Council - Regular Meeting

Good afternoon. Welcome to the regular meeting of the Newark Municipal Council on Wednesday, April 1. Please stand for the national anthem, pledge of allegiance, and invocation by pastor Tiffany Moras.

Amen. Gracious god, we come before you thanking you for just another time and chance to give your name the praise. We thank you god for allowing us to see this day we've never seen before. We thank you god as we are on this holy Wednesday, god, observing this week of holy week that you remind us not to betray your word, to be slow to speak and quick to hear. Bless this council, god, they continue not to work for your people. Open the ears, god, of us that we be slow, to understand and put us on one accord. Allow love to abide, and we'll give you all the glory, the honor, and the praise in the matchless name of Jesus we pray. Amen. Amen.

In accordance with New Jersey law, adequate notice of this meeting has been provided to the Star Ledger, the Jersey Journal, and the public at large establishing the date, time, and location of this meeting. In addition, the agenda for this meeting was disseminated on March 27 at the time of preparation and posted on the city's website. Roll call, please.

Council members, Bay. Present. Council.

Present. Gonzales.

Present.

Kelly.

Present.

Quintana.

Here.

Ramos.

Here.

Scott Rountree. Present. Dova absent. President Crump?

Present.

Council president, council members, just by way of housekeeping for the record, councilman Silva is excused today so that we don't keep saying absent.

Thank you. And and before we begin, councilman Silva did ask if we could have a moment of silence for Albert Coutinho, someone who loved the city of Newark, very good friends with with councilman Silva and really with all of us up here knew him well. He always said he loved the city of Newark and and did a lot for the city of Newark and for the people of Newark. So we just have a moment of silence. Thank you.

Thank you.

And before we begin, I just wanna councilwoman Bay has some of his guests here today.

Thank you, council president. I want to acknowledge the presence of University High School, my alma mater.

Yes. Yes. They are

here with us today as council members for the day. I wanna welcome them and thank them for being here with us today.

They came all the way from the mighty South Ward.

The South Ward. I know. Yes. You just

had to throw that in.

That's right. Alright. Alright. Thank you

for being here. We hope you've had a good time and learned a

lot about civics and about the city of Newark. Alright. Madam clerk.

We are on page three of the agenda. Item six is ordinances on public hearing, second reading, and final passage. Six p s f a is an ordinance amending special improvement districts to revise terminology and clarify collection and administration of the tourism improvement district license fee. Is there anyone present wishing to be heard on this ordinance?

Shakira McDougald. I'll speak on it. So, I really don't know what this entails, but for the most part, a license fee, I didn't even know that we were doing a tourism kind of thing. So I guess my question would be, who would be adversely affected because of this? Because somebody's gonna have to pay how much are they gonna have to pay, who they're gonna have to pay to, where does that money go.

That's it.

Thank you for your comments. Next speaker. No other speaker appear appearing in public hearing is now closed. And and to answer your question that the fee comes from the hotels. So it it doesn't adversely affect, the population of the city of Newark or the residents of the city of Newark. That being said, roll call.

Council members Bay? Yes. Council?

Yes.

Gonzales?

Yes.

Kelly?

Yes.

Quintana?

Yes. Ramos?

Yes.

Scott Rountree? Yes. President Trump?

Yes. Mister president?

Councilman, Ramos?

Not not related to this, but connected to the improvement districts. I know at the one of the previous council meetings, the VA explained to us the the shift that's being made related to the admin fee that the city charges the improvement districts, you know, for essentially advancing them the the taxes that they anticipate collecting and and other duties that the city performs. Just you don't need to answer it today, but if you can get us an update if the administration's had an opportunity to meet with the heads of these districts. A few of them are small neighborhood based districts. I have two on my ward.

So I just wanna know if he's had an opportunity or someone from his team to meet with them and explain how the process is gonna work.

Thank you,

madam. I did have an opportunity to talk to some of the board members from one of our improvement districts, and they were, a little bit unclear about the process. So

Alright. Through your office, madam clerk, if we can update.

Certainly.

Thank you.

B is an ordinance amending records to amend the rules and regulations to include persons exempt from toll fees, releases of motor vehicles to include notice requirements for certain vehicles involved in a criminal investigation. Sponsored by councilman council, second by councilwoman Scott Roundry. Is there anyone wishing to be heard on this ordinance?

Hold on, Molly. It's Carrie McDougall. Back up here. So the way I see this is exempt from toll fees, that

means somebody don't have to pay.

Now when I was parked down here on Broad Street, my car got towed, and I had to pay. So why should anybody be exempt? The the rules are the rules. They should apply to everybody evenly and equally. Thank you.

Thank you for your comments. Next speaker.

Good afternoon. Ali Muhammad. When this ordinance go in, it's gonna be starting now because I had a niece that got shot and, about two years ago, And they still ain't gave her her car back because they say she gotta pay the tolls. You know, because the call she was in the call when she got the car, so they took the car to crime. This is retroactive because she still haven't got her car out because when she went down, they were $6,700. Car just sitting there that she was a victim. So I don't know if it's retroactive or what. You know? Because not only did she get shot, she lost a kidney. Thank god she's alright.

Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you for your comments. Next speaker. No other speaker appearing. Public hearing is now closed. Councilman Council.

Yeah. Just to respond to to the speaker, the the, ordinance will not be retroactive, but it does touch on a critical, discussion around individuals whose cars have been towed, that have not been involved in a crime and being charged to get their vehicles out. And so the way that the the the ordinance puts it is that if, there were individuals who have had their cars, that have been told from sites that have been crime scene sites, but their particular vehicle has not been engaged in any of that, that their vehicle would be released back to them, and notification will go out to them, in a timely manner that they can be able to come and pick their vehicle back up. So

Alright. Thank you. Councilman Ramos.

