Council - Regular Meeting

Good afternoon. Welcome to the regular meeting of the Newark Municipal Council on Wednesday, August 5th. Please stand for the National Anthem Pledge of Allegiance and invocation by Pastor Robert L. Cole, Jr. of Holy Temple Freewill Baptist Church.

say can you see by the dawn's early light what so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the Oh, the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming.

to the republic in which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

To our esteemed council president, council members, to our government officials, and to each and every one of you, our father's children that are here in this gala as well as online, I greet you first in our sisters and our brothers, our Muslim family. As-salamu alaykum. And I greet you all in that wonderful, strong name of Jesus, our Lord and Savior. Might we pray? Spirit of the living God, fall fresh here on today. Lord, before we ask you for anything, we certainly want to thank you for everything. Lord, you are good. You've been better than good. We can't thank you enough. We owe you our lives. Lord, you have been so good to each and every one of us. You allowed us to come together once again one more time. And for that, we say thank you. We ask you now, God, that you will forgive us for each of our trespass as we forgive those who trespass against us. We pray now, God, that you will remember our council president, our council members, and God, I pray, God, that you will keep them now, guide them, govern them now, give them discernment, God, give them wisdom, God, to guide and learn and grow in this government. We pray now, God, that you will bless these great men and women here, this great city of Newark, God, bless every business owner, bless every family, bless every constituent, everyone that's connected here in these five wards of Newark. Lord, Lord, we thank you now, God, for the fellowship. We pray now, God, that you will build a stronger bond, bridge it, Lord, between people and government. We pray now, God, that you will allow them to come to the microphone and you will do what you have asked us to do in the word. and it shall be given. Seek, and we shall find. Knock, and the door shall be opened. We come against you, enemy. We come against you, Satan, who comes in to cause chaos, mayhem, and destruction. We pray now, God, that you will fill the room. Give us peace, give us order, and give us comfort. We love you today, and we thank you in advance for all that you're about to do and all that you will do. These are all the blessings we ask in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. And together we say Amen, amen, and thank God.

Yes.

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 July 31st at the time of preparation and posted on the city's website.

Roll call. Bay? Present. Council? Present. Trump, absent. Jackson, absent. Kelly? Present. Ramos, absent. Scott Roundtree? Present. Silva, absent. President Quintana?

Here.

Council President, Council Members, we are on page three of the agenda. Item six, ordinances on public hearing, second reading, and final passage. 6P-SFA is an ordinance amending and supplementing cannabis regulations to add microconsumption, amending the manner of operation. Hold on, hold on.

We have, I can't listen because people, To the general public you know you're going to have conversations. You know as it's being precedes today I'll be what would actually the please I'll go into the hallway or somewhere if you have phones Please do not utilize the cell phones in this chambers because we want to run this meeting Rapidly and in a good and in a fashion that is the people's business. Thank you

Thank you, Council President. Amending manner of operations, armed security, and license fee. Sponsored by Councilman Council, second by Councilman Ramos. Is there anyone wishing to be heard on this ordinance?

Yes, our speaker.

Yes. Great day, Deborah Salter. So this is amending... Can we get a little more information about this? Because the initial, because this is amending the first one, right? And this is about, let's see, cannabis and a cannabis establishment. And that's the other thing. We don't need not another cannabis shop in this city. We don't need not another one. They're all over the place. Everywhere you go, around schools, around churches, we don't need another one. Let me say that before I get any more explanation on this. We need places that are going to give our people jobs with livable wages. You don't need any more drugs, okay? Cannabis, I know it's grown from the earth, but by the time they put stuff in it and whoever's doing whatever, I'm saying in the city of Newark, you can't go too far without running into a cannabis spot, smoke shop, convenience spot that's selling the paraphernalia. since we're on a topic. But I would like a little bit more information about this. This is amending. I see it's talking about amending a cannabis establishment. Stops there. To add a subsection. Micro-consumption, I know that there were certain, what do you call it, permissions given for micro-growing it, for selling it, for transporting it. So if this micro-consumption is that, amending chapter 2-5, we need information. Armed security, okay, I understand they need to have armed security and this is chapter 14, three to four license fees. Can someone break this down in very clear language because there's a lot of ambiguity as the attorney said the other day about the containers. There's a lot of ambiguity right here. So can we get a full explanation of what this is and why this cannabis establishment is important because we have a bunch of them in the city already. Okay? So we need things that are going to benefit we the people. Not cannabis. You know? And our kids have to walk by this stuff. Some of them are buying it. Some people are buying it and giving it to them. The edibles. All of the other stuff. So we don't need anything in Newark more dealing with cannabis. That's what I'm saying. We the people are saying that. But can someone please give an explanation on this?

Any other speakers?

Ditto what she just said, Deborah Saltis. Thank you for that. At the end of the day, every time y'all come with these things, the ambiguity and the non-transparency and the level that you do not have details, it's not explaining anything to us. We saw Charlamagne Tha God, that y'all was all out there celebrating his cannabis thing on Broad Street, not far from a charter school. He didn't care. He wasn't in business six months. Where are the revenues that we're collecting from these establishments? You got people operating out of their home. Cannabis delivery. Look it up on Google. They got the address there. We are collecting revenues from these places and no accountability for them. So what is the detail in the changes that you're making here that's gonna protect our young people and basically let the citizens know what money and revenues y'all are collecting from all these weed shops.

Mr. President, before we move forward, so if we can have, when we do these presentations, someone from the office come up to talk about them so that we don't have a large amount of individuals coming up not sure about what it is. But this ordinance right here, what it does is it addresses the security that some of the small business cannabis individuals have been having which required them to have 24-hour security on site when many of them also have to meet the security requirements of having cameras and other security devices inside of their facility as well as the outside. This helps them to allow them not to have 24-hour security while they are not open. And so while they are closed, they're able to utilize all of the video camera footage, all of the information security systems that they have in place. And while they're open, they have to have 24, they have to have the security in place to monitor the facilities and go through the processes of what needs to happen at those sites while they are there. And so what was happening was that they were spending a large amount of dollars on overnight security as it relates to them trying to open up small businesses and work in that way and be hammered by the enormous amount of cost that it would take for these small providers to be able to operate. And so what we've done was to work to amend the, legislation to show that as long as they have all of the other recognizable security features in place, that they would not have to, when their hours of operation are closed, have a 24-hour person on site.

Ms. Freeman, can we have someone from the administration? Yes. Please. Thank you.

Good afternoon, Council President, Council Members. Vinaya Walker for the Cannabis Program. Regarding the breakdown for the amendment, so as for... everything councilman council said that is 100 correct we are amending the the um the micro consumption we're adding that on because we currently do only have four operating dispensaries and we're updating the security ordinance as well to help the businesses because as of right now they only have 24 hours security that was killing their market and all the money that they were trying to bring in. And so we're just trying to help them build that out. And we want to start treating them how we treat restaurants and liquor stores. So we're breaking it down to only the operating hours. They have cages. They have the security while they're operating. And then they also have like all this stuff underground and they have all the locks and cages and stuff like that. So that's going to help them do all the extra security work inside. As for The zoning regulations, you do have this stuff regarding the schools. They can't be near schools. They can't be near churches. So before they even build out, you have to go through zoning. You have to go through buildings to get all this stuff approved before you move forward. So therefore, if you guys have any other questions, you can just come to me. We'll go to council.

Yes.

Thank you.

Any other speakers?

This is the most ridiculous thing I ever heard. We're gonna treat them like restaurants. Restaurants don't have a street value. There's a reason why most municipalities request this additional upgraded security. Because when they go home, you get broken into. So now you have something of value not being protected because your police don't know how to review videos. They don't look at videos. I was just in the police station. A woman called in that her computer, her laptop was stolen and she tracked it. Oh, we need a warrant to go get your computer. Here's the thing.

The ordinance is about armed security.

Here's the thing. Armed security is a reason why you have it. They're not dumbing down their ordinance in Bloomfield. They're not dumbing down their ordinances in any other municipality other than this one. You already have lawlessness. You already are down cops, cops. You don't have enough officers to respond to things. So let's just make another target. You're painting a big target on the dispensaries, okay? Whether they're micro-dosing or macro-dosing or whatever it is that they're supplying. Now it's going to be housed. Now folk are going to scheme on how to break into these buildings. And some of these dispensaries border schools and people's homes. So now you're just making the nuisance, like the nuisance of the recycling that you don't collect that was supposed to be collected to reduce our taxes. Now we have wandering crackheads and other folks coming. I'm sorry to interrupt, but we're talking about armed security, not about... And I'm talking about general lawlessness that goes hand in hand. You're dumbing down... the ordinance that was put in place so that these dispensaries are safer and safer in our community. Let's just throw safety out the window like you've done with recycling, like you do with everything else. This is ridiculous. So I'm waiting for somebody to get shot. I'm going to keep this video and, yeah.

It's going to be very interesting. Sorry, but we're not waiting for no one to get shot. Thank you. Any other speakers? I'm curious, do you know the speakers?

Yeah, Mr. President.

Yes, councilor.

Yeah, I apologize for coming in late, but I just wanted to be noted as affirmative for the reports and other ordinances that I have missed the vote on. And also just wanted to comment on this, I walked in midway through the discussion. Newark is the only municipality in the state that was requiring a 24-hour armed security for these cannabis establishments. People know that from day one I've been a little bit concerned about the community impact of these kind of operations within the city. And the reality is that we have very few businesses connected to the cannabis industry that have been able to successfully establish themselves in Newark. And one of the reasons why is that the city has regulated the industry on top of the regulations that the state has imposed on the industry. So it's made it very difficult for some of these very small businesses to operate successfully within the city. And one of the challenges that they have communicated to the administration about is the costs associated with having a 24-hour armed security. Now, there are other mechanisms that they could utilize, you know, surveillance equipment, they could have security in place during operational hours, but to have them be required to pay somebody 24 hours a day to secure their facility, even when they're closed, in many instances created an environment where it wasn't even worth it for some of these businesses to decide to open up their establishments within the city of Newark. They could easily go to Bloomfield, they could easily go to from Trenton to Patterson, and they don't have those same requirements. So that's the reason why the administration is looking to set up some alternatives to the 24-hour mandated armed security.

My name is Leon Reed. I live at 1060 Broad Street.

And what I want to talk about, My problem number is 426.

No, no, this is regarding the ordinance, sir. This is regarding the ordinance, armed security for cannabis, and that's the only item that you can speak towards. If you're on the list to speak on the public list, then at that time, we'll be giving you the time.

Well, what I'm trying to say, where I live at, they're spraying some kind of chemical in my apartment. It's making me sick.

Sir, can we have someone, Anthony or someone, can someone's staff meet with you and take the information of what you're saying? Because we're on an ordinance that basically is talking about something different. So this gentleman right here will take your information. Thank you. Madam Clerk, I don't see any other speakers.

Roll call. Bay? Yes. Council?

Yes.

Crump? Absent. Jackson? Yes. Kelly? Yes. Ramos? Yes. Yes. Silva, absent. Present, Quintana. Yes.

Council President, Council Members, before we go to the next ordinance, I just want to state for the record that Councilman Silva has an excused absence for the record.

Noted. Madam Clerk, please, listen, I want to be fair. We listened to you, and no one up here was trying to disturb you, your conversation. So please, moving forward, if you have some comments, please, you're going to have to, please not, because it doesn't help those people who are behind, like the city clerk, because you're talking behind a person and just distracting. Please, we urge you to please cooperate with us. Thank you. Continue.

B is an ordinance authorizing the mayor and or his designee to execute the sale and transfer of properties for redevelopment. Is there anyone wishing to be heard on this ordinance?

There's a speaker for us.

Council President, you asked the last time at the council meeting that Allison Ladd last month come to the table and give a breakdown of all the properties that are in Invest Newark. What you have been doing every month, this council is- The name for the record? Lisa Parker. Okay. What you've been doing every month is authorizing the deputy mayor and invest newer for the sale and transfers of properties that you haven't identified what properties they are. What we're seeing in these agendas every month is nothing but pork belly that you're giving to your friends, family, and donors. and underestimating and under assessing the value of these properties so that you can resell them for pennies but not for the open public. Now if all of these properties are being housed within the investment newer and for the last five years Allison Ladd comes here and says I'll get it to you. and hasn't done it yet i don't want to see another ordinance like this for you to approve unless you are detailing what properties you're talking about and i want to ask the question once again which properties are you transferring and selling and to whom out of Invest Newark. We have it now, Nina Simone, all of these quasi renamed, rebranded developments that we're not collecting revenues from, from Invest Newark. And we wonder why the city is broke. Because not only aren't you collecting the real assessment of the, and I don't care if you raise the rate from $6 per square foot to 17, you're reducing the assessed amount so that you could continue to sell it for nothing and have people purchase it that's not Newarkers so they could turn around and flip it for a half a million, million dollars. There needs to be some accountability out at Invest Newark and stop with all the non-transparency of transferring the property and the sale of it and giving permission and you legislators not asking the questions. That's real talk. Accountability. Why you saddling the homeowners in the debt while you not collecting revenues.

Any other speakers?

