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If they can't get the crime under control, Newark will never thrive and prosper.
positive press on Newark
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/06/ny.../06newark.html
I personally think Newark is still a long way from gentrifying, but the Times plays up a good hype for the city. I guess decide for yourself
If they can't get the crime under control, Newark will never thrive and prosper.
I'm hopeful, especially given how things are finally turned around in Asbury Park, a place with huge potential. Newark has huge potential also, but the corruption, crime and reputation are huge obstacles.
I used to work for the State of New Jersey on Halsey street (mentioned in the times article), it has some nice points especially the Newark Musuem. The biggest downside is the total lack of decent places to eat, get a cup of coffee and shop. In Downtown Newark there's a Dunkin Donuts below the Prudential Building in a mall trapped in 1968, a Starbucks across Broad Street and a New York and company clothing store.
Outside of that there is nothing decent in Downtown Newark outside the Ironbound. Way too many wig and weave shops, shops selling $3 dollar white tee shirts etc..
They need the following:
More Dunkin Donuts, Starbucks, Panera, Cosi, Barnes and Noble, decent super markets, a department store or two, a Gap etc..
They should focus on developing the Iron Bound and the Downtown area especially around Prudential, the Newark Arena, and Rutgers. The State keeps looking at expanding Rutgers in New Brunswick and Piscataway, they should develop the Rutgers campus in Newark. There's tons of potential to further expand the University campus in Newark.
Downtown Newark also needs some decent hotels, tear down the Hilton and it's outdate mall and rebuild a new Hilton. Also a Courtyard Marriott, Hampton Inn, Sheraton etc.. can feed on city business as well as Airport travelers.
why not a gateway center
Why not put a Gateway Center type mall in Newark, as well as truck driver friendly motels and retail?
It seems to me Newark doesn't do enough mundate stuff. If you can put a Gateway Center with big box stores in East New York, on a highway you only travel if you're headed to southern Long Island from New Jersey, and it can succeed, I'd have to think you could do 10 times as well in Newark. For a place that's lost 40% of its population, I'd have to think you could assemble the lots you need to make that turn a hefty profit, create jobs for people in Newark and revenue for the city that it could spend to fight crime.
When riding the PATH from Newark back to Jersey City today, I couldn't help but notice that a MAJOR new development is on its way for the waterfront, right next to Gateway center (East of Penn Station). I believe it may be the long-awaited Newark Waterfront office plaza. Several pieces of heavy equipment are there, and pilings are being driven into the ground. The site was vacant up until about two or three weeks ago I believe.
I personally think that the massive new Prudential Center will spread redevelopment through Newark like wildfire. Given all major schools there (Rutgers Law, Rutgers Business, and Seton Hall Law, to name a few) in addition to the transportation (PATH, Amtrak, lightrail, subway, two NJ Transit stations, and, or course, the AIRPORT!), as well as several very high capacity roads, proximity the nation's largest port, history, and now two major entertainment centers (NJPAC and Prudential Center), as soon as the city gets a better grip on crime, it will take off unlike anything NJ has ever seen before in terms of redevelopment. There is just so so much potential. Office tower construction in Jersey City will add an additional boost to this, as the commute from Newark Penn Station to Exchange Place via PATH is under 20 minutes.
Baltimore and Cleveland are "thriving", yet their crime rates are totally off the charts.Originally Posted by JCMAN320
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When was the last time you were to Newark? When you come, check out Mix 27, the Key Club, the Thai restaurant across from McGovern's Tavern, etc.They need the following:
More Dunkin Donuts, Starbucks, Panera, Cosi, Barnes and Noble, decent super markets, a department store or two, a Gap etc..
They should focus on developing the Iron Bound and the Downtown area especially around Prudential, the Newark Arena, and Rutgers. The State keeps looking at expanding Rutgers in New Brunswick and Piscataway, they should develop the Rutgers campus in Newark. There's tons of potential to further expand the University campus in Newark.
Downtown Newark also needs some decent hotels, tear down the Hilton and it's outdate mall and rebuild a new Hilton. Also a Courtyard Marriott, Hampton Inn, Sheraton etc.. can feed on city business as well as Airport travelers.
The places are coming. It's not going to happen overnight, but it's happened in the three years I've lived in Newark.
1180 is there. The hockey arena is almost there. There are plans to redevelop or tear down and rebuild all those buildings around Military Park. Rutgers or NJIT just built beautiful dorms with street-front store space.
People are moving into 1180 - I see it. The more people that move in means more money is infused into the local economy. We can speculate all we want about Newark making it or not, but if you're a part of the daily grind there, you see how different the place is than it was just one year ago.
cory booker impresses me
I got to hear him speak tonight. He seems like a man with a vision and determination. I don't know if Newark's deeper problems are tractable, but he seems like a highly motivated leader.
Not that fixing corruption necessarily helps make downtowns pretty, but Newark's real problems are in its neighborhoods and they need to be fixed.
I've been working on a google map of stuff to do in and around Downtown Newark. It's far from complete, and generally only incorporates the places in Newark I've either heard of or been to (and could remember when I started this map!)
