NT-3291

Title Slate: The Eleventh Hour #291. Newark. Rec: 1/24/90. Dir: Andrew Wilk

Funding by Announcer. Charitable orgs overlay The Eleventh Hour graphic.

Program opens, Host Robert Lipsyte in the studio standing next to 4 tv screens with images of the City of Newark, and the title City of Newark. He talks about Newark, New Jersey, as a "City in Renaissance".

Lipsyte announces Mayor of New Jersey, Sharpe James coming up soon and cuts away to an off-site segment narrated by Stanley Terrell, editorial editor for the Newark Star Ledger.

Archival b&w footage of a thriving downtown Newark - vintage cars parked on cobblestone streets, many peds, hustle bustle on the streets

Aerial Newark modern times, wide shots of wide avenue, tall modern buildings

Back with Terrell outside reporting enthusiastically about Newark's potential - a major waterfront complex anchored by a $200 million arts center. Pan over to the tall buildings surrounding Torrell.

School bus (shot from rear) parked in front of city school

Wide shot cloudy day, large red fire hydrant in foreground with several large brick apartment buildings in bkgd. yellow fire truck driving by

Streets crowded with peds in Newark. Stanley Terrell (unseen) narrates about a positive change since 1967 being the decrease in racial tensions.

Host Robert Lipsyte at his desk in the studio introduces and welcomes Newark Mayor Sharpe James via satellite from Washington D.C

INVERVIEW

Robert Lipsyte:

is that there are two Newarks one shiny with promise, and the other as desperate, if not more so than it was in 67. During the riots. And the question people have asked is, which city are you Mayor of?

Sharpe James 6:18
Well, I think when I ran for office, I was the first to coin that phrase about a tale of two cities. And I think since I've been mayor, I said the downtown was booming, and our neighborhoods were dooming. And I since I became mayor July 1 1986. We've been fighting both of those fronts. Number one, we've been trying to strengthen our downtown development because the spin off will be in jobs and ratables and income into the city. And then of course, I think the challenge is to take those dollars and go into our neighborhoods and make a difference. So I believe that right now, we are strengthening our neighborhoods, our development, the city of Newark is not concentrated, simply downtown anymore. It's throughout the entire city of Newark, when you come to the city of New York, and walk up South Orange avenue into the central Ward, the heart of the riots, and you see beautiful K, Hovnanian housing 1100 units being built, that's not downtown, that's in the neighborhood, the first movie theater be built in the city of New York, we're not going to build it downtown. But at Bergen and Springfield Avenue in the heart of the riots. And of course, we look at a new shopping mall in Irvine and Turner Avenue, not downtown, but in a neighborhood, a new community shopping mall at South Orange Avenue in Bergen street again and enable it. So we've accept that challenge. And we believe that the real renaissance of a city, it's not what happens at broad market or the four corners, but it is what happens in a neighborhood where people live. We accept that challenge. And we're proud to say that we have a combined private public partnership working to eradicate of the ills of the past and to improve the quality of life of our neighborhoods.

Robert Lipsyte 8:05
Mr. Mayor, when you first accepted the challenge, when you became mayor, you promised a sharp change. Has has political reality stopped any of those those visions of three and a half years ago?

Sharpe James 8:18
No, I think one of the most pleasant surprises that I've found since I've been mayor, is the cooperation of the members of the city council. I was a councilman for 16 years and and I knew that the best way for our Councilman to survive is to have a press release, attacking a mayor disagree with the mayor and have confrontation all the time. I'm pleased to say that since I've been mayor, I think there has been a new spirit of cooperation between the members of the Newark municipal Council and the office of Mayor for the betterment of our city.

Robert Lipsyte 8:49
But one of the things that hasn't happened. Even that spirit of cooperation which Stanley Terrell brought up is enough, as he put it safe and affordable housing for the people of Newark even though changes have been made. Why has this not happened?

Sharpe James 9:04
I think that our biggest drive has been in the area of housing rebuilt housing for all people, not just low income, although that's our primary focus to have safe, decent and affordable low income housing. But we must never forget that Newark has a shrinking population base. We must never forget that there are many living in the city of Newark who do want to improve their housing stock. Newark is a third oldest major city in America behind Boston in New York City. And we have an older stock of housing there many people do not want to let leave No, but they want to a new house. They want to share the American dream. And so we build housing for all people but we've concentrated on safe decent affordable housing. And I think the one misnomer that that stanley Terrell fails to inform the public and and I think you'd be the first to correct himself. When Mayor Gibson was the mayor he control the New York housing authority which is the only agency in the city of Newark, charged with responsibility for building low income housing. And Mayor Gibson for 12 years, appointed every member of the school board. So he had virtually total control of the city control the Board of Education. And the President was an aide to the mayor, he controlled the housing authority, and its chairman was an aide to a to a mayor or an employee in the city, Miss Pearl Beatty. I, when I became mayor in July 1 1986, the laws have been changed, and I did not appoint the members of the housing authority. And we now have an appointment, a school board, people fail to realize that the school board budget is larger than a municipal budget $450 million to educate our school children 54,000 When in 1970, we had 80,000 students, and the budget was only about $190 million dollars.

INTERVIEW CONTINUES:

Robert Lipsyte 14:42
Mr. Mayor, these are very strong statements for what you want. But one aspect of the housing picture you do have to take responsibility for and that's the adjective safe. I mean, you do have control over the police department and there is an image at least, that there has not been safety in this kind of low income housing and that Newark, Newark itself has been rattled with crime.