Yeah. Mister president, I I I totally agree with, making sure that someone who's a victim essentially is is not being unduly penalized. I do know that there are instances where individuals do not use their vehicles and may use, you know, girlfriend or boyfriend's vehicle to commit crime. And sometimes they may claim that they had no involvement in the incident, and it's probably true in some instances. You know, I I had requested at least some correspondence from the police division to see if they had the opportunity to review this.

And from my understanding, I never received it. I'm not trying to hold it up. But to me, their review of this legislation is important just to make sure that it doesn't create it doesn't solve one problem and then create other issues for them. So that was the only reason why I requested a letter from them. And I had I don't think I received it unless the clerk got it and didn't share it with us.

Yeah. Mister chair.

Council Mccount.

Yeah. So we we were in receipt of the information. It was four bullet points. Some of us probably didn't get it. There was a funeral today, so when it came out today.

But yes. But one of the the bullet points did indicate, that in it, as well as the amendment goes, that we want to make sure that the licensed individual of that vehicle that who was ever listed under the New Jersey motor vehicle statute as ownership of that car is the individual that can only be able to, receive the car. So there was four bullet points that was addressed from the administration, around what particularly needs to happen. There was some conversation, also around the releasing of the vehicle and the fees, that would be, engaged and just adding information in there for written provision so that as they go out for contractual concerns with these towing companies that they also are made aware of them as well. So it helps in the RFP process.

Didn't really find no no issues or no problems with that. But as it speaks to who can claim the vehicle, it would have to be the direct owner who's listed under New Jersey motor vehicles.

Thank you. And and madam clerk, as per, councilman Ramos, if we can get something from the police department just to public safety just

Just to clarify, mister chair. So are are we gonna amend this to include these provisions? Because I don't I don't I don't think they send it to all of us. They may have sent it to you as the author of the legislation. So

What was the question?

Are we amending this to include the provisions that councilman council mentioned, or are we adopting it as it is? Because I didn't I didn't get the email with the suggestions that came back. So

Court counsel.

Good afternoon. Ken Yadiso, City of North Corporation council. So, essentially, you're you're 100% correct, councilman council. The the ordinance only speaks to the owner of the vehicle. So in in this scenario where you gave where, I don't know, a a a friend is involved in an investigation and the car is not associated with the owner of the car is not associated with the investigation. In that situation, the police department is supposed to contact the owner and find out if the owner was involved. Right? What you're saying is that someone loaned the vehicle to someone else or something like that. As long as the owner of the vehicle was not involved in the situation, the the the owner of the vehicle should not be penalized.

But but that that's coming from your office, right, the assessment, not from the police division.

From the police.

On the legislation.

All of the all the all the laws come

from I know you review it, but I'm just saying all all I asked for was just a review by by the police division. I'm a councilman council went through some very, pertinent points, so I didn't know where that was coming from. Was that the review that the police division did that highlighted some provisions in the ordinance?

A representative from police department is here.

Thank you, council president and council members. We did provide some feedback. I don't know if it made it to you all in time, but we did have a couple concerns, not with the overall idea, but maybe just some ideas surrounding the contracting that's current in place. Is this, like, gonna be, applied right now or just for future contracts? Because we just didn't know if this was gonna affect or there are gonna be problems with with the current contract because they agreed upon certain provisions.

And if the if moving forward, if we still can apply this right away, who would bear the cost? Because if there's a contract in place with the with the tow companies and they're expecting payment for these things, it is the is nor gonna be responsible for those things or just during future RFPs. But the ideas behind it of contacting the the the owners based on the license plate and who's registered the car and and providing continual updates is definitely more in concert with all those things.

Can you make sure those suggestions get to us or to the clerk, you know, the the feedback that the police division wants to provide because that we don't have it. So that that's all I've been asking. It's been three weeks, and I'm not sure why it's been so difficult to get it.

Yes, sir. I'll forward to you right now.

Mister Branca. Thank

you. Councilman Gonzalez.

Was the solution we saw, let's say, reached as to who is going to pay for the for the towing? Because it seems to me that that that's not clear. Let's say, if you have to return the car to to the owner without charging the owner, who is going to pay for who is going to pay for that?

So as it speaks now, what what happens is when a car is towed when a car is towed and it's for police purposes let's use it for example. Right? The the police department doesn't have to pay for it. Okay?

In this situation

Who pays for who pays for it? Because normally when the the tow truck goes there, they usually charge someone is going to pay. So who pays for that?

So you have to also realize that all this is associated with victims of crime compensation as well. Right? So what happens is if my car is involved in the shooting, the the the tow department, tow company, or what have you, what they usually do is they usually give the city a portion of their tows. This stuff is reduced from that amount.

So when we return the car, the car has been in, let's say, in the in the garage or storage for, let's say, fifteen days, twenty days. Normally, they charge, like, a $100 or $200 a day. Who pays for that?

As as I said, what what happens is whenever a car is towed whenever a car is towed, today, your car is towed. Right? If it's involved in an investigation, the city has a understanding with the the tow department that the money that the tow department normally gets from a percentage of what they tow for the other cars, that money is reduced now from what the city is

So they the city doesn't pay what you're telling me is the city doesn't pay and the owner of the car doesn't pay because his car is being returned to him or her, they said we don't charge?

Yes. Okay.

Alright. Any other questions? Council. Are you roll call.

Council members Bay? Yes. Council?

Yes. Gonzales? I'm going to abstain.

Kelly?

Yes.

Quintana?