Let me know if there are any other places of interest that spring to mind.
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UT...fe85&z=14&om=1
Pro Newark
I've taken the liberty of reading through this blog to get to know this community and I will begin by stating I am PRO Newark. There's a change underway that I believe in. For the last 2 1/2 years I've researched Newark and now is the time to get in and get involved. I will be closing on a condo across from the Prudential Center by Mulberry and Market next month.
During my process of purchasing in Newark I had strong reservations about the city. I became more involved in Newark politics to see what is happening with Newark. Yes crime is a problem, its a matter of time before thats corrected. Booker has taken the reigns from Sharp and is running the city with more rigor. When crime is pushed out of one area it goes to another area and the criminals retaliate or claim new territory. Major cities have turned crime around and it did not happen overnight. If your goal is to be in a urban atmosphere, close to fine restaurants, arts & entertainment and easy commute, with Newark you are getting in on the ground floor. The only place to go from here is up. In the last 9 years I've had the pleasure of working in Jersey City, New York, Boston, Hartford, Charlotte, Atlanta, Philadelphia etc... and saw a positive change in these cities with the real estate boom. Yes the real estate boom is over for this cycle but for Newark it is just beginning. There are friends of mine that live in Brooklyn and Harlem and real estate prices are outrageous in those areas and lets not forget to mention that crime is down after the area began its revitalization. When I speak about Newark I don't sugar coat what's there and what's not there but I do let people know that this revitalization is real. Yes, downtown and the Ferry street section are currently your safest sections of Newark but change happens with time. Several of my friends and colleagues are now looking at purchasing homes in Newark and moving from New York and Jersey City. Set real expectations and be patient. Over time Newark will become another New York or better. Let's not forget that many years ago Newark was once a more bustling city than New York with shoppers traveling from up and down the east coast.
Change must begin by changing the mentality of the youth and their parents. Abolishing the gangs and painting a prettier, safer picture for the streets of Newark. We don't want to admit it but Newark taxes must be increased to improve the school systems. Adults must take some time to disciple to these young boys and girls to show them that life has a better direction to offer them. The city must find new methods of removing social assistance programs and providing training and jobs for those in need.
I have spoken to several individuals and was told that there are plans for a new park next to the Prudential Center, New Hotel across from the Rock and some of the buildings on Market to be demolished (this may be one reason why no one has seen any activity in the Dunkin Donuts on Market). Research shows that developers have been buying up downtown for the last 20 years and the revitilization of Newark is a big initiative for the state of NJ.
Bringing the professional residents to Newark may begin at the grass roots level and thats a great thing.
they don't need a tax hike, they need to crush the teachers union
If more money for schools was the key to success, Newark students would also be geniouses. You need to close non-performing schools, give people a right to hire and fire, and hold principals accountable for school performance. They should also make a significant effort to discourage teen pregnancy and tear down housing projects - you can't have teen pregnancy and also have adequate academic performance.
Newark spends more per pupil than most of the surrounding suburbs, and those suburbs have better academic performance.
If you close the schools, where do you propose the children go? Better schools? Where?
Also, what do you do with the displaced people from the newly torn-down housing projects?
Newark *is* turning around, and it seems to be due to favorable market changes. It's too expensive to live in NYC, it's getting too expensive to live in Brooklyn, Queens, Jersey City, and Hoboken. Newark still has reasonable rent, excellent mass transit, and a whole lot of colleges. If you take into consideration the influx of commuter money, plus the student population, there is money to be made, and investors are seeing this. That they plan to build a special walkway from Penn Station to the Prudential Center is a travesty, simply encouraging the myth that Newark is unsafe.
I've heard horror stories about the public schools in NYC. All of my coworkers that grew up in NYC went to private schools.
I think you need to put into perspective the overcrowding situation in cities as compared with the suburbs.
no disagreement, just cut taxes
I think Newark is ripe for an upswing. Just don't raise taxes and stifle the upswing. Newark is a city that is corrupt. Teachers view their jobs as patronage appointments. If we can change expectations on performance, and grant hire/fire privileges based on performance, then Newark students will do fine with the money the have.
Newark's housing projects simply give an incentive to people that are unemployable to stay in the area. Encourage them to move to a part of the country with more blue collar jobs if they are unskilled and mentally healthy - those jobs are going to continue to disappear in New Jersey. Newark should be focused on encouraging employed people to move there that can turn the city around.
Found these while prowling the net. More at the website
http://www.eekarchitects.com/index.cfm
Newark has a HUGE problem! No wonder the crime and murder rate are out of control!
If I had to be an officer in Newark I'd be depressed too.
Police force riddled with problems
Report: 'Low morale' in Newark
Sunday, May 20, 2007
BY JONATHAN SCHUPPE
Star-Ledger Staff
The Newark Police Department is woefully under-equipped, disorganized, badly trained and reeling from years of political meddling, according to a sweeping analysis of New Jersey's largest municipal police force.
The review, completed by a New York consulting firm in January but not made public, found a wide array of problems in the 1,300-member department, including rampant patronage, poor recruitment and no proper budgeting process or capital planning.
