NEWARK, NJ — An extensive list of accomplishments Newark Mayor Ras Baraka felt he’s achieved during his eight years in office took center stage at his annual State of the City Address.

Baraka delivered his eighth State of the City Address to a crowd of at least 900 people at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center Tuesday in downtown Newark just five months after his last State of the City Address in October 2021, where he spent a lengthy portion of that event touting the city’s coronavirus pandemic response.

During Tuesday’s address, Baraka again highlighted the city’s pandemic response while pointing to other notable achievements by his administration in various sectors such as economic development, employment, and public safety. A full transcript of the mayor's speech can be viewed here.

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Newark, NJ-March 8, 2022- At today’s Newark Municipal Council meeting, Mayor Ras J. Baraka introduced amendments to the City’s Inclusionary Zoning Ordinance (IZO) targeted to increase the supply of housing that residents can afford and ensure that Newark is an equitable city. As required by law, the Council voted to refer the amendments to the Central Planning Board for review.

The Newark IZO, originally adopted on October 4, 2017, is one of the strongest in the nation, requiring developers of City projects of 30 units or more to set aside 20% of their units to be affordable for low-and-moderate-income families over a range of incomes, from below $40,000 annually to $80,000 for families of four. The amendments strengthen the original ordinance by expanding the number of developments required to participate.

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NEWARK, NJ — The City of Newark’s ability to distribute federal Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) funds during a housing crisis spurred by the coronavirus pandemic was lauded as a “success story” compared to other large New Jersey cities, according to a recent study by the New Jersey State Policy Lab at Rutgers University.

The study, “The New Jersey Housing Crisis in a COVID Era: Mapping Strategic Processes,” looked at the impact and challenges faced by local governments seeking to dole out rental assistance during the pandemic, particularly in urban cities where housing shortages and evictions existed before March 2020. Alongside Newark, the study focused on the efforts of four municipalities to disburse federal aid in Jersey City, Trenton, Elizabeth and Camden.

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The New Jersey State Policy Lab at Rutgers University released a study of challenges faced by local governments seeking to quickly distribute emergency rental assistance during the COVID-19 pandemic, citing the city of Newark as a success story. Although housing shortages and evictions were a problem before March of 2020, they became a crisis when lockdowns and shuttered businesses resulted in job and income loss, an impact that has been especially severe in urban communities.

“The pandemic revealed what is an ongoing emergency for far too many New Jerseyans,” said David Troutt, founding director of the Newark-based Rutgers Center of Law, Inequality and Metropolitan Equity (CLiME), and lead author of this study. The report focuses on the efforts of five municipalities to disperse federal Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) funds: Newark, Jersey City, Trenton, Elizabeth, and Camden.

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PLEASANTVILLE — A local pastor brought his Black History Month teach-ins to a close by discussing strategies for combating residential segregation and inequality and creating a better future.

Mount Zion Baptist Church hosted its fourth and final Black History Month symposium last Wednesday. The event further explored the series’ overarching theme of applying the lessons of Black history to reduce racial inequality and segregation in modern-day America. It centered on a discussion among Mount Zion senior pastor Willie Francois III and several academics who specialized in topics studying history, law and race.

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EAST ORANGE, NJ - With the erection of large market rate buildings with high rents, and homes with large price tags for sale, report says housing options in East Orange and Orange are becoming increasingly unaffordable.

Under the guidance of David Troutt, the founding director of the Rutgers Center on Law in Metropolitan Equity (CLiME), and Katharine Nelson, Senior Research Fellow, a report was published exploring the issues of housing in the Oranges and beyond titled, "Housing Gaps in Cities of Color: Affordability Trends in Newark's Inner-Ring Suburbs of Irvington, Orange and East Orange."

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NEWARK, NJ — More affordable housing projects are planned in Newark to meet the demand of residents after the city this week announced the first seven projects to be built under “Affordable Newark,” a new housing initiative targeted to families earning $32,000 and less.

Affordable housing has been a key focus for Newark Mayor Ras Baraka’s administration after he laid out his plans earlier this year to build 3,000 new homes across the city’s five wards by 2026 and to create or preserve at least 6,000 affordable housing units for its low-income residents.

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