Deborah Salter. So the last meeting, and Ramos brought this up years ago as well, and where we align with these properties. Last meeting, he talked about properties that were sold for pennies, and they quadrupled the sale. They sold it to one person, and that person sold it to another person, and then it's out of our hands. Allison, oh, I'm upset because they said they were going to do this and they didn't do it, but now they did this, and what are we going to do? Right. The details are in the devil. The devil is in the details. The contracts, that's where the details are. So if it's not written, it's not done. You're talking about, oh, it was $8 we sold the property for. Now we've at least raised it. You should have been charging $28, $38 per square foot for these industrial lots. instead of giving it away for pennies, under assessing it, even if it's assessed at one price, it's sold for much less because it's people you know. What? But then we the people are saddled with the debt. Our taxes go up. We have to fill the bill that's been left by those who come here and get the whole candy store. But when we say this, you look at us like we're crazy, and you know the deals that are made. You know it. Ramos has been asking the same questions the years he's been up here. There was supposed to be a list given by Allison Ladd, like Lisa Parker said the last time. Always ask, where's the list? Where are the properties? What makes you choose this developer over that developer? What makes them get the property and the other person doesn't get the property? How many bids were given? None of these answers are given, ever. Which makes you, the council, ineffective. Because I told Quintana outside yesterday, you don't even realize the power that you hold. You in these seats don't realize the power that you hold. You understand? Everybody is supposed to be held accountable under you. You, you have the power to veto, smack it down. If something's in the budget, I don't want that. No, we're not doing this property. And who gonna check you? You're sitting up here powerless when all the power is given to you by the Faulkner Act. And you act like you don't know it. Exactly. So if you don't know the job or you don't know the power you hold, get out the seat, because it's not benefiting we the people. Where are these properties? It needs to be made available to every citizen, not just who you want to give it to. Now let's stop the madness and have her, require her to get here with this.

Thank you.

Next speaker.

Good afternoon, I'm Darrell Brown, North New Jersey. Don't mean to be a broken record, but let's bring up the facts. Where is the exhibit, where is the list? In the past, we have these ordinance. You want individuals to come up and talk about it. We don't know what we're talking about half the time because the information is not here. Where are the properties? What are we selling? We have so many homeless people in this city that we selling property? The problem that we're having is you want us to speak, give our opinions, but nothing is very clear in what's being explained. I ask going forward, let's document who's actually supporting these ordinance, who's actually suggesting it, supporting it. Also, where's the information? It's very vague. It's just a block of information we don't understand as citizens. We would like to know more because this is a very, very important subject that keeps coming up. It shouldn't be where you have your director of Department of Economic and Housing Development come in later with, oh, this information should be before the council and the citizens. We should have this information beforehand. We shouldn't come here, just read this, and try to figure out what's going on. Because when you read this, What are we really saying? Are we selling property? Are we establishing property? Is this like the Lions Gates that's been in lingo since 2022? But I'm gonna stick to this ordinance because it's talking about the transfer of the City of North properties identified on exhibit, is it on exhibit A, pursuant? It's no period, no comma. I'm not really sure. We need more information. This is very vague. And then in a few months, you're gonna come back and say, oh, well, this was supposed to happen, this, we asked questions. Nothing should go forward if you're not fully sure of everything that's going on. And again, the constituents need to know, you need to break it down for us to understand. Because if you ask anyone, what does this really mean? I don't need the other person to come in and explain it. I need for you guys that's voting on it to understand so we could know when we call your office in the future. Don't wanna be a broken record, but everyone has made a great point. It's not enough information stated. And going forward, I understand this is a book all the time. We need more information. Thank you.

Next speaker.

In ordinance authorizing graph malfeasance, we can just ask Joe McCollum, oh wait, we can't. When are you guys going to learn? You put these vagaries here and you think that everybody in the city of Newark and in city council hall here is drug addled. and that we just don't have any common sense. Who are you selling it to? What are the values? What are they valued at? Where are these properties? How did you get these properties? What is the bottom line? And when Allison said, oh, well, they took the property, then they sold it, then they did this, what kind of contracts are you writing? Who's writing that? What law school... did your attorneys go to? They need to get their money back. You need to get new attorneys that know how to write contracts. This is ridiculous. And oh, well, we don't have the paperwork. You got one, two, three, four, five, six, seven lines. It should be online. You should have a live platform where we can all access all the information about what's going on with the city. Your site looks like 1986 and that some of the high school students put it together. You can't access anything. The links don't work. It's ridiculous and you do that purposefully. Like this is purposeful. This little cabala that you got set up is a performative act. You just have to do this for the law. You're not interested in actually doing what's right. How many millions of dollars are these properties worth? Are they worth a dollar? How are you getting this assessment? Who did the assessments? This needs to be on an active website that every resident, 300,000 people can access and see what's going on. And see what's going on with UCC and code enforcement. And we can tap a button and get the person who's working on this. We can tap a button and send a note to Allison, send me this form. And it should be a live PDF that she can just go, boom, there you go. Now you can read it for yourselves. And you know how to do that. This is the 21st century. Can't tell that by the roof and all the stuff falling apart in here in this building, but I know that you sold the Kruger mansion, Kruger Scott mansion, which had a $40 million investment for under $100,000. What y'all doing? How you do that? How is something worth $40 million? Thank you. Next speaker.

Thank you. Mr. Chair, before Mr. Muhammad get up and speak, can we please have somebody from EHD to come up? And when we do these second readings, can we please have someone from the administration get up and explain what's happening? I can explain it, but I also do want to note that you can find this information on the website. You go to EHD, you can pull up, you can pull up. the information from the council meeting. You can look at the addendums and all of the attachments to it and be able to go over those attachments. But in instances like this, when we get to second readings and we recognize that some people may not want to go to the website to pull the information up because it's more prudent for them to, you know, assume that they don't know. What helps them is to have someone get up and explain what is happening and what is going on. We can have someone.

Mr. President, I'm only five seconds. I'm just five seconds. Well, let's just do this. Let's listen to you right now. And then moving forward, we will, Madam Clerk, moving forward in the future, we will... do a presentation prior to the speakers coming up. There will be someone from the administration moving forward. So moving forward on the second and final, it'll say person from that department to come and explain. So, or the business administrator. And then we will proceed with hearing the hearing of citizens. Thank you, Councilman. As noted. Thank you.

Yeah, good afternoon, Ali Muhammad. My question is, it has a exhibit to the agreement, and I can't find it in here. Could you say what the address is, at least? Thank you. I don't need a whole, yeah, but I don't need a whole investment. You know, I just need to know what we're talking about.

When we finish and then we'll have conversation. That's it, I'm done. All right, thank you. Someone from the administration. No, someone from the Department of Economic Development, please. Name for the record.

Good afternoon, Brandy Daniel, Legislative Coordinator for Economic and Housing Development. I will address everybody's concerns and questions at this time. In regards to the addresses, there are six addresses. 34 Wright Street, 483 Leslie Street, 650 South 11th Street, 55 Kent Street, 850 South 19th Street, and 307 South 18th Street. All of these properties were sold by us.

Sorry, but we want to listen to the speaker. Listen, that we listen, they listen to you. It's time for you to listen to the speakers. Please. If not, just, it is right. We're running a government, and we have to run it right. And we're going to do that. Please. Thank you.

These particular properties were sold with a solicitation by the department in order to help us to gain more affordable housing within the city. We had an information session that was held here in council chambers on January 30th, 2026. We had over 100 developers that were present for this information session, and that was also the same day that they were able to pick up packages to submit their solicitations for these particular properties. All of these properties have very extreme, need very extreme rehabilitation. They have structures on them that are very deplorable and need fixing and need a lot of financing for it. The qualifications to, in order for you to get these properties, we gave Newark developers first dibs on these properties. Everyone else came second. You had to show proof of finances so that you could be able to rehabilitate this property. You also had to give us a very detailed description of what you're planning to do with the rehabilitation. Out of the six developers that were chosen, unfortunately one of them was not from the city of Newark, and that was because for that particular property, there were three respondents for that property, two from Newark and one from the developer that won the bid. Unfortunately, the two developers from Newark were not able to provide financial information or give a very descriptive project rehabilitation description. Therefore, unfortunately, the developer from another city was awarded that particular property. and as part of their deed restriction in this rehabilitation, they are required for all of the housing to be affordable at 50% or below of AMI. Any other questions for me?

That's either rental or sale, so they either have to rent at 50% or below AMI, or they have to resell the property at 50% AMI or below.

That is correct, Councilman.

Councilman Kelly?

Great day to you. So you're saying the person that wasn't from Newark that received the RFP, you're saying that nobody else from Newark, New Jersey?

I'm sorry. There were only three respondents for that particular property. Two were from Newark and the developer that won the bid that was not from Newark. They were the only three that applied for that particular property.

And how is the RFP process going out? I know that these are on the website and they're listed in the exhibit, but how is the RFP process going out so that developers and people who would like to buy these properties are notified?

Yes, we did advertise on the website as well as social media. We sent out emails to possible developers to come to the information session. As I stated, we had over 100 developers here in the council chambers. But it was available on the website and on social media for them to obtain the solicitation or come to the Office of Department of Economic and Housing Development to pick up a hard copy.

Any other? Madam Clerk, roll call.

Roll call.

Oh, one quick question. I'm sorry. A statement. What I would ask for the administration to do is, next time, please list the properties in the agenda so that we wouldn't have to sit up here with the people and the council going back and forth. Because as council, we look on websites. We look in Ledger Star. Sometimes the people don't have that access to do that. And I think that it will save time. It will save a misunderstanding of what's going on. So I just ask that the administration list the sites that are being sold.

I'm a clerk, as noted by Councilman Kelly. Moving forward, that you, as the clerk who prepares the agenda, that these items be listed. Ward by ward.

Certainly.

Roll call.

Day?

Yes.

Council?

Yes.

Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes.

Yes.

President Quintana. Yes.

C. Let me just make one remark really quick.

We just finished it.

Yeah, we finished the roll.

So in my time here, because that AMI was dropped to 50% for me, and that's one of the things we are talking about, that's why I'm for this. Okay, I can't do it at the AMI we have because I know most of us don't meet that. But in the economic development, I don't need your head, in the economic development office's presentation to hear that the three people bid for the one property. and we didn't have the financing. And we know that's difficult in our community as well. Those are some things that we have to pull departments in on to talk about the bonding, the insurance, the financing. We need to do those kind of business seminars, real business seminars, not people coming in trying to make money, charging people $50, oh, this is how you get quick, and flipping the property. It's not what that's about. So we're going to have opportunities, and trust me, I'm an advocate for pushing for NORCAs to do what they have to do. You have to also understand that every LLC that has a NORC address is not a NORCAR, right? So with that being said, people have to, we have to learn the process, exclude myself, because I don't know the process, but I'm not looking to buy property. Many people are, and I know it's been hard for residents that live here to get property, but I think once we have a seminar of our own, where you don't have to pay, and come in and learn the business of how you become a part of this process, I think it becomes a little easier for us to be involved. So I would like to see us, economic development, the young lady that just came to the mic is fine for me, explain what that process looks like, how people that are looking to get into purchasing get involved in that process through the kiosk and let the economic development office as well as our offices know, I couldn't get through, I wasn't able to. Because those are the kind of things that have to happen. But if the public doesn't say it, as we went back and forth with some issues yesterday, we don't know. So I'm just saying that we do need to do a process right now through economic development. I didn't say nothing about Invest North. I said economic development, showing people what the process is so they can engage in the process. I know there's a big push nationally for everybody that's a homeowner now to become an LLC. Donna doesn't agree with that. But that is the push on the business side. So I think that... Lisa Parker should be a homeowner and be able to be a homeowner at another property without it being Parker LLC. So that push for people to move into that genre, it's a real push. Because people have called me about that as well. They don't even want to sell to someone if they're not an LLC. And I think that's wrong as well. If I have the financing for my first house to get another house, I should be able to do that. And we also must respect the right of The next door neighbor, I don't know the exact name to it, so just bear with me. But I know that there is a clause that the right of purchase for the person that lives next door to the property should have the first preference on that property. We need to make sure that that's also happening in this scheme of things with the Newark property. Thank you.

I don't think that's an order by Councilwoman Jackson. Thanks, sir. Moving to continue.

C is an ordinance granting a 25-year tax abatement to 636 MLK Urban Renewal LLC for a project located in the Central Ward. Is there anyone wishing to?

Can someone from the administration come prior to the speaker as we agreed that moving forward we would do? Someone from the administration. Someone from the administration to explain. Disordered.

Before you speak, Councilman Bagg. Actually, and thank you so much. Thank you, Council President. Actually, what I was going to say is that I've actually been waiting. And before this meeting, I was supposed to have information. I waited. Hopefully, I was going to get it yesterday. Hopefully, I was going to get it today. I still haven't received it. I haven't received information since last month. And so I'm going to make a motion to defer this.

Is there a second? Second. Second. And then take a roll call on defer.

Call to defer.

Yes to defer.

Council? Yes. Yes. Jackson? Yes. Kelly? Yes. Ramos? Yes. Yes. President Quintana.

Yes.

Resolutions. 7R1A through U are resolutions from the Department of Administration with no sponsors. A through F are temporary emergency appropriations. G through Q are purchasing contracts. And R through U are grants and contracts. Council as a whole to adopt A through U, please.

Local.

Bay.

Yes.

Council. Yes. Trump. Yes. Jackson. Yes.

Yes, and would like to speak on F after.

Continue.

Kelly.

Yes.