The report by the SafirRosetti consulting firm also cited a variety of specific shortcomings: cops forced to buy their own computers and bulletproof vests, detectives without proper interview rooms, narcotics units without enough money to make undercover drug purchases, an unsafe forensics lab and a Police Athletic League sharing a building with a unit visited by registered sex offenders.
The consultants described the Newark Police Department as "an organization with little equipment and little money for work necessities."
By and large, the department is staffed by dedicated, hard-working officers, the consultants said. But the report, a copy of which was obtained by The Star-Ledger, said the department was plagued by low morale, and it urged "major steps" to improve esprit de corps among officers.
"In many cases they have not been treated as professionals and have been subjected to arbitrary and at times capricious decisions concerning their assignments and discipline," the report said. "They have also been forced to work in substandard conditions with inadequate equipment."
The critique was done at the request of Mayor Cory Booker and Police Director Garry McCarthy, a former deputy commissioner at the New York Police Department, after they took office last year. A principal of SafirRosetti is Howard Safir, a former NYPD commissioner who was once McCarthy's boss.
Among the major findings of the report were:
An "understaffed, ill-equipped" drug enforcement operation that had no organized undercover program, only $500-a-month for undercover buys and no formal system for tracking confidential informants
Staffing decisions corrupted by politics and patronage, resulting in rookies earning detective badges, junior officers threatening commanders and seasoned officers "reassigned arbitrarily."
A severe equipment shortage that left the department without enough cars, lockers, computers and bulletproof vests, and no plan to buy them.
A shortsighted hiring plan that may cost the city hundreds of thousands of dollars in federal grants.
McCarthy declined to comment on the report, but in recent months he has made moves to tackle many of the problems noted by SafirRosetti, including putting more cops on the streets by moving dozens of officers out of desk jobs.
SafirRosetti noted the absence of a formal anti-drug strategy, and McCarthy created a Central Narcotics Division. He decentralized power by shifting more responsibility on precinct commanders, another SafirRosetti recommendation, and put more detectives on shifts when most violent crime happens.
In his campaign for mayor, Booker promised to boost morale in the police department, and since taking office he has made a priority of improving the decrepit working conditions in the city's precinct stations. The 5th Precinct building in the South Ward has been renovated, and work on the 3rd Precinct in the East Ward is under way. Nearly all officers now have lockers, officials say.
His administration also is replacing an obsolete paper-based record management system with an electronic one. A newly created nonprofit group, Newark Police Foundation, is raising money to outfit the department with more high-tech equipment.
Portions of the report were positive. The review team singled out a few programs -- including the Police Clergy Alliance and Operation CeaseFire, an anti-gun-violence program -- as models of community-minded law enforcement. The team also noted the city is installing a state-of-the-art computer network.
SafirRosetti's work was funded by a $157,369 grant by the Newark Alliance, a nonprofit group. Four consultants made several visits to the police department, interviewing officers and commanders, hosting focus groups and reviewing internal documents. The firm said it spoke to 12 percent of the force's 1,300 members, including union heads, precinct commanders and top brass. It also met with local government leaders.
Derrick Hatcher, president of the union that represents Newark police officers, agreed the Booker administration is dealing with many problems noted in the report -- though he said change is coming too slowly. At the same time, he has fought McCarthy's attempts to "civilianize" the communications unit. And he complained officers haven't yet gotten the boost in pay that was included in a newly negotiated labor contract.
The contract raises pay for starting officers from $26,561 to $29,877 this year and to $31,072 in 2008, Hatcher said. Senior officers' pay will rise from $69,255 to $77,902 this year and to $81,018 in 2008.
The SafirRosetti report doesn't make any recommendations about officers' salaries.
Hatcher noted one shortcoming -- also mentioned by SafirRosetti -- as particularly troublesome: the department's poor recruitment efforts. The city doesn't advertise for potential officers, he said.
"I think the citizens of Newark deserve better," Hatcher said. "They need to at least get the word out that we're looking for a few good men and women."
Jonathan Schuppe may be reached at jschuppe@starledger.com or (973) 392-7960.
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Two shootings leave one dead in Newark
Posted by Alexi Friedman May 20, 2007 11:50AM
Categories: Crime/Courts
Newark police are investigating the slaying yesterday afternoon of a 26-year-old man who was shot in the chest, authorities said.
Faheem Gordon's death was the 39th homicide in the city this year, police said, one fewer than the same time last year.
The killing came hours after a 16-year-old boy was shot in the neck early yesterday morning, just after midnight, several blocks away.
Gordon was shot at 2 p.m. on the 500 block of South 12th Street. A man stepped out of a dark-colored sedan and fired multiple shots at the victim, hitting him in the chest, authorities said.
The victim was taken to University Hospital, where he died a short time later.
The police department's Homicide Squad and the Essex County Prosecutor's Office are investigating.
The teenager who was shot around midnight in the 900 block of South 20th Street was listed in critical condition at University Hospital, authorities said. His name was withheld because of his age.
Anyone with information on either shooting should call (877) 695-8477.
Last edited by JCMAN320; May 20th, 2007 at 10:12 PM.
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