Mayor Baraka Asserts Newark is Moving in ‘The Right Direction’ at State of City Address
TOM WIEDMANN
15 March, 2022
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.
“I’m optimistic, and I have good reason to be,” Baraka told the audience.
Baraka’s address came on the brink of the city’s May nonpartisan municipal elections as the mayoral incumbent seeks a third term. With the mayor’s chair and all nine council seats up for grabs in this year’s election, the event provided Baraka ample opportunity to spotlight his accomplishments in office.
The event kicked off with a video montage of interviews and media clips showcasing the city’s achievements under the mayor’s leadership. Following the video presentation, Baraka addressed the audience from a podium on stage, sharing the details of his upbringing in New Jersey’s largest city and how it shaped him as a Newark resident.
“I come to you this evening as a kid from Newark - son of Amiri and Amina Baraka, who both gave their heart and blood to this city,” he said. “They loved and still love this city immensely and have passed that love down to me, and I have tried in my years to use that love to create hope, to build belief, and ultimately the courage to transform – to move from what we know to what we can imagine. I have used that love to move our city forward.”
Part of Baraka’s efforts to move Newark forward could be tied to multiple initiatives the city has undertaken to address its affordable housing gap.
Last week, Baraka introduced amendments to the city's Inclusionary Zoning Ordinance (IZO) that are targeted to increase the supply of housing that residents can afford. The city's IZO, originally adopted in October 2017, requires 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. The ordinance covers families in a range of incomes, from below $40,000 annually to $80,000 for families of four.
The amendments to the ordinance laid out by the mayor came as the city aims to address its affordable housing stock shortage. A report issued in February 2021 by The Rutgers Law School Center on Law, Inequality and Metropolitan Equity (CLiME) revealed that the city's housing stock falls short to provide affordable units for low-income residents by about 16,000 units.
In response to the report, Baraka’s office teamed up with CLiME, the city’s Office of Economic and Housing Development and local partners to draft a multi-pronged approach to address what the mayor called “a growing problem in this town and a growing problem in this region.”
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Mayor Baraka Asserts Newark is Moving in ‘The Right Direction’ at State of City Address