Ramos. Yes. Scott Roundtree. Yes. President.

Yes. Councilman Jackson.

Actually, yes, said A through U. 7R1M, I would like to change my vote to abstain.

As noted by Councilwoman Payne. Me? Councilwoman Jackson.

OK, I need to make a comment about 7R1F. This is an emergency appropriation for $64 million for the month of August. And I need to, as the queen of stopping these emergency budget floppings, explain my yes. Because we have not secured a budget yet for 2026, if this does not pass, the employees of the City of Newark do not get paid. And although I know we are having, let me just say my piece, you can agree or disagree, because we do not have a budget in place, if this emergency appropriation for the month of August is not passed, the employees that work for the city of Newark that deserve their paycheck next Friday to Friday afternoon, next one after that. They will not get them if we don't do this because their money is there, but we have to approve for the money to be spent. So I did my due diligence. Not only did I have a conversation with Mr. P and some folks on the council, but I also called the local finance board to ensure that this is correct, okay? Because I'm not gonna make a decision without having enough information for me. And so I need the public to understand, as one that stood up with those papers, where the money rise, I have not changed from that, but I do understand that I need the employees of this city who are having some difficulties to not miss a paycheck because we are in the middle of, and I know my council colleagues concur that we don't want anyone to go without a paycheck when you have responsibilities to take care of. It's right in the season of getting ready to go back to school. This is not the time to have folks that work for our city in a scramble to try to make financial decisions with no check. And what I mean is they won't get paid. I'm just going to hypothetically say this Friday coming and then two more weeks. They won't get paid for August. if this is not done today. And I need that these employees that work for us that do a good job to have their paychecks. Now down the line, if we still scrambling, there'll be maybe a different decision made. Our council colleagues will huddle in the back and talk about it. But I am one who is against the temporary budget appropriations. However, in light of the information that I've had, I just need all of us to be clear. And you can still disagree, but I'll take it. with the decision, but I need you to understand that if this does not happen today, the employees of the City of North will not be paid. Okay, so I just wanted to be clear and transparent. And Madam Clerk, I'd also like to go back, because we did make some notes yesterday and have some discussion, and join my council colleague, Bay, on 7R1M, because we had a big discussion on that yesterday, and changed my vote to a no.

Thank you.

Madam Clerk, Councilman Kelly. Yeah. Councilman Kelly. Thank you, Council President. I would like to sponsor G and H. Is there a second? Second, G. Round three.

As noted.

Okay, 7R2A through M are resolutions from the Department of Economic and Housing Development. A through K are private sales redevelopment agreements for new construction. A is council as a whole. B is sponsored by Councilman Council. second by Councilwoman Scott-Roundtree, and E is sponsored by Councilman Kelly, second by Councilwoman Scott-Roundtree. Council as a whole to adopt A, B, and E with sponsors. Aroca.

Bay. Yes. Council. Yes. Clump. Yes. Jackson. Yes. Kelly.

Yes.

Ramos.

Yes.

The following new construction resolutions are all deferred with sponsors. C is deferred, sponsored by Councilman Council. second by councilwoman jackson d deferred sponsored by councilman council second by councilwoman bay f is deferred sponsored by councilwoman bay second by councilman kelly g is deferred sponsored by councilwoman bay second by councilwoman jackson I is deferred, sponsored by Councilman Council, second by Councilman Kelly. J is deferred by Council as a whole, and K is deferred, sponsored by Councilman Kelly, second by Councilwoman Jackson.

Councilman Kelly, I would like to, excuse me, Madam Clerk, I would like to move and sponsor K. Is there a second?

Second. Second, nice to order. Continue.

Okay, we have to break it up. So council as a whole to defer C, D, F, G, I, and J with sponsors. Rocco.

Bay.

Yes.

Council. Yes. Crump. Yes. Jackson. Yes. Kelly.

Yes.

Ramos. Yes. Yes. President Quintana? Yes.

And K is a motion to adopt, sponsored by Councilman Kelly. And is the same second? Second by Jackson? Roundtree. Roundtree second. Roundtree. Roll call? I'm sorry.

Bay?

Yes.

Council? Yes. Yes. Jackson? Yes. Kelly? Yes.

Yes.

Scott Roundtree. Yes. President Kinsana. Yes.

On page 31, council president and council members, item H was construction of a new four family home in the central ward. There was a request to confirm the address being in the central ward. The address is, in fact, in the central ward. Council as a whole to adopt item H. Roll call.

Bay?

Yes.

Council? Yes. Crump? Yes. Jackson? Yes. Kelly?

Yes.

Ramos? Yes. Scott Roundtree?

Yes. President Quintana? Yes. Thank you. L is amending the Newark Alliance budget, and M is installation of a public mural.

Council as a whole to adopt L and M. Madam Clerk, Councilman Kelly is requesting Check of an address?

Yes, Madam Clerk. Yesterday we asked that on page 29, SR 2F, we asked that the two addresses in the Central Ward that was on South 10th Street, it was brought to my attention that the odd side of the street is actually the West Ward and the even side of the Central Ward. Did we do a check on that?

My apologies, Councilman Kelly, because this item was deferred, I failed to send the email, but yes, it is an essential award.

It is essential, thank you very much.

You're welcome.

Loaded. Continue.

Okay, L is amending the Newark Alliance budget and M is the installation of a public mural. Council as a whole to adopt L and M.

Roll call, I'm sorry.

Bay.

Abstain on L, yes on M. Council.

Abstain on L, yes on M. Crump. Yes.

Jackson.

Abstain on L, yes on M. Kelly.

Abstain on L, yes on M.

Yes.

Scott Roundtree.

Abstain on L, yes on M. President Quintana.

Yes.

Item L has failed. Seven are three, A through E are engineering resolutions. A is for professional design and engineering services, B and C are for engineering services, C is a bid contract for improvements to Broadway Park, and E is a support resolution for the Clay Street Bridge Replacement Project. Council as a whole to adopt A through E. Rocco.

Bay.

Yes. Council. Yes.

Crump.

Yes.

Jackson.

Abstain.

On all of them?

On all of them, yeah.

Kelly?

Yes.

Ramos? Yes. Scott Roundtree? Yes. President Quintana?

Yes. 7R4A is authorizing a tax sale to enforce municipal liens. Council as a whole to adopt.

Roll call.

Sorry, yes.

Council? Yes. Trump?

Yes.

Jackson?

No.

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

Yes. 7R5A through F are health department resolutions. A through C are subrecipient agreements for mental health emergencies. A is New Direction Behavioral Health Center, sponsored by Councilwoman Bay, second by Councilman Kelly. B is Newark Community Street Team, sponsored by Councilwoman Bay, second by Councilwoman Scott-Rowntree. And C is Raise the Flags, LLC. D is amending the resolution for the drop-in center program. E is dental care for uninsured residents. And F is for homeless outreach. Council as a whole to adopt A through F with sponsors, please. Roll call.

Bay?

Yes.

Council? Yes. Crump?

Yes.

Jackson? Yes. Kelly? Yes. Ramos? Yes. Scott Roundtree? Yes. President Quintana? Yes.

Continue.

My apologies. 7R6A through H are resolutions from the law department. A, C through H are settlements. Council as a whole to adopt A and C through H. Roll call.

Bay?

Yes.

Council? Yes. Crump?

Yes.

Jackson? Yes. Kelly?

Yes.

Ramos?

Yes on the settlements.

Scott Rauncher. Yes.

President Ciccone. Yes. B is a referral of the proposed ordinance to the central planning board regarding shipping containers. Council as a whole to adopt item B. Roll call.

Say.

Yes.

Council. Yes. Crump. Yes. Jackson. Yes. Kelly. Yes. Ramos.

Abstain.

Scott Roundtree? Yes. President Quintana? Yes.

Virginia?

My apologies. 7R8A. needs to be amended on the floor. So 7R8A is a motion to amend on the floor to appoint Councilman Kelly to the second river joint meeting instead of Councilwoman Bay. Is there a call to amend?

Bay? Yes. Council? Yes. Crump? Yes. Jackson? Yes. Kelly? Yes. Scott Roundtree? Yes. President Quintana? Yes.

Motion to adopt as amended, please. Roll call.

Bay?

Yes.

Council? Yes. Trump? Yes. Jackson? Yes. Kelly?

Yes.

Ramos? Yes. Scott Roundtree? Yes. President Quintana? Yes.

B is a ceremonial street designation sponsored by Council President Quintana, second by Councilman Ramos. Roll call.

Bay?

Yes.

Council? Yes. Crump? Yes. Jackson? Yes. Kelly? Yes. Ramos? Yes. Yes. President Quintana.

Yes. Administration has requested a business administrator regarding 7R2-L.

Good afternoon, council president, council members. Eric Pennington, business administrator. 7R2L was the amendment to the budget for Newark Alliance. I think I neglected to explain what this particular amendment is. Certainly, I don't think I explained it adequately. The budget has already been adopted by the council. This is an amendment to their budget to allow for them to pay the additional administrative fee to the city. It increased from 1% administrative fee to a 2% administrative fee. It does not increase their budget. What it does is it adequately reflects the cost for the city to administer the collection and distribution of the fees associated with the city amount that goes to them. And if the council, I'm certainly, I'm happy to answer more questions, but if the council would consider reconsidering that, the administration would be grateful.

It was a pleasure. May I?

Yes. Thank you, Council President. I absolutely understand, Mr. B.A., and I thank you for that explanation. We've talked about it before. But what I would also appreciate is if the administration would nudge, if not require, Newark Alliance to provide us with the information that we've been asking for for the past few months, because there's a lot that's at stake here, there's a lot that goes, and I understand one may not necessarily affect the other, but we gotta draw a line somewhere, because we're talking about, we're talking about the parks, we're talking about sanitation, we're talking about equipment, and we're talking about millions of dollars, like I mentioned yesterday, from FIFA that was lost from businesses in our area. And like I said, I congratulate Michael Silva and the administration for what they did in Ironbound. That was phenomenal. But nobody else got anything. And they have to respond to it because we met with them before and they made promises that I haven't heard any, seen any evidence of since then. And it was months before. the World Cup and now we have parks that need to be reseeded downtown and military park and we don't know what NDD is doing with the downtown district and the cleanliness and so I'm saying that there has to be some type of response and so I understand what you're saying and this makes perfect sense and I get the reconsideration but they need to be held accountable for some things and I don't feel that they have been.

Thank you for that, Councilwoman. What I would like to propose then is to draft Councilman Crump as my aid and supporter, not my aid, as in council aid, to aid in ensuring that we get the information to Councilwoman Bay and all council members. And I say Councilman Crump because he and I sit on the Newark Alliance Board. I sit on there by virtue of my role as a business administrator and I'd like to ask that the clerk provide me with a letter with the specific information that you asked them and I will get that to the Newark Alliance and I'll get that answer and I'll make the representation to you now that we will do so, that I'll follow up on that personally in my capacity as the board member and again, solicit the support of Councilman Crump to ensure that we get that information. In addition, it sounds like the Newark Alliance and the NDD, which still exists, ought to come before the council and make a presentation. And so we will have that done as well. With respect to the parks, the seating, the Newark Parks Foundation still exists. So the five downtown parks right now are still under the control of the park Foundation, the Newark City Parks Foundation, but it too is in the process of becoming subsumed into the Newark Alliance. We should discuss that as well as part of the information that you want. And it makes perfectly good sense. The public should have it. You should have it. All the residents of the City of Newark should have that information. I think it is absolutely appropriate and we will work to make sure that that happens. Not work to make sure, it will happen. I'll just take on that labor in order to make sure that they appear in front of this council.

So there'll be a letter and there will be a presentation? Yes. Okay, as noted.

Can we say when?

When is the presentation?

Let me get the letter. What I'm going to do is I'm going to present that to the interim director, Deshaun Wright, as soon as I get it. I assume tomorrow we'll get that. I think I have a meeting with him on Friday. Either tomorrow or Friday, I'll make sure that they get that. The presentation will be probably at our next special meeting. Are we going to have a special meeting? No, no. No special? We don't have any scheduled. So we'll have him come present in September, and I'm hoping that based on that representation, we could have the reconsideration now, and I will follow up personally, and you have my word.

So if we could, those of us that have questions or requests, if we can get that to you and you can forward that to them so when they come and make the presentation, we will have all of the information. And that included to send us in advance a copy of the itemized budget that includes how much money is going to NDD, how much money is going to parks, how much money is going into new equipment like the new trash receptacles and those things that we've talked about a few months ago.

Absolutely. No problem.

The consideration for the 2%, I know that was universal of all of the bids and sids. Yes. But with the consumption of all of these different entities now coming together, would that raise the amount of the funding mandate

No. The funding will be still set by the statute that controls the SIDS and BIDS and the convention bureau as well, the hotel application that goes into them. So it wouldn't... raise it, it will increase the amount of money that will flow through the Newark Alliance, through to the Newark Alliance with respect to their oversight of those entities. And when the Parks Foundation comes on board, they will have control of that as well.

Parks Foundation may have limited budget, but I'm talking about Newark Happenings. Their budgetary pieces will be consumed by Newark Alliance.

That has happened already. Yes, sir.

Based upon what the business administrator has said and is planning to do, I would just like to make a motion to reconsider this matter.

I'll second. And there's a roll call. We'll move in a second.