Yes.

Ramos? Abstain.

Scott Rountree? Yes. President Trump?

Yes.

Council president, council members, before going to the next item, I do wanna apologize. Public safety did send the, memo with the bullet points, but they did express concerns about some of the language. So at some future point, we may bring this issue back up to amend it again.

Can you share that with

us? Yeah.

Absolutely. Thank

you. I appreciate it. That's all I was asking for. Even though the corporation counsel gave very good

events Alright. Review. Next item.

C is an ordinance to amend solid waste management by amending the time to abate waste. Sponsored by councilman Ramos, second by councilman council. Is there anyone present wishing to be heard on this ordinance?

Alright. Seeing none, public hearing is closed. Roll call.

Council members Bay. Yes. Council.

Yes.

Gonzales. Yes. Kelly. Yes. Quintana.

Yes.

Ramos?

Yes.

Scott Rountree? Yes. President Trump?

Yes. Councilman, council president? Council Ramos. Yeah. I just wanna say that this was really sponsored by councilman Silva as part of his attempt to kinda shorten the time period that property owners are allowed to abate, certain quality of life issues. And, you know, in his absence, he asked me to sponsor it, but it's really his his ordinance. So just wanna note that for the record.

Thank you, counsel. Councilwoman Scott Maratrochio.

Mister president, if I may

say Councilman.

Yes. It's regarding not regarding this. It's regarding, let's say, picking up garbage in general. Let's say sometimes when the sanitation workers go through the streets, the street is dirtier after than before the picking up of the garbage. And now we have a lot of complaints from people that, let's say, that say that people go and pick up the let's say, consultation goes and pick up the the recycling.

If something falls on the on the street, it stays on the street. It's not picked up. I believe it's imperative that we, let's say, send a supervisor behind the the trucks so that if something like that happens that somebody is going to clean it because people I I go to a lot of places and people are always telling me that the city is dirty. The city is not improving in that respect. And I know that we are trying, but it seems that we are not trying hard enough.

Thank you, councilman. Next item. Uh-huh. Yeah. It is harder.

I'll I'll take care of that. D is an ordinance authorizing the sale and transfer of city of Newark property sponsored by councilwoman Bay, second by councilwoman Scott Rountree. Is there anyone present wishing to be heard on this ordinance?

Lisa Parker. Coweta Towers originally was sold to NAN and the other LLC group for $23,000. The the property was assessed at $2,700,000. They sat there, didn't develop. The city was paying for scaffolding for years.

Right, Gonzales? Now you went and demolished the, the site during the day. No protection for the people in the area or the five schools in that area. Now you're selling it for a half $1,000,000 that we originally understood it was supposed to be sold for 800,000, explain to me how a property assessed at $2,700,000, the resale of it as prime real estate is being sold for a half $1,000,000. Once again, the LLC, this this administration hides all of these properties in Invest Newey for resale to certain individuals and not to the greater public.

This is an embarrassment for the taxpayers like me that you increased our taxes by 24.8% in the last three years, and now you're getting ready to give another property incentives by developers, but you have nothing for the homeowners that built and invested in these communities. The other piece of it is the city is bankrupt, broke, and in a deficit. How is it that you continue to sell these properties for not even a fraction of what they're worth to certain individuals for development, and you have no revenues coming into the city to anchor so that you don't have to go up on taxes on homeowners. These people do not pay into our schools. This development is a pet of the administration, the mayor, and originally supposed to be built in the North Ward.

At the end of the day, y'all need to take on some fiduciary responsibility for the properties that you're selling in this city so that we are garnering the revenues like other municipalities for sales of prime real estate. It wouldn't happen in New York. Be guaranteed to that. Vote no.

Thank you for your comments. Next speaker.

Good afternoon, mister Okay. Now let me say this to you. When I filed my OIG complaint, whistleblower, not snitch. It's called whistleblower. You know? And they came to my office three hours, and it was two agents. And the woman was talking to me. And I was talking three hours, whatever, and they asked me about corruption. Matter of fact, they asked me was the mayor corrupt, and I said no at the time. And then, they said come down next week to the office on Mulberry, the HUD office.

So when I came in, same two people was there, and the gentleman said, I'm the FBI. She's the OIG, but I'm FBI. And the first thing they asked me about, I'm glad you're being patient, was karate towels. It was on it, and I didn't know anything about it no more that I was a 20 year old man in 1973, my first child, my own business. And Mary Baracken was trying to build it, and they got slapped in the face and told him to go home. That's exactly. It wasn't imperial. It was our bottom. Slap them in the face. Go home.

They came to the nation's army. They asked us for help. We said, no. You should handle your business. So, anyway, I didn't know anything about it until Gonzalez start talking about it. $29,000. That's a joke for downtown. Plus, they was giving out 5,000,000 for, government funds. It remind me when I was in the housing authority and they were trying to sell the little bricks for $300,000, and I killed the deal. And Mitti brought me down. He said, this is the mass, student. And I said, no. It's no good. He said it five times. I said, no good.

And he said, well, we're supposed to give you something you would want. I said, I would never come with a bad deal to a friend. It's okay if they wanna honor their father, but don't do it at our cost. You didn't bid it out or anything like that. You know, you wanna say, that's your father. That's great. That's how you feel about your father. That's great. I feel another way. So what I'm saying to you, you should pay the regular price like I told them about the little bricks. And I told them, now you're giving $8,000,000 that somebody left. That's all sucks of corruption. Even though the intent might be good to look out for your father, it's corrupt. You're putting your hand on the scale for your daddy. You're trying to change the rules.

