Smearing a city isn’t entertaining
Brief editorial on Esquire’s July feature of Newark. The most heinous crimes of Scott Raab’s piece are the assumption that Booker is the only person in Newark trying to make a difference, and the dehumanization of the entire citizenry as “zombies”.
And let’s be clear that Raab’s piece leaves [...]
This in from City Hall. Mayor Booker has written an enraged, five-page response to an article that has gone to press in Esquire Magazine entitled, “The Battle of Newark.” (To see the full article in PDF format, click here)
ENOUGH! Esquire Magazine’s July article “The Battle of Newark” by Scott Raab offers another narrow, [...]
Hello,Newarkers
I’m back first and foremost I apologize for my absence and got married and had a baby.
Now to the nitty-gritty.
Since my last post I have notice no changes in my beloved city. I know Sharpe James is going to prison Marion Bolden is leaving but nothing positive. Our education system is still lacking. Crime is [...]
It’s always tough fighting discouragement about a city that, despite all the good news, perpetually seems to have an awful story brewing just under the surface. I want to believe in a rejuvenated Newark where I and others can raise families in confidence of the future.
With summer here, the crime rate has begun [...]
The Port
Interesting opinion piece on how Port Newark might affect Newark’s economic future. Booker has stated in several venues that he sees the port as an underutilized asset in Newark’s development. Sharif points out that it will take careful attention to bring the port out from under the control of an opaque bureaucracy.
Port [...]
Will Booker and Vanderbeek be successful in bringing the Nets to Newark?Yes! They’ll work out a win-win deal for everyone involved.Maybe, but I think if they do that the Atlantic Yards project will fail.No way! There’s too much money and pride on the line for Ratner to walk away from the Nets.I just hope Booker [...]
Yesterday’s verdict case against former mayor Sharpe James drew mixed reaction around Newark despite clear distaste for James outside the city. Onlookers scratch their heads at the apparent grief experienced by the very citizens that James profited from.
Star Ledger: A day Newarkers will remember
Cornell Williamson, 27, a lifelong Newark resident, said he had followed [...]
New York Times: At Trial of Newark’s Former Mayor, Feelings of Loyalty, and of Being Let Down
After drawing enough people to fill Judge Martini’s courtroom when opening arguments began March 3, the trial has been sparsely attended since. Mr. Price, the Rutgers history professor, attributed the seeming lack of interest to the city’s collective fatigue [...]
I know we’re all still waiting with baited breath to see if we’ve truly turned a page in Newark’s long struggle with homicides. But a brief mention in the aforelinked New York Times article would seem to indicate another quiet, subtle milestone of hope in the city.
Billboards [...]
Joan Whitlow for the Ledger: A poor idea to make people feel left out
Yesterday I got a copy of an e- mail that a 44-year-old Newarker who worked on Booker’s election campaign sent to City Hall. She was complaining loud and clear:
“How dare you have a State of the City Address and not be open [...]