Roll call for reconsideration. Bay? Yes.

Council?

Yes. Clump?

Yes.

Yes. Scott Rowntree? Yes. President Quintana? Yes.

Madam Clerk, also, if you could extract yesterday's motion that was made, or the presentation that was made by Councilwoman Bay and members of council to the Newark Alliance, and we can send it to them a copy of what was said and what was the questions. And those are the questions that were raised yesterday.

Certainly. Just one quick question. Mr. Pennington, can I ask a question? You said the North City Parks Foundation. Is that for all city parks?

No. Eric Pennington, business administrator to Councilwoman Jackson through the president. No, it's the five downtown parks. Military Park, Harriet Tubman Park, Riverfront Park, Mulberry Commons, and Lincoln Park.

Okay, those are gonna be absorbed into the? North Alliance. North Alliance.

Through the North Parks Foundation.

Okay. Yes. Thank you.

You're welcome. Thank you.

Council as a whole to adopt 7R2L?

Bay? Yes. Council?

Yes.

Crump?

Yes.

Jackson? No. Kelly? Yes.

Yes.

Scott Roundtree? Yes. President Quintana? Yes.

Council President, Council Members, we're back on page 47. Item C is a ceremonial street designation sponsored by Councilman Crump, second by Councilwoman Scott Roundtree. Rocco?

On that.

Bay?

Yes.

Council?

Yes.

Trump? Yes. Jackson?

Yes.

Kelly?

Yes.

Ramos?

Yes.

Scott Roundtree? Yes. President Quintana?

Yes. 7R8D, council as a whole to defer.

Rocco?

Yes. Yes. Council? Yes. Trump? Yes.

Yes.

Kelly?

Yes, to defer.

Ramos?

Yes.

Scott Roundtree? Yes. President Quintana?

Yes. 7R8E is a whole harmless for the senior summer barbecue. Sponsored by Councilman Ramos, seconded by Council President Quintana. Roll call.

Begg? Yes. Council?

Yes.

Crump?

Yes.

Jackson? Yes. Kelly? Yes. Ramos? Yes. Scott Roundtree? Yes. President Quintana? Yes.

F is a whole harmless for the wellness piece sponsored by Councilman Ramos.

Second.

I'm gonna request to defer this item. I'll second to defer.

My apologies. 7R8F, motion to defer. Council as a whole, Council Member Ramos? Council as a whole to defer, roll call.

Bay? Yes. Council? Yes. Crump? Yes. Jackson? Yes. Kelly? Yes. Ramos? Yes. Scott Roundtree? Yes. President Kinsana?

Yes. G is waiving special event fees for the Tillinghouse Block Party. Sponsored by Councilman Council. Second by Councilman Crump.

Roll call. Bay. Yes. Council. Yes. Crump. Yes. Jackson. Yes. Kelly. Yes. Ramos. Yes. Scott. Yes. President. Yes.

H is a resolution declaring the month of August as National Breastfeeding Month. Sponsored by Councilwoman Scott Roundtree. Second by Councilman Kelly.

Roll call. Bay. Yes. Council. Yes. Plum. Yes. Jackson. Yes. Kelly. Yes. Ramos.

Yes.

Scott Roundtree. Yes. President Saldana.

Yes.

I is recognizing and commending resolutions, and J is expressing profound sorrow and regret. Councils will hold to adopt I and J.

Begg? Yes. Council? Yes. Crump? Yes. Jackson? Yes. Kelly? Yes. Ramos? Yes. Scott Roundtree? Yes. President Quintana?

Yes.

7R10A is an acceptance of grant funds for litter abatement. Council as a whole to adopt.

Begg? Yes. Council?

Yes.

Crump? Yes. Jackson? Yes. Kelly? Kelly?

Yes.

Ramos? Yes. Scott Roundtree? Yes. President Quintana?

Yes.

7R12A and B are resolutions from the Department of Water and Sewer Utilities. A is a contract for the sale of water to the township of Belleville, and B is a professional service contract for legal services. Council as a whole to adopt A and B. Roll call.

Bay.

Yes.

Council. Yes.

Yes.

Jackson.

Yes to A, abstaining on B. Kelly.

Yes. Ramos. Yes. Scott Roundtree. Yes. President Quintana.

Yes.

Communications. Items. Eight A through L are appointments and or reappointments to various boards and commissions. A is sponsored by Councilwoman Scott Roundtree and second by Councilman Crump. B is sponsored by Councilman Crump and second by Councilwoman Scott-Roundtree. C is sponsored by Councilwoman Scott-Roundtree and second by Councilwoman Jackson. D is, I'm sorry, so A through C, council as a whole to adopt with sponsors.

Roll call.

Yes.

Yes.

Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Jackson.

Yes.

Kelly.

Yes.

Ramos.

Yes.

Scott Roundtree. Yes. President Quintana. Yes.

E is an appointment sponsored by Councilwoman Bay, second by Councilwoman Scott Roundtree. Roll call.

Bay.

Yes.

Council. Yes. Crump. Yes. Jackson. Yes. Kelly. Yes. Ramos? Yes. Scott Roundtree? Yes. President Quintana? Yes.

F through L are all reappointments to various boards and commissions, council as a whole to adopt.

Roll call.

Bay?

Yes.

Council? Yes. Trump? Yes. Jackson? Yes. Kelly? Yes. Ramos? Yes. Scott Roundtree. Yes.

President Quintana.

Yes.

M is an ordinance requiring a deed restrictions and ensuring that any purchaser of city property sold for the purpose of redevelopment complies with any and all applicable best efforts workforce requirements. Motion to advance and adopt on first reading as 6FA, sponsored by Councilman Council, second by Councilman Kelly. Roll call. Yes.

Council? Yes. Crump? Yes. Jackson? Yes. Kelly? Yes. Ramos? Yes. Scott Roundtree? Yes. President Quintana?

Yes. N is an ordinance authorizing the city to accept corrective deeds from the Newark Housing Authority. The motion to advance and adopt on first reading as 6FB, sponsored by Councilwoman Bay, second by Councilwoman Jackson.

Yes. Yes. Yes.

Yes.

Yes. Yes. Brown Tree? Yes. President Quintana?

Yes. O is an ordinance amending Live Newark Loan Forgiveness Program for advancing closing costs or providing funding for eligible facade improvements. Council President and Council Members, there's a motion to amend on the floor to change the amount from $50,000 to $30,000. It's noted. Roll call to amend.

Bay?

Yes.

Council? Yes. Crump?

Yes.

Jackson?

Yes.

Kelly?

Yes, to amend.

Ramos?

Yes.

Scott Roundtree? Yes. President Quintana? Yes.

There's a motion to advance and adopt on first reading as 6FC, which is sponsored by Councilman Council, second by Councilman Crump. Roll call.

As amended.

As amended.

Bay.

Yes.

Council. Yes. Crump. Yes. Jackson. Yes. Kelly. Yes. Ramos. Yes. Scott Roundtree. Yes. President Quintana. Yes.

P is an ordinance providing for the Wayne Pump Station upgrade project. Council as a whole to advance and adopt on first reading as 6FD. Roll call.

Bay.

Yes.

Council? Yes. Crump? Yes. Jackson? Yes. Kelly? Yes. Ramos? Yes. Scott Roundtree? Yes. President Quintana?

Yes.

Q is an ordinance amending amusements to establish a comprehensive regulatory framework for short-term event space and party rental venues. It's a motion to advance and adopt on first reading as 6FE, sponsored by Councilman Ramos, Second by council and council.

Roll call. Bay.

Yes.

Council. Yes. Yes. Jackson. Yes. Kelly. Yes. Ramos. Yes. Yes. President Quintana. Yes.

Pending business on the agenda, item 9A is an appointment to the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Questioning Advisory Commission sponsored by Councilman Ramos, second by Councilman Scott-Roundtree. Roll call.

Bay. Yes. Council. Yes. Crump. Yes. Jackson. Yes. Kelly.

Yes.

Ramos. Yes. Scott Roundtree. Yes. President Quintana. Yes.

B is an ordinance amending housing code by establishing the property compliance cost recovery program. Council as a whole to advance and adopt on first reading as six FF. Roll call. Bay. Yes.

Council. Yes. Crump. Yes. Jackson. Yes. Kelly. Yes. Ramos. Yes. Yes. President Quintana. Yes.

For the items adopted at first reading today will be advertised in accordance with law and a meeting will be held in next council meeting September 9th or soon thereafter as practical. My apologies, council president and council members. We are in the hearing of citizens portion of this meeting. The last minute added starters. Last minute.

7R1VAS is purchase of computer equipment.

Council as a whole to adopt.

Bay.

Yes.

Council. Yes. Trump. Yes. Jackson.

Yes.

Kelly. Yes. Yes. Yes.

7R2NAS and OAS are both from economic and housing development. N is the private sale and redevelopment in the South Ward. And O is the referral of proposed amendment of zoning and land use regulations to the central planning board. Council as a whole to adopt N. Yeah, Mr.

Chair. Yes. I would like to sponsor 7R2N, 7R2O. And also 8S.

Second. Second. Council and Scott Roundtree for N and O.

Right.

Bay.

Yes.

Council. Yes. Crump. Yes. Jackson. Yes. Kelly. Absent. Ramos. Yes. Scott Roundtree. Yes. President Quintana.

Yes. 7R3FAS is to extend the emergency contract for elevator inspections. Council as a whole to adopt.

Bay.

Yes.

Council. Yes. Yes. Jackson. Yes. Kelly absent. Ramos. Yes. Brown-Tree? Yes. President McKenna?

Yes. 7R6IAS and JAS are settlements from the law department. Council as a whole to adopt I and J. Roll call.

Bay? Yes. Council? Yes. Crump? Yes. Jackson? Yes. Kelly? Absent. Ramos? Yes. Scott Roundtree? Yes. President Quintana?

Yes. 7R8KAS and LAS are from the Municipal Council. K is waiving special event application of permit fees for the Hope and Esperanza Health Fair sponsored by Council President Quintana. And L as a whole harmless for the back to school book bag and supplies giveaway sponsored by Councilman Crump. Council as a whole to adopt K and L with sponsors.

Chair. I want to second this with Councilman Crump. Seven or eight.

Noted.

Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes.

Yes.

8RAS is an ordinance to acquire a temporary work area easement on privately owned property for the construction of the Joseph G. Manish Passaic River waterfront park and historic area. And 8SAS is an ordinance authorizing the mayor and or his designee to authorize the sale and transfer of Newark property to Virginia Street Fidelco LLC I'm assuming that both items, Corp Council, are these to advance and adopt on first? I don't know. Okay, both items, there's a request from the administration to advance and adopt on first reading. As G and H. Roll call.

Say?

Yes.

Council?

Yes.

Yes.

Kelly, absent. Ramos?

Yes.

Scott Roundtree? Yes.

Yes.

Again, items adopted today on first reading will be held at the next council meeting or soon thereafter as practical. We are in the hearing of citizens portions of this meeting where each speaker will have five minutes to speak. When your name is called, please approach the podium and address the council members. The first speaker is Lisa Mitchelson-Parker.

I'm bearing.

Good day, criminal cult that's running our government. I, Lisa Parker, a resident of Newark, am requesting a forensic audit of every department by the state controller and the AG in Washington, DC, due to the incompetence, malfeasance, and mismanagement of Newark's budgets and revenue by the administration. How are you presenting a budget without a breakdown by departments? How would the legislative body to allow department heads to not have answers to questions about our budget? How is there not public speakers to comment at a public hearing for our budget? Newarkers, we are witnessing a shit show on the municipal budget. How are you getting us out of debt? Newark is in a compounded debt and deficit for over $700 million with no surplus, zero. How do you have a debt and a loan of 294 million principal with an interest rate at 75.35% to the sum of 222 million? The interest is just about as much as the loan. Like I said before, loan sharks don't have that kind of interest rate. Where is the line item for the back pay to the pension fund? Where's the unions? Where's the revenues from recycling, parking authority, car rentals at the airport, parking lots that are cash business? The list goes on and on of unaccounted revenue streams. You have outsourced every department to a third party vendor for permits, Oprah, law department, for work to be done by city employees. All of the quasi-government and grant funded programs that are not paying into the city, like Invest Newark, where is the breakdown? Like OVP, Ramos, you asked when this project was being funded, how will they sustain themselves when the grant runs out? Now we're absorbing them as part of the city budget. How does that work? We should not be sustaining them at all. Why are you continuing to approve sale of properties to invest in Newark? I already talked about that. Lastly, there before the grace of God goes I. My dear sister Gail Cheney Field Jenkins, former councilwoman, is in a health crisis. I ask for your prayers. Larry Crump and the rest of you political prostitutes that use a senior event to promote your campaign on tax dollars, when has a former elected ever been denied access to any event in this city? Never. You all acted with callous indifference, no reverence for gale service to the city, no decency, no humanity. Most of all, you disrespected a daughter of Newark, according to Sharp James. How dare all of you, including the mayor. You will all reap what you sow for your pettiness. and disregard towards a former elected. Prayers up for my sister, Gayle Cheney Field Jenkins, a true servant of the people. Now that street naming rules have been changed, give Gayle her just due for a street naming. Give Donna Jackson a street naming for her service. of 40 years without pay. Newarkers, come out on September 23rd at 6.30 to the first night council meeting, because the ones that's proactive and advocating on our behalf, they need your support, like a Donna Jackson, like a Louie Quintana, and I'm getting ready to throw you in that bunch too, Amina Bey. All the folks that lie still and cheat for their seats, get them out.