He got pumped in 1973. I'm old enough to tell y'all. I will bother to say, you ain't doing nothing over here because you're a racist. So what I'm saying to you, guys, I know team of rock is in, but be careful. The FBI is all over whatever happened on this deal. Thank you.

Thank you for your comments. Next, please. Much long.

Gail Cheneyfield Jenkins, 88. The mere fact that the taxpayer dollars are going towards this project and not taking into consideration the monies that were received prior to for this project to go forward is irresponsible at best. You guys should make sure that you look at this and say, why? What is the real benefit for the community? And if you're taking dollars to subsidize this kind of a project, it's unprecedented.

Though you guys have done this to some other projects, the taxpayers are paying attention, especially with that $500,000,000 school. The people are waking up. They're understanding that these kind of projects, what is the best community benefit for the people? How are you giving this particular developer the opportunity to build? And the project was originally appraised for $2,300,000.

It was an opportunity, and I'm gonna refresh the memory of councilman Gonzalez, councilman Ramos, and councilman Quintana. When Baye Wilson was here as the director of economic development, there was a opportunity for this project to be purchased for $5,000,000. And Baier said, don't do it because there was a black school in there at that time. Let them stay. We could have gotten $5,000,000 for that property and not to mention the taxes that would have been added on, that would have gone into our budget.

So at the end of the day, whose interest is this for? Who's in the best interest? What is in the best interest for the residents of the city of Newark and especially the taxpayers? They're gonna get stiff on this kind of a deal. It's not fair.

You all can vote the way you wanna vote, understand, irregardless of what, Ali said about the FBI looking at it, just look at the fairness. There are other developers who have come before you all and gotten subsidies more than what they should. But now is the time to say, hey. You know what? Maybe we need to slow our roll and see if this is analyzed and what is the benefit to the residents? What is the benefit to the taxpayers? And are they gonna be screwed if we continue this way? Thank you.

Thank you for your comments. Next speaker.

Kiera McDougald. I guess I would second her thing. I would love to hear what the community benefits are. They need a lot of things in the city, so I would just love to hear miss Ladd explain what those benefits are, what kind of deal they've made, and, what kind of enforcement measures are in place to make sure that they hold up to their end of the deal. Thank you.

Thank you for your comments. Next speaker.

Afternoon. My name is Tyree Davis. North Newark.

I I'm sorry. I I if you could put a mic up a little bit, I can't I know you I really can't hear you.

Tyree Davis. North Newark. I submitted the blockade for financial aid to the city and state from the SAC Exchange. I have the file number. I just need a point of contact to help me shake some trees for ultimately

So what we're doing is public hearing for this particular matter, and and and that that that's how the council so, usually, yesterday is when we have open mic for any comments. It sounds like an EHD matter, economic housing development. Is that what I heard? I can

Well, I'm I'm hearing financial this financial. I have the financial aid file

So for the city and

state.

Maybe we could somebody from one of our offices can get some more information from you. Are you on the speaker list?

Yes.

Okay. Well, when you get when you come back, can speak on that then. I saw I apologize. I didn't realize. Alright. Thank you. Any other speakers? Seeing none, public hearing is now closed. Any comments from the council? You you wanna get okay. Let's get the deputy mayor to come. I was gonna ask first. Deputy mayor can come up,

please. Yes.

Good afternoon, council president, council members. Good afternoon. Allison Ladd, director of economic and housing development. First, I'd like to correct the facts. I think it's really important for the those that are voting as well as the public to understand the facts that are actually true around this project.

What you've heard so far are not factual. So first, in the late sixties, the mayor's father did try to build this project in the North Ward. However, the reason why the project wasn't built was due to the rebellion as well as due to the HMFA not agreeing to fund the project. And it is in writing in places in which can be provided to anyone who has a question. The so that is true.

Second, we were not going to recreate Kaua'ita Towers because we had no other location to build a Kaua'ita Towers in our city. Second, what happened is a previous director did sell this land to a previous, buyer. We were in court for three years because the previous owner did zero, and that is why the land stayed vacant. And we have the court records to prove it. And excuse me.

So so let's let's not have when when everybody else spoke, they were given their respect not to call out. No one called out on them. Let's not call out on the speaker right now.

So, again, first of all, the history just needs to be reset. Second of all, the city did not own 17 Dash 21 Halsey Street when I came to the city of Newark seven years ago. It was owned by a third party who did nothing on the site for more than ten years. We because the mayor was so, unhappy with the party that purchased the property, we went to court. And we actually won, but it took us three years to win.

It was at that time that we decided to recreate Kaua'ita Towers. And what we did at that time, which was around COVID, is we actually had about a dozen developers submit applications to purchase the property and tell us what they would do. We chose an a developer called Omni. Unfortunately, at that time, or fortunately at that time, Omni was a successful developer in our city. And then they were bought by a company named Nuveen out of New York.

After a some time of negotiations, Nuveen agreed to step away from the project because they no longer wanted to execute the vision of the party that they bought known as, the the other group that I mentioned. So we had to mutually terminate the redevelopment agreement between the party that was gonna buy it and the city, which was done and is documented. Then we decided that we needed to continue to march forward because in Newark, that is what we do. So the next step was is we knew what an eyesore the property was on Halsey And Central. And so it was also dangerous.

So that is when we agreed to demolish the site so that it is more safe for our residents in Newark. And that is why you see a space there where there is no building. You also see a fence, and we have then gone through the process publicly to select new partners for the site. When we published the application, we received six awards. Of the six awards, the group that is being presented today for selection was one of three that we were top finalists.

