Yes.

And Dallas.

Yes.

Kelly.

Yes.

Montana?

Yes.

Ramos.

Yes.

Scott Roundtree?

Yes.

President.

Yes.

D is an ordinance amending.

An ordinance adopted June 2nd, 2021, and authorizing the mayor and or his designee.

Department of Health and Community Wellness to enter into and execute an amended lease agreement.

Amending the name of the landlord from urban renewal LLC to Catholic Charities, Archdiocese of North with the lease of the premises.

Council President, Council members, I have council as a whole to advance the first reading.

Corporation Council may have a different councilman.

I have it as advanced to first reading.

One of those of us.

You seem to be fading out of it when you say that last.

So I really can't.

Advance and adopt.

Are we trying to do that?

Is that what you're saying?

That wasn't discussed yesterday, but yes, sir.

Advance and adopt.

Alright.

So this is a roll call to advance and adopt.

Is that what you're saying?

Yes, it will be 6FB now.

Wait, you're going back to HC?

6FB.

We're advancing.

If we're advancing and adopting, it changes.

We're advancing and adopting which one?

Let's be clear.

Okay.

D.

Okay.

D isn't dog.

Alright.

So he.

I'm dying up here.

Good lord.

It's hot.

Or keys.

Council members.

Bay.

Yes.

Council?

Yes.

Gonzalez.

Yes.

Kelly.

Yes.

Yes.

Ramos.

Yes.

Scott Roundtree?

Yes.

Yes.

President Cross.

Yes.

I will say if the he if the air is not fixed next meeting.

We need some big fans in here.

Something.

Church fans.

E is an ordinance amending and supplementing the housing code to establish additional requirements for certificates of habitability and strengthen enforcement through revocation.

The motion to advance and adopt on first reading as 6FC sponsored by Councilman Council.

Second by Councilwoman Scott Roundtree.

Roll call.

Council members pay?

Yes.

Council?

Yes.

Andales.

Yes.

Kelly?

Yes.

Montana?

Yes.

Scott Roundtree?

Yes.

Yes.

Yes.

F is an ordinance amending and supplementing the housing code to add a provision establishing alternative security compliance for certain redevelopment projects.

The motion to advance and adopt them first reading as 6FD sponsored by Councilman Council.

Second by Councilwoman Scott Roundtree.

Mr.

President Councilman Ramos.

Yeah, I had a uh leave yesterday to attend the ribbon cutting, but um, you know, it doesn't have to be answered today.

But um maybe at the next meeting, can we go over what some of the alternatives to the security guards requirements are?

Are we talking about surveillance equipment?