The Daily Newarker

The Rock’s First Light
Originally uploaded by asterion1

Have you noticed it? The not-so-subtle change in conversation about Newark in the past few weeks?

Two months after Newark’s “worst tragedy in recent memory”:http://dailynewarker.com/2007/08/06/execution-style-shootings-kill-three-injure-another/, conversation about Newark has taken a hopeful tone towards the launch of the new Prudential Center — one week away. There’s an “open house this Saturday”:http://www.prucenter.com/default.asp?id=87&objid=319 if you’re interested in checking it out.

On the way home from a meeting in University Heights, I walked past the arena. It’s just immense. “Asterion’s other photos”:http://flickr.com/photos/72193283@N00/ do the massive complex justice. I stood for a moment, observing the changed cityscape, taking in Newark’s optimism. It’s amazing to see how this place has changed in a few short years.

Don’t get me wrong: Newark still has its problems. Many still question if the city development will help its largely impoverished and disenfranchised community. Violent crime continues to be an issue as this year’s murder rate falls just short of last year’s ten-year high. Quality of life still continues to be a problem. Kelly at NJ.com’s ??Jersey Blogs?? pulled together a largely pessimistic set of “some observations about the coming arena”:http://blog.nj.com/jerseyblogs/2007/10/newarks_new_arena_boondoggle_o.html from bloggers around the interwebs. “Craig Shoonmaker”:http://newarkusa.blogspot.com/’s is, I think, a glimpse of optimism from a native Newarker.

Within hours of the arena’s opening, written accounts, digital photos and videos of many concertgoers’ night in Newark will go flying across the Internet. This promises to change the way the world views Newark. And just as with NJPAC, we can expect the performing-arts portion, not just the sports portion, of the Prudential Center experience to play a major role in reshaping perceptions. This is a very exciting time to be in Newark.

Maybe Craig was listening to “last week’s Newark Today”:http://www.wbgo.org/ontheair/2007/NewarkToday_CoryBooker_DCruz.php with Cory Booker on ??WBGO??. During the show (audio below), Booker was asked point blank about the safety of the arena and, interestingly, whether events at the Prudential Center would sap the resources of the NPD and compromise the surrounding neighborhoods. Booker addressed the question directly, indicating that the police have been working on how best to manage their resources. The number of questions Booker fielded about the arena alone showed just how important this opportunity is for the city, and his administration seems to be doing their homework.

Walking to the arena also gave me the opportunity to go past cafes, restaurants and retail I hadn’t realized was there before (much of which around the universities and the Prudential headquarters, and get an opportunity to see the “overhaul of Broad Street”:http://dailynewarker.com/2007/04/29/overhaul-of-broad-street-to-begin-may-7/, which is well underway.

Conversation is starting to change about this city — you can feel it in the air.