This group brought forward the best transaction, the best information, as well as the financial wherewithal to make this happen. Therefore, we selected them, and all of that information is documented in the registrar file. So in closing, because this part I hope that all will be able to be excited about, is it is a 100% affordable housing in our central ward. Second, there is going to be home ownership for Newark residents also at affordable levels. Three, there will also be a community grocer on the Ground Floor that will be for the residents not only of the building but also of the neighborhood.

And we know that it's necessary because not everyone can afford the day to day things that we need. So, therefore, we are trying to help more families have access to good health and food choices. Now specifically, I wanted to mention the two quest three questions that were asked yesterday by the council. The first, the assessed value is $918,800. The assessed value is $918,800.

What we did is like we did with other nonprofits and other development, we have asked for, at this point, 54% of the price. And so that is why that we are asking them to pay a half $1,000,000 for the site. The other funds will actually be used to build affordable housing. I think all of us know that affordable housing is not built out of complete generosity. It is also built with public sector funds which is what happens in every city, county, and state across The United States.

So it is not unusual. It's not a surprise. It's something that I know this council supports, and we regularly bring these matters to you. Second, the principles are heritage company, local women Newark based people. People like everybody who's in the chambers or people that are in our neighborhoods.

It is locally led by women in our city. The principal is Chanel Duns, and they also have, which we are fine with, they also have another partner who happens to be of the other gender, Craig Sawyer, who's with POEMA. Finally, the breakdown of the AMI units, I know was specifically asked by council member Gonzalez yesterday, is there will be four condos at 30% of AMI. It'll be one one bedroom, two two bedrooms, and one three bedroom. There will be eight condos at 50% of AMI, and there'll be two one bedrooms, three two bedrooms, and three three bedrooms.

Also, there will be four condos at 60% of AMI, two two bedrooms, and two three bedrooms. The development will then balance out with actual rentals, and those rentals will be able to be similar in nature. So we are asking you to support the affordable housing effort in our Downtown Central Ward, our 100 affordable project that is for residents of Newark that is affordable rental, affordable homeownership, and also happens to be something in which our mayor is proud of. So thank you.

Thank you, deputy mayor. Anything from the council? Councilwoman Bay.

Yes. Thank you, deputy mayor. I wanna I appreciate that. And for this project to be something that we hear all the time, people talking about, we need affordable housing. We have it. We need opportunities for Newarkers to own their home. We have the condo. You have it. We have too many people from the outside developing in our city. These are homegrown people who are here in the city of Newark already invested, part of the community, given the opportunity to build and develop and grow this city.

So I do appreciate the explanation and especially the breakdown of the units, because the three bedrooms are very important because that speaks to family, that speaks to community. It's not just about a one off with a studio or one bedroom for people to come in and have this transient population. This is about family and stability. And so I wanna say thank you for the explanation.

Thank you, councilman Bay. Councilman Kelly.

Thank you, council president. Good day, deputy mayor. Question about the community benefit that you mentioned about the grocery store. Is this the grocery store that will also be selling items based on people's finances based on the income that they're receiving?

Yes. Council president to council member Kelly's question. As you may recall, we are working on five community grocers as a pilot, one in each ward. The mayor was able to publicly announce the four of the five locations last night at the state of the city address. Those are pilots. What we are excited about is that the Coweta Towers project will actually be permanent. And so the concept will be the same, that it's community based, community led, as well as extremely low cost, if not no cost.

Thank you.

Thank you. Councilman, Gonzales. Thank you, mister president. Of the apartments that are going to be sold and leased, how many are three families?

Three. Yes. Three, sir.

Of how many?

Oh, of, bear with me. 12.

Sir, the the the

And then six will be two bedrooms.

The total the total apartments in the building are 12?

The total condos in that building are 12.

I I didn't hear that.

Yes. The total condominiums, the total affordable homeownership will be 12. So there'll be three one bedrooms, six two bedrooms, and three three bedrooms. Okay. Or for sale.

Okay. It's a as mentioned before, let's say, I believe that and I have been stressing that we have to have apartments for families in the city of Newark. We have too many one bedroom apartments and and too many studios, in the city. So we have to encourage, builders, to build what families need in the city of Newark so that we can pro protect the families that want to stay in the city of Newark.

Yes. Understood.

Thank you. Any other questions from councilman Ramos?

Yeah. Thank you, mister president. I I just wanna state for the record that some years ago when this came up, I I didn't support it. I had a lot of concerns because there were some variables related to financing and some things that were forthcoming to the council that were needed in order to make this project happen. So just for the record, you you mentioned that the new developer has the financing in place. I know there's some federal funds that were earmarked by the late Congressman Payne. Is that all we can expect to finance this project? Or you're anticipating coming back to the council for additional subsidies beyond maybe a tax abatement? I don't know. Where are we on the financing side?

Yes. Council president to council member Ramos's question. This is definitely a traditional a 100% affordable housing project whereby there are a lot of public investment that's needed. I will say though that the development team is actually going out and and applied for grants from the New York Federal Home Loan Bank, and we expect them to be successful for both the homeownership side and the rental housing side. But in addition to what you said, yes, the only other item would be a potential pilot. At this point, we have not finalized anything on that.

Yeah. And they haven't been before any, planning board. They need acquisition first. Right?

Correct, sir.

Yes. Thank you. Thank you.

Anything else from the council?

Mister president Councilman. Final point. Let's say, I have been opposed to this project since the very beginning. I believe the explanation that you gave today has convinced me that to to change the way I think because of the three family component of the project. They say, at the beginning, I I had a friend that was willing and able to pay $1,200,000 for that lot.