Felicia Austin Singleton. Alif Muhammad.

Perry.

Good afternoon. As-salamu alaykum. Alif Muhammad, Core Towers. Alif Muhammad, the president of Alif Muhammad Near School. I was coming to a couple of months ago. Pat had pushed something about security on Chancellor Avenue. And I was upset with him because he didn't push it when we were on the housing authority. But I'm not gonna do that, I'm not gonna do that. I have a lot of love for Pat, even though he's my children's age, I just thank them. But what I'm putting in front of you is an assessment that the Housing Authority at HUD did. And the assessment, it says that you shouldn't have a council member on the Newark Housing Authority because it's a conflict. And it is a conflict. That's what HUD said. Said it right there. It said Housing Authority should not be there. It's a conflict. And then I start talking about, now, in that conflict with Pat, if Pat don't hire Spicer, Housing Authority would have been taken over by the HUD. If he don't, he might not like Spicer, but he made a great move. And he made it at the right time because the mayor was running for governor. That would have been a crazy time to lose the housing authority. Now, what I'm for you, let's go back and push security. Security, not just for Chancellor Abner, security for the housing authority. I've been asking the force. Now, what I'm putting in front of you is different contracts that happened. One contract particular, it says that $7 million that we gonna spend on house authority gonna spend. Councilman Donner, you remember that? That you was arguing for the $7 million? 35 million. That was all BS. They never, what they did, they never put the money in the contract. They didn't feel it. They just did it because of me. They wanted to keep me quiet. So I didn't find out until Spicer came and said they never put the money in for security. So they was BSing. You know, $7 million there was BS. Then I'm showing you something else where there was supposed to be a contract, I think Pat brought that up in a thing, about $400 million to the city of Newark for police security. That's against the law with HUD. Sharp James had to give back $8 million when he did it. We told the mayor that you can't. HUD's position is that we're residents in the housing authority. You've got to take care of us like you take care of everybody else. We ain't got to pay you to have police outside our houses. So HUD said no. So that was some more BS, because I was down here talking about security. So I'm just telling you, it's a lot of BS here. But now you can enforce it. I'm asking this new council to enforce it. Just like you enforce everybody else. Same call to force it. You know how I used to enforce it? I know it's BSing. I used to go to Bradley Court at night and walk. My ex-wife used to drop me off. She said, no, don't get out here. I used to walk it. Where the security at? I used to go to Pennington Court by myself. Where the security at? Don't let nobody BS you because the housing authority, remember, is low-income senior citizens and disabled. Protect them. Enforce your obligation. Pat, please start enforcing it. You should have seen that you didn't get the votes down there on Dayton Street. Housing authority? That should have been slapped in your face. Now, Donna, I heard the same thing to you. I had a grandson that couldn't. He said he was 14 years old. They sent a letter saying he couldn't. They wasn't hiring people. Now, you know I'm a fact man. The FBI said, Ali, we don't want to hear facts. We want to hear everything. I said, I'm a fact man. But I heard rumors, and what I'm asking for you counsel, Donna Jackson, that you ask for an audit because I heard it was money, this is what I heard now, that money that was supposed to be for the employment money was moved over to something else. Now that's what I heard, but you need to ask for an audit. Karen Gaylord is an honorable woman I dealt with her when her and her husband, with the basketball, we put kids in college. She's an honorable woman. PAC Council is not a corrupt individual. I want anybody to understand that. When I jump on him, it's not about corruption. What is it about? Loyalty, political loyalty. Political loyalty, but he's not corrupt. I want the world to know that. So jump on this damn housing authority and make security, make people feel secure. Wa alaykum as-salam.

Next speaker.

Alif Muhammad. I'm sorry. Debra Salters. I'll go again if you like.

Appearing. She's appearing.

You got enough attendance.

You almost got that off, bro. You almost got that. That's a paid commercial.

I love it.

Great day in Newark. How you living? Debra Salters. Warrior for the people who want to fight for themselves. Let's talk about this budget hearing. This is insane. I know it was last month that you threw together the little thing because you had to and encouraged us to have something to say prior to seeing the budget. Now, we were told that we were supposed to get three minutes. I'm reckoning that's three minutes after each department gives their breakdown, because that's what makes sense, right? And what you all do is you take something, and instead of using it as a blueprint or a template, well, we can't do this, we can't do that. But then when you decide, you actually do what you want to do. So we the people are saying... As we've been saying, we need to go back to where we can have our say, because this is our money. It's not your money. It's we the people's money. It's the city's money. We pay your salaries. And so we should have a say on this budget, on every department that came before us yesterday. Now, it should not be where, OK, so the budget hearing was yesterday. There's a budget hearing today, and another day, and then we'll just set a date. when you can come another week or two or a month later. Like that makes no sense because you're going to vote on this budget and we the people have a say about it. Like for example, how is it that we've had vacancies since 2021? There's a hiring freeze, but it's in the budget. The money's budgeted for the people to be hired, but there's a hiring freeze, but the money's there and there's no plan to hire the people. So make that make sense. So how is that, and I'm asking, so how is that? The money's budgeted for us, like if I budget $10 for gas, the money's there. If I don't use it, the money is still there. So it's in the budget that these people's salaries are there. So is it just a placeholder because we're using the money for something else? You understand? Or is it because we don't want to pay the insurance if we hire the people, so we'll just let the city run amok and not have all the proper people in place? So the money is budgeted. Why are we not hiring the people since 2021? And if it's a hiring freeze, when did the hiring freeze start? Because I've seen people getting hired repeatedly. in the past months. I've been in the elevator, I've been on the streets, I've been hearing the conversations, I see the people come to work their first day. A lot of people never seen the building before, they got to be there. So people are being hired. When did the hiring freeze go into effect? And also answer another question for me. Were there raises given out to department managers and council people and the mayor's administration back in January or so? It hit people's checks. So in the midst of our deficit and all of this, were people given raises?

I don't know.

And so, and this is verifiable information, so I'm asking the question, but we, you know, aren't given the answers to the questions that we've asked for. Also with Ramos, when Office of Violence Prevention was established, first of all he asked why did that get to be the organization to disperse the money? He asked that. Then he asked, How are they going to be funded after the ARPA money or whatever money that was was given out? When all of that grant money was given, how is this going to be funded? It was shuffled around, oh, just vote yes, and yeah, we'll deal with it later. So now they have their leg in our budget for $3 million, and I believe they wanted $6 million or something like that. So now they're a leg on our budget, right? Police budget. So these were things that were asked They were shuffled down or just leave it alone. But now we're absorbing that amount. And this question was asked yesterday. So it's a lot of questions that we the people want answers to because we're entitled to them. So it is only right that you give us the opportunity at these budget hearings to have our say because, I mean, really. And it's only three minutes, so it should be three minutes per department. This is on the schedule. You get paid a six-figure, almost six-figure salary, $95,000. It's over six figures because you get the car, the gas, the perks, all of that, so yeah. You get a salary for this. It's on the calendar. You are to be here to answer our questions, to break down the budget, to give us a clear picture of the city's business. You don't get to shoo us off and kick the can down the road when we the people are the revenue.

Thank you. Next speaker.

Quasson Hunter Redmond.

Appearing.

How are you doing? My name is Quasson Hunter-Redmond. I've been living in Newark for about a year now. I have a couple of photos. I don't know if I'll give it to you or... We can't hear you. You can't hear me? Can you hear me now? Better. Okay. My name is Quasson Hunter-Redmond. I've been living in Newark for about a year now. And I just had a request if we can put a camera on wheels on the corner of South 15th Street and Madison Street. I have a couple of photos of some of the things that I want to say. Do I give it to you guys or... The clerk? All right, so the first thing I want to talk about is how there's a lot of activity going on at the end of the block. There's Madison School around the corner. When the kids are done with school, they come up the block to fight. Adults watch. No one stops them. Someone could really get hurt. Due to limited parking, I have to park around the corner. My car has been broken into twice. It's not a good feeling. A couple of the neighbors have been talking about people breaking into their cars as well. They said that they've made police complaints. Nothing has been done about it. Someone hit my husband's car, and his car was totaled. So we had to put funds into buying a new car for him. The house behind me on South 14th, 16th Street, I believe. It's abandoned. It's been burned down. I spoke to Ms. Davina. She did something about it. People came out to clean the backyard. But two weeks later, people came to dump more things in the backyard. There's drug consumption being done back there. I go to barbecue, and there's people shrunk out in the backyard, just all over the place. If we can do something about that, that would be great. The trash on South 15th Street is unbearable. The drain is clogged. It was a flood on the street because the water couldn't go through. If we can do something about that, that would be great as well. Please and thank you. My priority is the safety of everyone around me. And if we can take care of that, that would be great, which is why I brought up the camera on wheels, because I feel like that would be a good thing to be monitored. Because once my husband's car got hit, no one knew anything. I asked to see if they had video footage. They couldn't say anything. But I feel like this will be good for everybody on the block. Please.

Madam Clerk, can you extract with the speaker and send it to the appropriate departments? Moving forward, that's what needs to be done. Yes, sir. Is forward what speakers come up and tell us, so to the different departments. Thank you.

Next speaker is Marilyn Solwell.

Okay.

Say the name again.

Say it again. Marilyn Solwell. Opal R, right?

Yes, good afternoon. My name is Opal R. Wright. I reside at Vanderpool Street in Newark, New Jersey. And my concerns with the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, entitled 13 we have paid back and the program tarp which is trouble asset relief program reduced there is an appropriation to assist homeowners and I believe the program is officially It is either closed of September 30th, 2023, and it dispersed money and actually collected some money. The presidential waiver, the authority on the withdrawal or recapture of the ARR Act unobligated funds dedicated for deficit reduction. There's federal housing finance agencies on the plan of the agency to continue to support and maintain the the nation's vital housing industry, guaranteeing the American taxpayer will not suffer unnecessary losses. In Title XI, there's Federal Reserve System provisions and There is a, this Federal Reserve Act, the third undesignated paragraph of Section 13 of the Federal Reserve Act is amended. It's the board shall establish procedures to prohibit borrowing from programs and facilities by borrowers that are insolvent. The program or facility that is structured to remove assets from the balance sheet of a single and specific company or that is established for the purchase of assisting a single and specific company avoid bankruptcy resolution under Title II of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. The Board may not establish any program or facility under this paragraph without the prior approval of the Secretary of the Treasury. The Board shall provide the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on financial services of the House of Representatives, not later than seven days after the Board authorizes any loan or other financial assistance under the paragraph, a report, That includes the justification for the exercise of authority to provide such assistance, the identity of the recipient of such assistance, the date and amount of the assistance, and form in which the assistance was provided. provided, and the material terms of the assistance, including duration, collateral, pledge, or the value thereof, or interest fees and other revenue, or items of value to be received in exchange for the assistance. It says that Section 1102, Audit on Special Federal Reserve Credit Facilities. And the audit on these facilities of the Federal Reserve System.

Thank you so much.

Can I just say something really quick to Ms. Obel? Ms. Opal, one who has stood on the other side of that mic where you are for a long time, let me just let you know that I appreciate and I fully understand everything that you're talking about. I remember when they initially sent that American recovery money out and the billions of dollars that received in downtown Newark in the 0710, I remember the South Ward, 07112, didn't receive any American recovery money, and I know we talking some years back, but it is very important for us to understand what you're talking about with the recovery, with the money that was left from homeowners, And I know oftentimes those in the audience, that's really why, I mean, in the TV world watching, don't understand. They're like, Ms. Opal, please hurry up and get over. But let me tell you something. There's a wealth of knowledge that if we are to move strategically through all of this stuff, we need to understand the monitors we have in place, the money that was left to help us i remember they put millions of dollars out across this country to save people's mortgages and a lot of people got help and a lot of people did not because of the unfair way it was distributed but i want to thank you for continuing to come talking about the federal trade commission and all of those other entities that oversee what's going on here that we need to understand how that works with what's going on and i appreciate it every time you stand up there i think We need to just be more alert. Just go Google American Recovery Act, and then when Ms. Opal comes up, for those of you who don't understand, you'll begin to understand the mastery of her doing this, and I want to commend you for your commitment. of continuing to come all the time and giving that knowledge. And those who don't understand, again, it's with love. Go Google American Recovery Act to see the money, the billions that she's talking about that should have taken care of things, that need to take care of things now, that is attached to FEMA. With all these storms we're going on, we need to understand what's supposed to come down from the federal government to assist us in these times of crisis when people shingles and chimneys collapsing and all of that, when your homeowner insurance got you in a tight bind. FEMA should be stepping in to help us during these storms. So Ms. Opal, thank you, my hat's off to you. I know my council colleagues appreciate it as well, but I just gotta say, because I know exactly what you're talking about, because I brought the maps down to the council at that time to show them how much billions were sent into here under the Booker administration from the federal government for the American Recovery Act. This city got a lot of money. And I thank you for keeping it in the forefront. Thank you.

Thank you. I also wanted to say that the Eastward, I understand they have a private entity there that has to pay tax to our government. We should be able in Newark to collect that money back. Because that is.