Sharpe James 15:08
Well, I think every every American city in America, I mean, Atlanta, I just came from the US Conference of Mayors a conference in Atlanta, Georgia. The headlines say that Atlanta, I lead the nation crime, not New Jersey, but weathers Atlanta or any urban area crime is everywhere. No city, no living room, no house can divorce itself of crime and drug. But we've been highly innovative in the city of Newark, we brought back and reinstituted the Mounted Police, we brought back to one man patrol to bring about greater police visibility down the street, we opened up a kiosk that broad market supervised 24 hours a day, there is a new spirit of cooperation. In the police department in the city of Newark. It was a James administration that has introduced a highly innovative idea of having our firefighters to be out of the firehouse and between the hours of three to 8pm to give greater visibility and be on the streets and check fire hydrants. We have been easily

Robert Lipsyte 16:07
These are very innovative. But despite them, Newark still rates third among the most crime ridden cities in America, why?

Sharpe James 16:19
I have not I have not read those statistics that you are quoting me right now. But I'm not sitting here to suggest that an urban city, the largest city in the state of New Jersey, the third oldest city in America, is without crime. We know we have a problem, we accept that problem. And I'm so pleased that we have a private public cooperation addressing that problem. We've been highly innovative, very critical. And I have the statistics and reports that show a decrease in crime in the city of Newark decrease in auto theft. And although we believe that it's still not enough, we're doing the best we can what limited funds we have. And I think like when people talk about homelessness, they talk about AIDS, they talk about crime, and they talk about drugs. It's time we talk about a federal national priority to give the cities the dollars to do what we expect them to do on a municipal level. We cannot talk about crime in the city of Newark, or East Orange or Paterson or Atlanta, or New York City, when we're spending over a million dollars a day to support the army and El Salvador, who's killing men, women and children and shooting six priests. And then we talk about the quality of life in our urban city. That's a failed American policy. And I'm saying some of those dollars are wish to be invested in Foreign Affairs could be put into our city

Robert Lipsyte 17:43
Mr. Mayor there are people who would turn that around and say that the money that you want to pour into an art center in Newark could very well be turned into more police officers on the streets, and more of the kind of public safety presence that would make Newark safer.

Sharpe James 18:03
Nothing could be further from the truth because first of all, the $33 million being given by the private sector. This is not to say if the private sector, those commendable business, people who come together and believe that the New Jersey Center for the Performing Arts belongs in the largest city in New Jersey, because of an airport, a seaport, our rail network, second to none the infrastructure, they believe it should belong there. And they are willing to donate $33 million of their money to make this a reality. This is not to suggest that if we do not build an art center, they're going to turn around and go to broad market and say give it to the homeless. They're supporting the arts, they believe in the arts, and they see what you've said earlier in the program. The city cannot be a tale of two cities. You can't have urban cities, the house, all the jails, all the methadone centers, all of the social agencies and say now be a viable city. A city is more than mortar and bricks. And what about the people who are not on welfare? What about the people who are not homeless? who still believe in a city who live in a city? Should they have the opportunity to go to a movie theater? Should they have the opportunity to go bowling should they have the opportunity to go rollerskating all of which do not exist in a city should they have the opportunity to go see the arts and and the cultural things that improve the quality of their life? I think what we have done is always talk about what we should do just for one part of the population what a city is it is a ethnic mix, a social mix, an economic mix, and we also have to be concerned about the total population or city. There are many people who want to go see Bolero. At the same time we have to be concerned about the homeless. There are many people who want to go to see a Broadway show at the same time but be concerned about crime and AIDS. So if you do not have a quality city, the quality of life dies and that's City, people move out of the city. And what we have in years to come is a city's occupied by only the poor, the downtrodden, the forgotten, those who are trapped and cannot escape that city, you have improved the total quality of life in our city. While we addressed the social problems.

INTERVIEW CONTINUES:
Robert Lipsyte 25:20
One place where they may come from, of course, is the state level. You do have a new governor, how do you feel about Governor Florio in New Jersey? How will that affect your job in Newark?
Sharpe James 25:32
I'm encouraged by Governor Jim Florio, I'm encouraged because he was a high school dropout. A man who served his country, a man who took a Graduate Record Exam and and achieved his high school diploma, a man who went on to Trenton state and graduated with arm with honors a man who went on and won a Woodrow Wilson scholar to Columbia University, a man who became a lawyer. A, Congressman, well, I think he's he's doing one thing already. He said, I made a promise that when I become governor, I'm going to call for insurance reform isn't a commendable, isn't didn't he keep us word of the day after taking the oath of office, he called a special session of the legislature on Monday, presented them with a plan to lower the terrible and significant costs of insurance in the state of New Jersey, that everyone has been offended by, that no solution had been forthcoming to, he seemingly saying is a man of his word. He's committed, he's dedicated. And I think he has many commendable programs to introduce to the state of New Jersey. And I think more important, it's incumbent upon all of us to work with him with these new ideas to form partnerships, and let's move New Jersey forward. I think it's gonna be an exciting new jersey on the Governor Jim Florio, He's a personable individual Robert Lipsyte 26:59
I thank you very much mayor sharpe. James, thanks so very much for being with us in your speech last night you said Newark is still troubled but heading towards the promised land. We wish you well.

Lipsyte encourages viewers to write in their opinions

Lipsyte announces show and himself. Show ends.

Funding by Announcer. Charitable orgs overlay The Eleventh Hour graphic.