And and it was sold for a 123,000, I believe it was, or $23,000. It's a so to me, that was, let's say, something that the city shouldn't have done, but there were some reasons, whatever their reasons were. But let's say, the new project, as presented to us today is different to the project that was presented to us five or six years ago. And I believe that that is changed by the way that I think about the project.

Thank you, councilman. Anything else from the council? Councilwoman Scott Rountree.

Thank you, council president. It's amazing that it took this long when, as one of our speakers said, that back in some years ago, I probably was in elementary school when they were fighting to bring bring this project to the North Ward. The point is everything happens in god's time. We support it, not just because it's just affordable. That's very important because we get a lot of speakers talking about affordable.

And we do understand there's a difference between affordable and low income. However, what other speakers always talk about is people from inside, homegrown, people that have grown up in this city that decided to come together. I'm hoping that message will be sent to a lot of our homegrown individuals that if they come together, they too can accommodate our families with family ownership with 1% 100% affordable? Yes. That's amazing. That's amazing. And I do support the group that came together. And I think most of them are women, maybe mom guy or something. Yes. Women of color. So, yes, thank you very much for that thorough explanation.

Thank you.

Thank you, councilwoman. Anything else from the council? With that being said, roll call.

Council members, Bay? Yes. Council?

Yes.

Gonzales?

Yes.

Kelly?

Yes.

Quintana? Yes. Ramos?

Yes.

Scott Rountree? Yes. President Trump?

Yes.

Resolutions. Seven r one a through e are all emergency temporary emergency appropriations. A is for the Drinking Driving Enforcement Fund, b is pedestrian safety grant, c is public health preparedness grant, d is to support the education of a diverse nurse practitioner population, and e is to provide funds for the city's operating expenses. Council as a whole to adopt a through e, please.

Council members Bay? Yes. Council?

Yes.

Gonzales? Yes. Kelly? Yes. Keithana?

Yes.

Ramos?

Yes.

Scott Rountree? Yes. President Trump?

Yes.

F is the use of state contract for IT equipment council as a whole to adopt.

Roll call.

Council members, Bay? Yes. Council?

Yes.

Gonzales? Yes.

Kelly? Yes.

Khitana? Yes. Ramos?

Abstain.

Scott Rountree? Yes. President Trump?

Yes.

E through q are all contracts with grant recipients to provide community based violence intervention and prevention in youth mentoring and or safe passage. G is Ayesha and Harper Domestic Awareness Foundation, sponsored by councilman council and second by councilwoman Bang. H is complex vision Newark. I is push peers understanding strategies to healing, sponsored by councilman Kelly, second by councilwoman Bay. J is the high school academic support and mentoring program of New Jersey, sponsored by councilman Kelly, second by councilman Gonzalez.

K is to provide funds for the city's I'm sorry. Please forgive me. K is Voices International Publications Incorporated, sponsored by councilman Kelly, second by councilman council. L is hope, love, kindness, crisis intervention, sponsored by councilman council, second by council president Trump. M is FP Youth Outcry Foundation, spouse sponsored by councilwoman Bay, second by councilman Kelly.

N is United Community Corporation, sponsored by councilman Kelly, Second by councilman Gonzalez. O is rise to grind fitness, sponsored by councilman council. Second by councilman Quintana. P is hope, love, kindness, crisis intervention. And q is brothers building a better nation sponsored by council president Trump, second by councilwoman Bay. Council as a whole to adopt g through q with sponsors, please.

Mister chair, 77R1H. That was sponsored by myself and seconded by councilman Kelly.

Yeah. That was the rest.

My apology.

Seven r one h council Kelly. I got you, councilman. I saw it. Roll call with the notice sponsors.

Council members, Bay? Yes. Council?

Yes.

Gonzales? Yes. Kelly? Yes. Quintana?

Yes.

Ramos? Yes. Scott Rountree? Yes. President Krum?

Yes.

R is an application for grant funds to apply for the sustainable jersey grant funded by PSE and g, and s is an exception to public bidding to support the maintenance and proprietary soft computer software and hardware. Council as a whole to adopt r and s, please.

Roll

call. Council members Bay? Yes. Council?

Yes. Gonzales? Yes. Kelly? Yes.

Quintana?

Yes.

Ramos?

Yes.

Scott Rountree? Yes. President Trump?

Yes.

Seven r two a through e, our private sale and redevelopment agreement. A is new construction of a three and a half story residential building, all units designated to households earning 60 to 80% AMI. Sponsored by councilman Ramos, second by councilman Quintana.

Roll call.

Council members Bay? Yes. Council?

Yes.

Gonzales?

Yes.

Kelly?

Yes. Quintana? Yes. Ramos? Yes.

Scott Rountree? Yes. President Trump?

Yes. B and c will both be deferred. B is actually sponsored by councilman counsel and second by councilman Gonzalez. Council to defer b and c with sponsors.

Roll call.

Council members Bay? Yes. Council?

Yes.

Gonzales? Yes. Kelly?

Yes.

Quintana?

Yes.

Ramos?

Yes.

Scott Rountree? Yes. President Trump?

Yes.

Dee's council as a whole to return to the administration?

A roll call to return to administration.

Council members, Bay? Yes. Council?

Yes. Gonzales? Yes. Kelly? Yes. Quintana?

Yes.

Ramos?

Yes.

Scott Rountree? Yes. President Trump?

Yes.

E is a motion to defer sponsored by councilman council, second by councilman Gonzalez.

Mister chair. Councilman council. I I know I asked for this item to be deferred on yesterday. Can we turn it to the administration?

Alright. Motion to return to administration. Same sponsors. Councilman Gonzalez, will you second that? Seven r two e.

Roll call.

Council members, Bay? Yes. Council?

Yes.