I don't want to interrupt you, but we would have to do this for every speaker, in all fairness to the public. Sorry, we appreciate, but now we've got to move forward.

H. Freeman.

There's various.

Okay, so let's have a recovery right now. The city's persistent inaction has created dangerous biological, environmental, and physical conditions that threaten the health, safety, and property of Newark residents. These hazardous conditions did not arise overnight. They are a direct result of years of inadequate code enforcement failure to regulate illegal construction, parking practices, and the city's refusal to address repeated complaints from neighborhood residents. The city's failure to regulate or prohibit excessive paving of residential front and side yards resulting in large expanses of impervious surfaces throughout the neighborhoods has created flooding conditions. So this is your creation. Excessive heat generated by concrete and asphalt surfaces in these illegally converted backyard side yards has created an urban heat island and increases stormwater runoff and flooding conditions in areas that historically did not flood. uh... standing water promotes mosquito breeding mold growth bacteria and other biological hazards and this is uh... uh... dangerous to pregnant women and small children uh... nothing is being done about this damage to neighborhood foundation sidewalks and landscaping caused by uncontrolled stormwater runoff so uh... i want you to conduct in comprehensive inspection of uh... north fourth street corridor and force all applicable parking laws including driveway can uh... obstruction and intersection visibility requirements remove illegally parked cars ticket and tell them that obstruct driveways and create traffic hazards review all paid residential properties Get code enforcement involved for zoning compliance, impervious coverage limits, and required permits. Develop a written neighborhood remediation plan and measurable timelines for correcting these public safety hazards. This is in order to promote the public health, safety, morals, and general welfare, secure safety from fire, flood, panic, and other natural and man-made by the city of Newark hazards, and promote adequate drainage and stormwater management. So I don't have a law from 12 years ago that, no, what was that, almost 20 years ago, to address. These are current real-time biohazards that I've come here repeatedly and spoken to you about. And this damages people's properties and has to be addressed and debated. And it's ward-wide. I'm coming and talking to you about the north, but this is also impacting the south and the central and the east. Now, I also heard you say yes, yes, yes, yes, yes to reducing the facade improvement from $50,000 to $30,000. What's it going to do with $30,000? I see that you're constantly eroding and taking away from the people and having parties and a waste of money for yourselves. And for the little attorney with the little hands and feet, he said that If somebody does illegal construction, what we're going to do is open the walls, and if it's okay, then they're okay. No. The law states that the properties had to be brought back to their original form, and you had to go through the process. That's why we have permits and a zoning board and all of these other different things. There are variances that are given that should not be given, and then other zoning violations completely ignored. So while we can stand up here and I can read a page from the Bible that was written 25,000 years ago, if you'd like, I want to address what's currently going on, what's happening right now. And I've written the laws in here so you don't have to go hunt them up. You just have to read this and share it with the proper departments.

Thanks, Speaker.

Sheila Montague?

Not appearing.

Cheryl Bolgar?

Appearing.

Good afternoon. My name is Cheryl Bogart. I live in the West Ward, 94 West End Avenue in Newark. Right now, for the last couple of years since they did the pipings for the water, and we used to get water from wherever sources they told us to come get water. Right now, when I turn on my kitchen water, my cold water smells nothing but like bleach. I would like someone to come out, test our water. Now we live also in that I have my... She's the head of the Block Association. We have a little park there. It's a little green acre park between Caldwell Place, West End Avenue, Laurel Place, and Carolina Avenue. In the evenings, we need it changed to lock it up. At night, there's fights in there. At night, there's drunken in there. There's nights there, people in there throwing glass bottles and all. When they put the benches in, it caused a lot of problems because prior to living there, the drug dealers used to have that park. They finally cleared that park out and everything was going fine. Now they put the benches in there. The people come in, they walk their dogs. Nobody wants to poop school. People come in, they bring their kids. Their kids are in the same grass that the dogs are doing their thing. So at night we need to lock that park after a certain time. Again, our sewers also are backed up. Debris from everywhere. The street cleaner is real interesting because the truck comes down the street, the brushes are up in the air, and they might come down some street at some time. Cars are being ticketed for not being moved, but the street cleaner's not coming. We have another problem with 76 Vermont Avenue on the corner of Plymouth Street, an abandoned house. with squatters in it, and it tickles me because I don't know if the plywood they use to border up the doors, that they can actually take the plywood and pull it off. But anybody knows the way that building is built. If you go in the backyard, the old basements used to open up from outside. So if they border up the front, nobody looks in the back, and it becomes a dumping site. I have sent pictures down because this is a normal dumping site all of a sudden. All cars are there. And any garbage you want there, from furniture at all, dumps right there. 76 Vermont, corner of Plymouth. That's the end of my story.

Thank you.

James Williams.

James Williams. Okay. I'm James Williams, the owner of Unlimited Dollar Store.

Can you put the microphone, please? Thank you.

I'm James Williams, the owner of Unlimited Dollar Store, the owner of R&B Booting. There was some false accusations set up in here on your last meeting by RTB Booting. And I wanted to just address that today about those remarks that were said. And when I heard about it, I came to City Hall, talked to some people that worked for her and somebody else that worked for you guys. And I went to Ms. Murphy, head of code enforcement, and she stated I don't have to bring nothing because all the emails she sent out to you guys already. about this situation. She said, I sent emails out already to you guys confirming everything. So I'm just here to clear my name from what was said about me and what I stand for. That's why I'm here. I don't know if you guys are aware of it already. You have received emails from Ms. Murphy after these statements. She said she sent you guys emails. She said, when I went to see her, she said, nothing you have to do. She said, I addressed it, but I sent all the emails out already to them. And I said, okay, thank you. And that was it.

Thank you. Next speaker.

Darnella Lee.

Good afternoon, everybody. We want to thank the Lord for waking us up this morning, blessing our family, the friends, the homeless, our enemies, and our families. As-salamu alaykum. Can you give this Okay, so what's happening is the last time I came and I gave y'all all that, that was the 15th. The 17th, all the people that I had the health department that came out, it was four. They all put red stickers and said we were legally parked. They told mine's Friday. So I took the pictures. I came down. I wanted the BA to deal with it. But I got a call and said, hold up, Dee Dee. What they're going to do, they're just getting yours. And it was another other young lady. I had premier towing, I told y'all before. Premier Towing is out of business, but it's on our building. So y'all had another towing company that pulled my thing instead of having it, because three years ago it was already on rounds. They had them to bring it back. What I've noticed in our back, we got about maybe 12 vehicles. Big trucks. Some got municipal parking plates. Some got commercial plates. They're housing two big identicals that got the, one got municipal, don't have no, nothing, it's not registered. In the back of the other one, it got municipal, but Jersey placed. And I took pictures because if anybody's illegal and not the park, they all stretched it. And I've been here for 10 years. So yesterday, so the people who cars, The manager told one, you could take it out of the lot and put it in a handicap. The problem was she deliberately took one handicap, that's its own, it's a law. You got three cars being parked and handicapped in there for weeks. Make a long story short, I've been trying to get in touch with Miss Angelica Bardez. Mr. Thomas came. I got a look at my picture. Had to be about a month and a half. I asked for her number. I've been leaving messages, but it's strange. That's the first voicemail that don't leave a message. So they had a big meeting yesterday at 2. I stayed outside from 315 waiting on her. She stayed in there until 5, 10, but I heard them all laughing. The Spirit told me to go out to the side. The manager got in. She got in. The other young lady, I called her. I recorded because I don't want nobody saying I'm approaching them. I said, hi, I'm Darnella Lynn. She looks at you on the phone. She's trying to sneak out. I said, is this your number? She said, yeah. I said, I called numerous a time. I said, you didn't know, but I don't use that number. I said, Mr. Thomas didn't tell you I've been reaching out? Well, what is this in reference to? I said, my car being towed, the mold, and I'm being... I'm feeling uncomfortable from a situation with the security, but Mr. Pat Council, chief of staff, won't deal with that in the BA. The moral to the story, she already had an attitude. And I said, you don't see me talking about it? She said, I don't watch this stuff. As I'm walking with her, she said, look, I need you to call the manager. And I talked to her. And I said, that's who I got the problem with prior to that. a jason he's down his sock i was supposed to meet with him at 10 in the morning but the young lady that got pushed with me told me when her grandfather went down here he was one-sided with them i found out lee douglas was in charge so i was going to talk with mr hasani about that about setting me up but it's alleged that the reason why it's been me being assaulted for a year her daughter supposed to be a dispatcher one of the young ladies So people been pushed. They got people pushed pictures up. People are being banned. Caretakers are being banned. The young lady was pushed for me. She was a grandfather caretaker. He's been put in the wrong medicine. But I didn't bring y'all the pictures because I'm going to deal with them. But how do you move mines and you leave abandoned cars there? I went and told about Wim. I said, you can't do that. The maintenance guy came back. He took they stickers off. The maintenance guy, they're doing mold removal, lockouts, instead of cleaning that building. So the Marani, Marini, I did that. When they said they'd give you the word, so I trusted them. The problem, I don't got time, but all of these are notices. She's been tampering with the mail, and I got a picture.

Thank you. I work for the Post Office. Thank you so much, Ms. Lee.

Jacqueline Limehouse.

Great evening.

Hello everyone. I went to a restaurant the other day and the waitress brought me a lobster with one claw. I said, what happened? She said, he was in a fight. I said, bring me the winner. For the past 18 years, my sister's lighthouse nonprofit organization based in Newark, New Jersey, has been committed to providing critical services to individuals and families affected by domestic violence. Our mission offers a comprehensive range of supportive services, including safe housing, referrals, case manager, support services, mental health services, and programs designed to empower and assist victims in rebuilding their lives. We seek to enhance our impact. We cannot treat domestic violence as a private matter. It is public safety emergency that demands our city's strongest response. Survivors of domestic violence live in every community and come from every walk of life. These stories are not isolated. Last year, just one day alone, close to 80,000 victims of domestic violence reached out to the self-help line to flee violence that was affecting their lives. For them, domestic violence takes a daily toll, takes over their lives, tears families apart, and leaves lasting scars on them forever. Just because you don't hear me scream, don't mean it's not going on. For a lot of us, just, okay, a lot of us grew up in a time where there was no help. We came from a history of trauma. For centuries, abused people were told to get over it, forget it, and now you have pressure cookers, many people walking around about to explode with mental illness because they've been told to keep it to themselves. Domestic violence is not rare, private, or harmless. It is a nationwide crisis that touches every family, far from being normal. A family matter, it ripples every effect, are felt in schools, workplaces, and health care systems all across the generations. It is not a lover's quarrel, but a pattern of coercive, controlling behavior that kills thousands of people in the US every year. 17 million people were harmed by physical violence, sexual violence, and stalking. Last year, that's the national consensus. On an average every day, more than three women are killed by current, former, husband, boyfriend, or some significant other, making it clear that domestic violence is not only pervasive, but deadly. The crisis that strikes at the core of our communities behind every victim, story escalating of coercion, fear, violence. We're not paying enough attention to all these women being killed by men. Yes, women are killers too. When men kill women because they can, men who choose to be violent do so in a society that has taught them repeatedly to them that women can be possessed, controlled, punished, and discarded. And they do so because women's fear is normalized. because threats are diminished and considered as relationship problems. This is the one I think about the most is how women are expected to leave safely while these men are really expected to stop ever being violent. It is sad because institutions repeatedly wait for proof that arrives in the form of a body. And a lot of us know what that looks like, have seen it, and what it means. And when we say men kill women because they can, it isn't because of biology. It isn't because of testosterone. or physical size, or they are wired that way. It means power, it means that opportunity, and it means impurity. It also means that friends will make excuses, families will look the other way, and police sometimes underestimate the danger. The court gives men chance after chance. The media will describe murder as a relationship that turned tragic. Male violence against women does not continue because we have no answer. It continues because we keep refusing to confront the root cause. It tells us about the power and society that both is protected. Women don't need no more lectures about how to stay safe. Men need to lose the social permission to make women feel unsafe. And until violence brings consequences, before it brings a funeral, men will continue to kill women for the most devastating and simplest reasons. We call on all institutions and elected officials to confront domestic violence for what it truly is, a national crisis. Never trivial, never private, never to be ignored. That means shaping.

Time is up. I'm sorry to interrupt you, but your time is up. Thank you, I'm sorry. Thank you.

Council President. Thank you. Council President. Latoya Jackson Tucker.

Appearing.

