Made In Newark
Mayor Cory A. Booker unveiled two respective outreaches to the public education community and to street gang sets among a series of new and continuing developments he presented in his fifth State of the City Address here at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center March 1.
"We're starting a Newark Public Education Community Forum panel made up of parents, teachers, principals, community activists and other interested stakeholders," said Booker about a fifth way through his 60-minute address in the NJPAC auditorium. "They will meet with other parents and the community on improving the schools."
Booker, who devoted about the first half of his address on public education, added that the new panel will also assist in searching for Newark's next permanent superintendent of schools for Newark Public Schools Advisory Board consideration. The mayor also announced a Newark Public Education Foundation, with itemized and non-anonymous donors, while advocating mutual responsibility and accountability among all education community members.
Turning to crime, Booker is calling for a summit between the police department and gang sets to discuss community needs while simultaneously cracking down on gangs who continue criminal activity.
"There have been studies in other cities where crime has dropped and gang membership halted when the sets turned to peaceful ways," said Booker before an estimated overflow audience of 550. "To those sets who continue criminal activity, they will know that there will be consequences."
The mayor, in a relatively straightforward presentation compared to his earlier addresses, also talked about coming developments on labor relations and economic development. He and introductory speaker Neighborhood Engagement Deputy Mayor Margarita Muniz stressed the speech's "Celebrating our Successes, Reviewing our Challenges" theme several times during the 95-minute ceremony.
There were about 50 people outside NJPAC's Sarah Vaughan Way plaza, however, who exercised their dissent the half-hour before the ceremony's 6:30 p.m. start. Local Talk counted 38 picketers marching at 6:26 p.m. chanting "Stop the Lies" and holding signs the likes of "This is Not about Education."
The notion that the mayor would open his speech with public education has been something of an open secret. Questions over his and the Partnership for Education in Newark's transparency and funding sources have cropped up over the last two weeks.
"The eyes of America are looking at Newark to see how we use this historic opportunity," said Booker. "We need for all of us to work together for our children over other interests. I know that there are parents who are skeptical after seeing and hearing previous new programs before. To recall a previous mayor (Kenneth A. Gibson), 'Where urban America goes, Newark will get there first.' "
Booker prefaced his foundation announcement by stating that philanthropy from private and non-profit sources have been bolstering various public programs and offices before. He then explained about how NEF donors will be treated.
"Any contribution and donor will be listed and itemized," said Booker. "There will be no more anonymous donors."
Booker, who has raised $43 million towards matching Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg's $100 million education grant, said in his address that he is continuing to seek more donors for the remaining $75 million. The mayor has spent $1 million to create PENewark, which held information-seeking community forums last autumn, and a data consulting company. PENewark closed its West Market Street headquarters before the Christmas holidays.
"I don't know if PENewark will morph into something else," said Booker in the post-address press conference, "There are several people who are being used elsewhere."
Booker also advocated for the following educational changes:
- Give greater autonomy to building principals.
- Raise student performance standards.
- Hold all education partners - including students and parents - accountable.
- Retain teachers on performance instead of "Last In, First Out," seniority. Booker said that he had been talking with Newark Teachers Union Joe Del Grosso about setting teacher performance criteria.
The mayor, at both the address and conference, said that he wants to implement some of the changes on or by Sept. 1.
"Some of the changes would be phased in or started as a pilot program in five to 10 schools," said Booker. "Some of the staff and funds needed have to be in place this season. I'm aiming for September 2011 implementation because our children cannot wait."
Local Talk Publisher Dhiren Shah suggested to Mayor Booker that poor performing teachers should be given a chance by letting them go to a training school for a period of three to six months and bring their standard higher to compete with other teachers and hold their jobs.
Booker praised the city's police and its law enforcement officers for their work during a difficult economy. He talked how the parties involved countered an end-of-year increase in carjackings.
"Last year started quietly and we had a murder free March and the lowest volume in homicides in 43 years," said Booker. "Then we had a spike in carjackings last fall. The law enforcement partners came together and executed a multiagency plan that greatly reduced carjackings."
Booker bridged the two topics by briefly taking about labor relations and the municipal budget. The mayor praised the civilian and uniform city employees for their sacrifice - with one exception.
"We had to lay off 163 rank and file police officers because of the self interest of one union's leadership," said Booker. "These officers were men and women who I swore in, who were starting a career after they and their families made sacrifices. Now they have gone to other police departments and some are still looking for work."
Booker, as he had several times since the Nov. 30 police layoff, repeated how Police Director Garry McCarthy had restructured the Deputy Chief/Precinct Commander/Captain ranks so that there would be as many patrol officers on the street as before.
"We just went through perhaps the most painful municipal budget process in the last 70 years," said Booker. "We were able to reduce a structural deficit of $100 to $180 million to about $32 million."
The mayor did not unveil his proposed 2011-12 fiscal year municipal budget nor say how he will either further reduce or eliminate the $32 million structural debt.
Booker then turned to some 35 "emerging developments" on the housing, quality of life and economic development fronts. Some of the following are brand-new announcements while some are long-anticipated, including:
- Wakefern Foods/Shop-Rite, Bartlett Dairy and Manischewitz kosher food companies either opening distribution centers or moving their headquarters to Newark.
- Bringing "21st Century-type employers," like Liveops, to the city.
- Studebaker and Packard Lofts - both former Board Street car dealerships - nearing conversion completion.
- The opening of two new supermarkets and Brick City Development Corp.'s continuance of its Fresh Foods Program for existing smaller markets.
- Creating 45 acres of parkland or open spaces while rehabilitating existing spaces.
- Impending groundbreaking of Courtyard of Marriott by the Prudential Center - the first of two new in-city hotels in 40 years.
Mayor Booker was happy to report in his state of the city address that so much merchandise is "MADE IN NEWARK" and with that label they distributed merchandise at the Prudential Center for a Newark Hoops event last month.
He further said, "There are 300 manufacturers employing 12,000 employees." He stressed MADE IN NEWARK a couple of times and received an ovation from the audience.
Subscribe to this comment's feed