Gonzales? Yes. Kelly? Yes. Quintana?

Yes.

Ramos?

Yes.

Scott Rountree? Yes. President Kwonk?

Yes.

F is a referral to the proposed third amendment to the West Ward model neighborhood initiative redevelopment plan sponsored by councilman Kelly, second by councilman Gonzalez.

Roll call. Roll oh, you just scratching your head. Didn't have a question. Roll call.

Council members, Bay. Yes. Council.

Yes.

Gonzales. Yes. Kelly.

Yes.

Quintana? Yes. Ramos?

Yes.

Scott Rountree? Yes. President Trump?

Yes.

G is to execute an affordable housing agreement for home funds to develop and construct a new three family home in the Central Ward, which was corrected yesterday after the Scrivener's error was discovered. Council is on hold to adopt.

Roll call.

Council members Bay? Yes. Council?

Yes.

Gonzales? Yes. Kelly? Yes. Quintana? Yes. Ramos?

Yes.

Scott Rountree? Yes. President Klump?

Yes.

H is a grant agreement to provide gap financing for the construction of one three family residential dwelling in the West Ward sponsored by councilman Kelly, second by councilwoman Bay.

Councilman Kelly?

Thank you, council president. I know yesterday that we were talking about, that there was it was wrong by saying one three family, and it was supposed to be three. Right?

It's It's one. It's one? Yes. It's a it's a three family. It's one one building with three units. My question yesterday was about the 1,000,000, but, apparently, there was an oil tank that had to be taken out and some other expenses that had to be taken out so that brings the cost higher than normally by couple of $100,000.

Alright. Let's let's move it then. Roll call.

Council members, Faye? Yes. Council?

Yes.

Gonzales? Yes. Kelly?

Yes.

Quintana?

Yes.

Ramos? Absent. Scott Rountree? Yes. President Trump?

Yes.

I and Jay are introducing the 2026 budgets for SIDS and or BIDS. I is the annual budget for the Bergen Lions Clinton Special Improvement District sponsored by councilman council, second by council president Trump, and j is the annual budget for Partnership West sponsored by councilman Kelly, second by councilman Gonzalez. Council as a whole to adopt I and j with sponsors, please.

Roll call.

Council members Bay? Yes. Council?

Yes.

Gonzales? Yes. Kelly? Yes. Quintana?

Yes.

Ramos absent. Scott Rountree? Yes. President Trump?

Yes.

K. Is the issuance of estoppel certificate certifying the status of the financial agreement council as a whole to adopt?

Roll call.

Council members, Faye? Yes. Council?

Yes.

Gonzales? Yes. Kelly?

Yes.

Quintana?

Yes.

Ramos absent. Scott Rountree? Yes. President Trump?

Yes.

Seven r three a and b are all are both refunds. A is refund monies as a result of payment error, and b is refund monies paid toward construction permit fees for work that was never commenced. Council as a whole to adopt a and b.

Roll call.

Council members, Faye? Yes. Council?

Yes.

Gonzales? Yes. Kelly? Yes.

Quintana?

Yes.

Ramos?

Yes.

Scott Rountree? Yes. President Trump?

Yes.

C and d are both resolutions requesting additional time from the New Jersey Department of Transportation local aid. C is for the safe streets to Newark Transit Hub, and d is the transit village pedestrian safety improvement extension. Council as a whole to adopt c and d.

Roll call.

Council members Bay? Yes. Council?

Yes.

Gonzales?

Yes. Kelly? Yes. Quintana?

Yes.

Ramos?

Yes.

Scott Rountree? Yes. President Trump?

Yes. Mister president. Councilman Ramos.

While I was making my tea, I know I missed a few votes. So I'd like to be noted as a yes for 7 R2I, 7 R 2 J, and 7 R2K.

Thank you, councilman. Thank you, mister president. So noted. I, j, and k.

Duly noted. Seven r four a and b are both stipulations of settlements for tax appeals. Council as a whole to adopt a and b.

Roll call.

Council members, Bay? Yes. Council?

Yes.

Gonzales?

Yes. Kelly? Yes. Quintana?

Yes.

Ramos?

Yes.

Scott Rountree? Yes. President Trump?

Yes.

Seven r four c is requesting approval to establish a dedication by Rider Trust for the $3 per day surcharge on hotel occupancies to fund fire services. Sponsored by councilman Ramos, second by council president Trump.

Roll call.

Council members, Bay. Yes. Council.

Yes.

Gonzales. Yes. Kelly. Yes. Quintana. Yes. Ramos. Yes.

Scott Rountree. Yes. President Trump?

Yes. Mister president. Councilman Ramos.

So I stated at the pre meeting yesterday, if we can just send a note through your chair and the clerk thanking senator Ruiz, assemblywoman Pintoir Marin, and also the Newark Fire Union. They collaborated to change the state law that allows Newark now to collect a surcharge on hotel stays, with the purposes of funding the fire division's, need for equipment. This is not supposed to be operational subsidy. This is supposed to be to enable the fire division to buy a much needed, safety equipment. And I believe, you know, it's gonna generate at least a million dollars a year that can be used to support a department that that desperately needs equipment, especially with these high rises going up with a lot of people driving electric vehicles now.

There's definitely different strategies that they need and equipment to to fight fires in Newark.

Thank you, council.

Seven r five a through I are contracts with grant subrecipients to provide emergency shelter services, homelessness prevention, and or rapid rehousing assistance. A is access family services, b is apostle house, c is the y m c a sponsored by councilman Kelly, second by councilwoman bay, d is the urban league of Essex County sponsored by councilman Kelly, second by councilwoman Bay. E is Joy's Angels. F is Fairmount Health Services. G is United Community Corporation, sponsored by Councilman Kelly, second by Councilwoman Bay.