Good afternoon, Latoya Jackson Tucker. Today I came to thank everybody that helped talk about it. Yesterday's event, Talk About It Tuesday, be successful. I did, did y'all get them, the flyers? Excuse me. Y'all got them? The fly? Okay. Good. So I am expecting everyone to come out and support, even the other council members with the other wards. It's very important that we engaged and we know that we just can't stay in our spaces, but we got to come out and support. I do want to thank Nort Diggs for giving me the opportunity to be a GI reformer for the South Ward, the South Ward Environmental Alliance. Miss Kim Gaddy and her whole team, I thank you. Kareem Aden, Marina from Water and Sewer, they got them people out there. Samar and his crew. When I left here yesterday, I don't know if y'all knew, but I was in the back having a conversation because I needed some things. So I'm actually happy that they showed up. But when I got there, I was told to make sure Samad and his crew got their recognition. They did come there. It was like almost 25 people there doing their thing to make sure at 4 o'clock it looked clean and it was presentable for the community. I also want to thank the Office of Violence Prevention and Trauma Recovery, Ms. Kalisha Wing-Phil Hill, Lynn Smith. They always show up for me. Um, Director Redding, Tiffany Harris, Keisha Raspberry, the Department of Public Safety officers. I did, they had their own thing going on last night, but I did see Mr., um... Wilson, Captain Wilson, because you know you gotta say they Titans. Captain Wilson and the other sergeant come through and make sure that we was okay. Unfortunately, somebody got their tow car towed because they didn't pay attention to the signs that was put out, but they also had a fictitious A temporary sticker. I want to thank Ms. Lorraine Scales because she knew that we needed that space, but also she wanted to make sure that the community did not offend anybody. So we went door to door knocking and also asked the police to come out so we could get that car. You know, the person could remove it, but nobody knew him until the tow truck showed up. So there was a little... you know, upset, but they also came out and engaged. I also wanna thank Brick City Oven. A lot of times we think, we know we need resources to get things done, but we also need to have the right conversations with community so they can know how important an initiative is to somebody. That initiative was very important because all up and down the Clinton Avenue corridor, we see a lot of people just standing around because we were put here, so we can't actually go back to anywhere but our familiar, which is our community. So if I could help alleviate a little bit of that, because it is about stormwater being accountable for our community and the environment, but it's also about making sure that people know the beautiful things that we have in Newark. and we engaged them properly. So I was approved for a few more dates. I gave y'all the next two. Hopefully y'all will come out and engage with the community, because there's a lot of people that will not show up when they see a Newark seal on a flyer. So I thank y'all that y'all did not call it robbery. Reverend Roundtree, you know I'm coming to you. I really, truly appreciate you. Stepping up, you have stepped up for me in so many different ways. A lot of the other council members also, I know y'all was busy, but it is very important. Kalisha told me, that's our tagline, but it works for the rest of the community, for all of us to feel safe, seen, and supported. That is very important. I also want to give a shout out to the Safe Summer Program. I am one of the facilitators there. I am very pleased with what was going on this year and also how she sat us down and told us how important it is to do this work and this work will go outside of our workshops for us engaging with young adults for one day. So we all stepped up to the plate. I'm having a very good feeling about the administration right now and the city and what they're doing, but I do have a grievance. I got a ticket. Now, that I want y'all to take care of, because in the north and in the east, we could double park. They do not say anything to you about double parking. I pulled up in front of the South Ward Environmental Alliance to go in and out real quick. Spoke to the officer, still got a ticket. I did tell the captain. I even went back and engaged with the officer and told her, We can't do this. This is an underserved and a struggling community. I just got my stipend from North Diggs, paid all my tickets. Now I got a ticket from trying to make sure that I'm working for my community and do what I'm supposed to be doing. So I definitely don't want to have to pay that ticket because it's unfair. If I was in North North, if I was in the East, they wouldn't even bother me.

Thank you.

All right? No, I'm giving y'all my ticket. I'm dead serious. Thank you.

Rodney Davis.

I'm hearing.

Expensive. I know you're sold out, but you're high. You know what I mean? Still waiting on that rain day. I know we're going to get it like the late, great Mildred Crum used to say. We're here for business. I originally signed up. They asked you all to make a pledge, no more fundraisers. Everybody tied to the business community, the homeowners, the residents, the voters, everybody tied to your fundraisers. Try to come up with another one to make some money. Now, if you're doing it for a bona fide charity like My Three Kings, where I know where the money going to the kids, I'm all for it. Count me in. If you're doing it for a bona fide charity like RRC, RJC, that I know where the money going, and I think you give yours to the kids, that I'm all for. But otherwise, you know, cut all them fundraisers out, man. Try something else. So I changed up. I got a call from Kathy from Affirmative Action. Friday after I'm leaving Weekway Park, I got a call from Kathy and said, did you know that the girl got sexually assaulted at the job site? I said, no, I didn't know nothing about it. So right then and there, council president, I went to a different mode. I called her up, talked to her, and I believe her 100%. You know, just because you got a little position or got a couple of dollars, you can't be sexually assaulting black women in Newark in the United States of America. We're not going for it. So I told her to call 1-800-DONNA-JACKSON. She called 1-800-DONNA-JACKSON. 1-800-DONNA-JACKSON answered the phone and got right on it. I'm very serious. Because getting sexually, well, a man just decided to put his hand down your blouse. I know Sister Bae wouldn't. Not all women, black women, are the same. Sister Bae might have maced them if you tried her. But the ball started rolling. Because my friend Joe DiVincenzo, he didn't spend all this money in Essex County Parks. for you to slide over there and sexually assault the black woman. Now, after we called 1-800-DONNA-JACKSON, I called Commissioner Richardson, because it took part in Weekway Park. He said, let Donna get the ball rolling, and we're going to get it on the county level. I can't go too much into details, because they got the prosecutor on it, and that's his county sheriff. But this is the United States of America. And you got to learn how to deal with the black woman. I see somebody slap the black woman the other day in New York, in Chinatown. One of the Indian guys thought, you do that with your race. Now, when I go to Rockland County or Lakewood, I don't play with the women. I go, I handle business, and I go home. So when you come into Newark, council president, Do your job. Now, the real bona fide contractors, like the Turner, AJD, that you see going on downtown building infrastructure, that's not allowed. We don't allow that in America. But you got hustlers. They come down, slide down, try to gank a tax abatement, and then they go over there and they get on a job. And so they say, oh, you work with me. Are you following me? So the girl, sometimes the women don't know what to do because they got to pay their rent. They want paychecks short of being homeless. I get it. They're happy for the opportunity. So we can't let that happen, Council President, under my watch, under your watch, under Action Jackson watch. It ain't happening. You might think you got away with it for now, but we're coming for you. Make no mistake about it. You know, and I'm glad you're here. I'm glad your leadership is here. And if any type of allegations, council president, against some of these hustling developers, hustling contractors, say, listen, until you clear this matter up, we're not giving you nothing. No tax abatement, no inspections, no nothing. You can't go back and forth with the black woman when she's the councilwoman. Like, when you have an outing, when Pat has an outing, he already has it planned out. So you're dealing with the summer kids. You can't even think it, Neville will say. You've got to get paid a year time. You've got to have the budget, all that ready. Good seeing you, Lou. Thank you.

Shaquille Moore.

Okay.

I come before each of you not with arrogance but with humility, not seeking applause but bearing witness, not to exalt myself but to testify to what I have seen. God, I have seen it. I have seen a black lieutenant entrusted with protecting the public ask me to look twice at a photograph of an unknown suspect, then ask me to remove my mask so that he could compare my face to the one in the picture. I had not entered that precinct as a suspect. I entered as a concerned citizen to speak about the growing danger facing pedestrians in a city where civilians and even police officers driving without sirens or emergency lights had nearly struck me and other people. Yet instead of hearing my concern, I was treated as though my presence itself demanded suspicion. God, I have seen it. I have seen people who once cried out for God to move in this city now live as though they no longer lead him. I have seen influence become an idol. Some speak as though their office, their wealth, their followers, their badge, or their title has elevated them to a place where they answer to no one. But no office outranks heaven. God, I have seen it. I have seen suspicion become policy. Yet persistence brought change. And one major supermarket, after months of speaking out, I'm still working on fixing the issue at a pharmacy. But I have seen it. I have seen men hunger for power while families hunger for bread. I have seen political ambition consume conversations that should have been centered on the poor, the forgotten, and the vulnerable. One group fights for power. Another group fights merely to survive. God, I have seen it. I have seen the younger generation say, I am smarter, I am more educated, I am more brilliant, I am more competent. I understand the times better than those who came before me. Move over, it's my time now. And I have seen the generation of our elders answer not with wisdom, but with contempt. I have seen an elder spit at me and say, you're nothing but a Haitian. For a city cannot stand when one generation despises another. God, I have seen it. I have seen the insults. I have seen the intimidation. I have seen contempt shown towards neighbors. And I have seen people intoxicated by influence behave as though they themselves were gods. But there is only one God. Every officer, every politician, every executive, every citizen must answer to that God. God, I have seen it. I have watched people enter public office with conviction and leave it with compromise. I have seen it. Yet in God's mercy and absolute sovereignty I stand. but never abandon. Without God, no amount of development can heal moral decay. No skyscraper can replace integrity. No budget can purchase righteousness. No election can save a people who refuse humility. To Newarkers and to the leaders of this city, I say this. Remember who sustained this city when hope seemed distant. It was not human brilliance alone. It was the mercy of an almighty God. Present your policies, write your legislation, govern with wisdom, but never imagine that government can replace God. The greatness of a city is not measured by the size of its economy. It is not measured by the height of its skyline. It is not measured by the value of its real estate. It is measured by the quality of life for its people. It is measured by whether children can walk safely through their neighborhoods. It is measured by whether the elderly can live with dignity. It is measured by whether working families can afford a home. It is measured by whether justice is impartial. Lead under the authority of God. Let every citizen carry his or her own brick. Let every neighborhood bear its responsibility. Let every generation honor the next. Let every ethnicity stand beside the other. Let this city once again acknowledge the God who hears the cries of the afflicted, defends the oppressed, humbles the proud, and exalts the humble.

Wow. Thank you, thank you. That was good.

Very good, thank you.

Leon Reed. That was good. That was good.

I'm at 1060 Broad Street, and I have a problem with my apartment. And where it is, when I first moved in there, I didn't have no mission blinds in the windows. And all of a sudden, they started spraying some kind of chemical, something like gas or whatever. It was making me sick. So what happened, so I went and bought an air quality device to let you know the condition of the apartment, let you know where if the air poisonous or whatever, gas or whatever. So this device, it got numbers on it. When it go up higher, when the alarm go off, that means for you to get out. Every night, every day, they start spraying this type of chemical, whatever. And a couple of times, I passed out on the floor. So then I wake up. Then I get up. I'm weak. I can't hardly walk. Then I go downstairs, and I tell the people downstairs about it. And they look at me like I'm crazy. I said, well, there's somebody spraying something up there. So another day, I went in my apartment, and they started spraying. So I had a guy upstairs. knocking on my floor, like bam, bam, bam. So I said, so I goes up there, I knock on the door. I said, man, you spraying stuff down in my apartment? He said, no, I'm not spraying nothing in your apartment. I said, you spraying stuff, because I smell the same old coming out of your apartment down into my apartment. So I said, well, you doing something. So I went back down to my apartment. Then I was thinking, I said, damn, I got to get the hell out of here. So I went outside to get some air in my lungs. Because whatever that stuff they were spraying had snot run out of my nose like water. And my chest was tall and tightened up and everything. I couldn't hardly breathe. So I said, well, damn. I said, well, somebody's right with this apartment. So the next day, I went downstairs. I told the manager. And she said, well, she's going to see somebody up there to check it out. I said, well, you got to do something, because I can't stay in my apartment like that. And I said, matter of fact, I said, y'all have, I said, I've been here three years, and y'all ain't putting no mission blinds or nothing in my window. I got a garbage bag over my window, duct tape over my windows, and a sheet. And I said, well, y'all got to do something. Then one day, I saw the super come out of my apartment. So I said, what you coming out of my apartment for? He said, well, something's leaking. I said, ain't nothing leaking in my apartment. Then I went toward the closet. Then he went all through my stuff. All through my stuff, looking through my paperwork. I don't know. I just can't take it no more. I ain't got nowhere else to go. They keep spraying that stuff. I just got out the hospital the other day. Just got out the damn hospital. because it keeps spraying that stuff and making me sick. Yeah.

Mr. Moore. Thank you. Thank you. Mr. Moore.

It's Reed.

Oh, that's OK. I'll get it.

Councilwoman Payne. Yes, Mr. Reed, hi. First of all, I'm so sorry that you're experiencing this. One of my team members is coming into the chambers now and going to talk to you and get your information, and we're going to help you out. OK? Thank you. All right.

Thank you. Reginald Turner.