H is Newark Beth Israel Medical Center. And I is St. James Social Services Corporation, sponsored by Councilwoman Bay, second by Councilman Ramos. Council as a whole to adopt a through I with sponsors, please.

Vocal. Council members Bay? Yes. Council?

Yes. Gonzales? Yes. Kelly? Yes. Quintana? Yes. Ramos?

Yes.

Scott Rountree? Yes. President Trump?

Yes.

J is the application acceptance of grant funds to support the education of a diverse nurse practitioner population in underserved communities. Sponsored by councilman Kelly. Second by councilwoman Bay.

Roll call.

Councilmembers Bay? Yes. Council?

Yes.

Gonzales?

Yes. Kelly? Yes. Quintana? Yes. Ramos? Yes.

Scott Rountree? Yes. President Trump?

Yes.

7R6A is a professional service contract to provide legal services concerning bond counsel services. Counsel as a whole to adopt.

Vocal. Council members, Bay? Yes. Council?

Yes.

Gonzales?

Yes. Kelly? Yes. Quintana? Yes. Ramos?

Yes.

Scott Rountree? Yes. President Trump?

Yes.

Seven r eight a is recognizing and commending resolutions. Council as a whole to adopt.

Roll call.

Council members Bay? Yes. Council?

Yes.

Gonzales?

Yes.

Kelly?

Yes.

Quintana?

Yes.

Ramos?

Yes.

Scott Moultrie? Yes.

President Trump? Yes.

He is expressing profound sorrow and regret. Council president, council members, we have an amendment on the floor to include former state assemblyman, Alberto Al Cocino, sponsored by councilman council, and also adding Paulette Hall and minister Abdul Akbar Mohammed, sponsored by councilwoman Bay.

Roll call to amend. Let it.

Council members Bay? Yes. Council?

Yes.

Gonzales? Yes. Kelly?

Yes.

Quintana? Yes. Ramos?

Yes.

Scott Rountree? Yes. President Trump?

Yes.

Council as a whole to adopt as amended, please?

I'll call.

Council members, Bay? Yes. Council?

Yes.

Gonzales? Yes. Kelly?

Yes.

Quintana?

Yes.

Ramos?

Yes.

Scott Rountree? Yes. President Trump?

Yes.

Thank you. Seven r nine a is an exception to public bidding to provide support and maintenance of proprietary software and public safety. Council as a whole to adopt.

Roll call. Council members Bay? Yes. Council?

Yes.

Gonzales?

Yes.

Kelly?

Yes.

Quintana?

Yes. Ramos?

Yes.

Scott Rountree? Yes. President Trump?

Yes.

Seven R12 a is a bid contract for roof replacement on various public buildings. Council sponsored by council president Trump. Second by councilwoman Bay.

Roll call.

Council members Bay? Yes. Council?

Yes. Gonzales? Yes. Kelly? Yes. Quintana?

Yes.

Ramos?

Yes.

Scott Rountree? Yes. President Trump?

Yes.

Communications. Item eight a is an ordinance granting a twenty year tax abatement to Namor seven six three South Orange Urban Renewal LLC for a project located in the West Ward to construct a new five story mixed use building. Council as a whole to advance the first reading.

Roll call.

Council members, Bay? Yes. Council?

Yes.

Gonzales? Yes. Kelly?

Yes.

Quintana?

Yes.

Ramos?

Yes.

Scott Rountree? Yes. President Trump?

Yes.

B is an ordinance that ratifies and authorizes the second amendment to the original tax abatement granted to Spruce Park Associates. Council as a whole to advance the first reading. Council president?

Councilwoman Bay.

May thank you. I had asked for some additional information on this, and I wanna thank deputy mayor Ladd for for providing it for me. But because of so many things that happened this morning, I haven't had a chance to review it. I

wanna defer.

I'm sorry. I didn't hear that last word. I was coughing.

I said I'm sorry. I said

because I didn't get a chance to review the information that was provided because of everything that happened this morning. Wanted to

make a motion to defer.

We councilwoman, if if you your prerogative, but we can just advance at one so that you can have review the information for the next meeting

Okay.

If that that would be sufficient.

Okay.

Is is that alright?

Yes, sir.

So we'll just advance the first reading.

Okay.

Alright. Thank you. Roll call.

Council members Bay? Yes. Council?

Yes. Gonzales? Yes. Kelly? Yes. Quintana?

Yes.

Ramos?

Yes.

Rountree? Yes. President Trump?

Yes.

C is an ordinance authorizing the mayor and or his designee to enter into and execute an agreement with Bergen Street Partners LLC for the sale and redevelopment of city property. Council to advance the first reading sponsored by councilman council, second by councilman Kelly.

Roll call.

Council members, Bay. Yes. Council.

Yes.

Gonzales. Yes. Kelly. Yes. Quintana.

Yes. Ramos. Yes. Scott Rountree. Yes. President Trump.

Yes.

D excuse me. D is an ordinance ratifying and authorizing the mayor and or his designee to enter into and execute a lease agreement with South Orange, New Jersey LLC for a property in the West Ward to use as office space. Council to advance f to first reading sponsored by councilman Kelly, second by councilman council.

Roll call. Council members Bay? Yes. Council?

Yes.

Gonzales? Yes. Kelly? Yes. Quintana?

Yes. Ramos?

Yes.

Scott Rountree? Yes. President Trump?

Yes.

Miscellaneous item 10 a is approval of the raffle license council as a whole to adopt.

Roll call.

Council members Bay? Yes. Council?