Good afternoon, everybody. Reginald Turner. I want to bring your awareness up. I'm at 1060 also. I was the one who brought him up here because there's a few of them that has sicknesses that physically can't make it, but he pushed himself up here. So I'm here to speak on, I want to speak on some, I got like a couple of lists. I'm going to have to work with the clock. I'm going to run them down, but I can't elaborate on everything because I know I don't have enough time, but... Moving from studio to one bedroom, you got to set up like, they said in the lease we can't do that. But they're charging people $500 on the side to move them in. But when you have somebody new to come in, I don't care what race it is, they're allowed to go straight in that one bedroom before the people that's there before us, which I think is very unfair. It should be seniority. Second. They got 11 o'clock curfew. I have people that work at night that get off at 11 o'clock, and I can't have no business. It's like I'm in, I feel like I'm incarcerated again. I'm like, I'm in a county jail, and I think that should be uplifted, because we all adults in there. You got people that work third shift and things like that, so. And then, each apartment comes with a TV. Since I've been in that apartment, the TV been missing. It was stolen. They had the bridge program bring me a small one with an antenna connected to it. They've been telling me for almost, since I've been in there, they're gonna replace it. That's something else. I wanna read off this list. I'm gonna try to go through this real quick. garbage disposals, the chutes that we have, they haven't been cleaned since the build have been there. So it's odors, it smells, and all you do is mop and sweep the floors. Those need sterilized. They stink bad, so that's one of the things. Each garbage chute, it needs to be sterilized. There are infested mice, rats, and roaches on certain floors that's still there that they're keeping under it. You've got family members that have problems. When a family is deceased, the maintenance departments are more responsible to clean it or steal all of the property. Because some of them, you know, I'm old enough to do sometimes I keep cash in there. I don't like running to the machine. So they steal all of this property. So whoever's headed that, You got residents, when they, the only way they find out somebody deceased, they're in their apartment dead for three or four days, or maybe five. The older is what, the older is what make us aware of them passing away, so we have to go to the office and report it. They don't have no one that's responsible to go check for people that don't have family, or check the rooms, period. They also requested, they need a license, we don't have no license, social worker. Because the senior citizen, I can move a little something, but you have some that can't move. There's no social worker in the building that can help them or assist them. Because any time you go to the office, either they want rent money or something else. Residents need more visits for exterminators. Oh, the exterminators that come, they come once a month. They were asked to request, can they come a little more? I don't know if it works, but they asked to request, can the exterminators come a little more? And the management need to put federal law into practice when hiring a person, regardless of race, religion, or color. Because every time you see somebody hired, they're Hispanic. And it's like, it's an off balance of being treated fairly. Because you know most people, they're going to put their own plug, their own people in first. You know, push us to the back. That's why I speak about as far as like, I'm not telling you what to do, but they need to change some pieces in the office, because some of them stuck up in that whole way, and they got it designed in ways that they run it unfairly. And we're getting treated real, you know, like the incident I spoke to a while ago. Then they have a young girl, she's like 30 years old, female security, all she do is verbally abuse senior citizens. She should be replaced, retrained. Why do I say that? Because the incident a month ago, she was followed by a resident. She verbally abused the guy so bad he followed her when she got off work and he pulled the knife out to stab her. She maced him, but they swept that under the rug. So I want to bring it to your attention because if it happens again, because she got a bad mouth, somebody may pull a gun out the next time. This is just, you know, I'm not giving no ideas, but things happen. And you have people that have mental, psychological problems. This is a senior citizen building. You should be trained to know how to deal with older people. You've got to humble yourself. You don't curse them out. But that's all I've got. I really want to bring your attention. And thanks for listening. Thank you so much. Councilwoman?

Mr. Turner, thank you. Yes. Let me just offer you a couple of things because 1060 is one that texts me all the time. We have had issues there with all levels of stuff. And I know what needs to happen in every single building in this town. We need to have a tenant organization ASAP. Second of all, we need to go back to old school. I heard my other council colleague over here talk about the floor captains, et cetera. We need to do that. because what i see that is happening since super storm sandy that still has not been corrected by this city is we have no emergency management plan in place when councilman ramos and i had to respond to the fire at 9 20 franklin i might be wrong number but at franklin when the um explosion happened not inside Stephen Crane, inside the senior building, and burned up to eight floors. When we had to respond to that, it was not a response from the management within Newark Housing Authority to assist those seniors getting out. So it's Louie and I walking down the stairs. I got the walker. He got the cane. It's Larry and I walking down the stairs. So he has the crutches and I have the walker. So we were trying to help each other get down from the ninth floor, from the eighth floor. And we have got to put some things in place. We've got to go back to from that experience on Franklin that Councilman Ramos and I went into. When those phones went down, right?

Right.

The seniors couldn't remember the family phone number. So one of my ideas that I'm asking my council colleagues to work with me on, and I don't think any of us have a problem, is going back to a manual phone book so that our elders can write down at least those top three, four, five emergency numbers. So when something like that happens, they could call because when we began to try to move them with the assistance of councilman counsel, over to Grafton Avenue Rec Center, they weren't able to call and say, hey, mom, daughter, I'm going over here, meet me. Dad, you know, so that communication was also broken. So we have to do better, but we have to form tenant organization so we could get back to the structure that we need inside our communities to help each other. It should not take for the body to lay there three or four days as a community. If you're working at night, you might not have saw Miss Johnson, but we need to know that, you know, Larry and I in the lobby every day. And if he doesn't come on Tuesday, if I don't see him Wednesday, that needs to be a Trigger. I'm going to also do a public service announcement right here. Look, y'all, out in the hood, in the community, start checking on your people. And some people don't have anybody. I get that. But some of us have got to do better checking on our family members. Don't stay upset with your sister because she wouldn't lend you the $10. It's not worth that. The family checking that most people are posting now to just check on each other as friends on Facebook, we really need to seriously do that because I'm telling you, the amount of deaths that we've had period it's just been too much particularly in these last two years and the amount of people that we are finding in these units deceased is is heartbreaking for all of us because we know what's happening on a basis so um i'm sure councilwoman bay and probably my other council colleagues will come but we're going to set up something to come in to do a tenant meeting um we'll also set up something to meet with the ownership again because they do do band-aid approach to everything every winter there's a heat issue every summer there's a cooling issue and all of these buildings have to be held accountable particularly when they have the hvac systems and they're not servicing them properly and we got to get on them that's why i was so on code enforcement yesterday it's got to start being money money money PENALTIES TO MAKE SURE PEOPLE ARE LIVING IN GOOD CONDITIONS. SO COUNCILWOMAN BAY AND I, WHOEVER ELSE WANTS TO COME TOGETHER WITH US, WE'LL DO SOMETHING FOR 1060 AND ALSO COUNCIL AS A WHOLE, I'LL ASK THROUGH THE CLERK'S OFFICE, THROUGH THE CHAIR OF COUNCILMAN QUINTANA IF WE COULD SEND THE OWNERSHIP of 1060 Broad Street to start a meeting request with the ownership and the members of that building so we can get things rectified. Thank you.

Your time is up. Thank you.

If you need some assistance, you could give me a call or contact me because I don't mind helping. Thank you. That's all I want to say.

Madam Clerk, the company that's in the East Ward, Also, you could include Councilman Silva. That 1060 happens to be in the East Ward. And again, the company is Fairstat, the same company that purchased Two Nevada. So again, we need to engage with them. Fairstat came to Newark and bought Essex Plaza, which is 1060. So again, the city has been very good to that entity with tax abatements and et cetera. So I think we should, I concur with you, is set up a meeting with the management and then with the tenants, but also to invite Councilman Silva, happens to be his ward.

All right. Yes, sir. Queen Dionysia Clyburn.

Get your kids. Queen Danisha Clyburn, North New Jersey. I am the community liaison manager for McDonald's. Now, think for the city, and I think y'all understand that part. Okay. So, I'm going to read something real quick. I'm a little confused about it. It really has nothing to do with me in particular. But because people sign up for these meetings, and they don't leave space for other people, and they don't show up, other people can't get their messages out. So, PAC Council, this is for you. I'm just reading. Don't, you know, I could have called you, but... Everybody needs to know what's going on. So it says, Axe Pack Council, what happened to $124,000 that was awarded to Weekway Park Association for a violence prevention program? He wanted the WPA to share it with the WPSA That was not a part of the proposal. It's more to it, so I want to give it to you personally so you could really have a meeting. And I would love to sit in that too because it keep coming to my phone and to my inbox and now it's on Facebook. And I know you could be a better person and take care of this matter, please and thank you, so I could get to my business because I got enough on my plate. So what I came here for today is that I oversee 14 McDonald's within the state of New Jersey, right? And we are a servant of food. We have become a camp. We have become a safe zone. And when I say the state of New Jersey, all the way from Passaic, Secaucus, Jersey City, Bayonne, Newark, Irvington, you name it. Everywhere. I'm coming to Newark and particularly because this is my city and you guys are my council and we need help. I'm not afraid to ask for help. I know how to work with people and even if we don't know how to get along on other terms, this is the term I need y'all for. Starting August the 12th at 188 Springfield Avenue, we'll be doing McFamily Nights and we are asking you all to come. I know it's essential. But I want you all to come because this is going to travel within the Ferry Street, which is the Iron Bounce section. It's going to be in Broadway, which is Rainbow section. It's going to be on West Market. We don't have nothing for you, Pat, but please come. I'm sorry we ain't getting McDonald's over there yet. It's coming soon. But I'm asking for you all help. Sometimes I do this so much, helping different people every day, to where as though I'm dreaming that I did the work already, and I didn't even do it. I really need you guys' help. Please, our babies are in a crisis with school coming and things are happening. We're willing to feed them a hamburger or a cheeseburger fried in a drink to do homework with them for two hours. Y'all have all these teams out here and they keep saying, we doing this and we doing that. I don't seem to meet up with them nowhere, besides unless it's some music and food. Yesterday, I went to set up a table at the Westside Park. That was amazing. No fights, no arguments, no nothing. But what I do have a problem with, because I'm going to give you all credit when it's due, When y'all come around with y'all entourages, right? Not to say it's everybody, but if the shoe fits, wear it. I did see you yesterday, but I set up late, and that's my fault. But there was an entourage that did come through, and there was tables on the side with me, and then there was the OVP and the police and all them other people, and the mayor and the entourage took pictures with them. And I thought it was just me, because sometimes I do think y'all have a personal problem with me, but I could be overreacting. Nobody got pictures within the end. I think it's a big concern that if we're doing a service to the people, that we all be awarded the same way. If we're asking for you guys' help, send your aide, send a representative, send somebody to come and support us. Because the work that most of us do, it's not easy. I'm now even into mentorship. I got a case at McDonald's. And again, we're just a restaurant. This is just a franchise. Tooking from someone in Jersey. I'm not going to say where yet because I need this investigated properly. All the way from Texas, born from Texas, all the way down here, I had to call the NOC director. Thank you from the homeless prevention. And they did help me out. I don't believe in trafficking humans. I never thought that that would hit my table personally. It took me somewhere else. We need help. McDonald's is dealing with a lot because I'm there. I need you all. Hands on deck. I don't care how we do. I need to meet with all of y'all to talk about all particulars because it's a lot. And it's not enough police. It's not enough nobodies to do all this work. And I know you guys, if I'm getting it like this, I can just imagine what's on your table.

Thank you. Thank you so much. Councilwoman Bay.

Thank you, Council President. Queen, thank you for the work that you do for our babies in the community. We get it. I don't think anybody here has a problem with supporting any good work that happens in the community. Please just send us the information, email it to us, and we'll definitely see what support that we can provide. But just send us some information and If the information takes too long in the email, you got the number, call. We got you.

Councilman.

Thank you, Chair. To respond to your magical email, there are two organizations that are in the South Ward that need to learn how to be good stewards with each other. One of the individuals, put in for a grant through the Office of Violence Prevention and Trauma Recovery. When they came to the council meeting to address the council about what their proposal was, what their plan was, they had no plan. My council colleagues questioned them as well, deferred the item, moved it along. When they came back again to my council colleagues, they continued to have no plan programmatic plan to handle what they wanted to do around violence. My council colleagues sent it back to the administration, not councilman council. Issue that they are having, they have to work out as good stewards of a park, which is very important for the residents that live in the South Ward, that they should not have to contend with the constant butting of heads with two different organizations that have different responsibilities. Now what Councilman Council did was to try to bring them together with the county to have a conversation around the importance of being good stewards in the park. Because it is important that the Weekway Park Association and the Weekway Park Sports Authority know how to be good citizens in the park for the residents that use the most frequent park in Essex County, which is Weekway Park. And so it is incredibly important that when people go there, they don't have to go and feel a battle that is going on between two organizations, but understand what each of their roles and responsibilities are in the work that they do. If one serves as a steward of the park, they should focus on stewardship of the park. If one serves as a sports authority, they should focus on camps and clinics and helping young people in the park. As for the grant that they submitted, the reason that it was sent back was because there was no programmatic plan. And violence is a serious issue in the city of Newark, and specifically in the South Ward. And as an activist in this city that has been fighting against violence for almost over 30 something years, and as a co-founder of the Newark Anti-Violence Coalition, I take that very serious. Not to just vote on giving people money with no plan or programmatic move to make sure that something is happening around violence. That is the response to that question. Thank you.

Oh, well, behind that, all I wanted to say to Queen was, I'm going to go back to what she was saying about August 12, because I'm going to move forward with you on working with those children, the work you've done. We've worked together on many fronts. There's been some ups and downs and round and rounds. But I'm so proud to see that you are moving forward with a positive attitude, making moves in this community, helping our young people. Sometimes where your office space is is not necessarily an actual office. Sometimes where you're helping the community is not necessarily in City Hall or in the church. It's outside. And what you're doing in these establishments is what you're doing is giving McDonald's a face of doing things for the community. You might not have started out thinking that. You might have went there to manage and help the management do what they need to do to have a successful business. But part of that business, especially where they're located in urban areas, is to service that present surrounding area first. which is children that come in. I know you were talking about homeless services at one time, but the difference with you and summer property management is that you have access to all those services because at one time you were working with homeless services. At one time you worked in the health department. And whatever went sideways or backwards or forwards, you now have that experience that when those problems come into McDonald's, you can assist and call on the services that you have access to. So I'll see you on August 12th.

Thank you. Next speaker.

Sister Atiyah Bay.

Uh-oh.

I'm out of pairing.

Yes, she is.

She's here?

Yes, she's here. I'm here.

She here?

Yes, she's sitting right there. Stand up and get to the mic.

Okay, don't start no time yet. She's giving me glass. I can't see.

Can y'all hear me now? Y'all can hear me? Yeah.