All right, before we get to any motions, does the council have anything to respond to? All right, Councilwoman has something to say. Yes, I do, because it's comments, not motions. and the Esses County Correctional Facility. but I have visited all of them over the years to address the concerns of delivering things to those who were incarcerated halfway houses but the people who allowed us to come in with the ministries to provide services for them. I said it yesterday when someone said something I've been actually going down there for quite some years. Of course, they caught me a couple of weeks ago, not just in Delaney Hall when it was a halfway house, of the state, I'm trying to just discuss, made it illegal for government to even become involved. That's why the county is no longer involved with oversight or control of Delaney Hall, In reference to Esses County Correctional Facility, The process of doing as this meeting is going on is I've spoke to the Oversight Committee because they have one to be able to enter in. I get complaints just as some of you out there I know that while Delaney Hall was going through So within the next, I'm waiting on a date. and the Oversight Committee will be allowing us so we can go in and deal with these issues I've heard other people from the community talk about the Esses County Correctional Center. So we can't talk about one without dealing with the other and they're right next door to each other. But having access to what they call the green monster in dealing with the issues at Delaney Hall. if they have to pay a price for what they do, their consequences, you can pick your sin, But that does not mean that they should be molded fool, You don't know what showing person concern when it comes to going to these facilities seeing some things and having conversations, that I will be going back down there again. And I've reached out to the oversight committee And the mothers that have given me legitimate, well, I'll know the legitimate when I get in to deal with what is going on with their children, I just wanted to thank you council president. I don't know if it's a motion or amendment or whatever We're gonna do based upon the agenda…
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All right, before we get to any motions, does the council have anything to respond to? All right, Councilwoman has something to say. Yes, I do, because it's comments, not motions. and the Esses County Correctional Facility. but I have visited all of them over the years to address the concerns of delivering things to those who were incarcerated halfway houses but the people who allowed us to come in with the ministries to provide services for them. I said it yesterday when someone said something I've been actually going down there for quite some years. Of course, they caught me a couple of weeks ago, not just in Delaney Hall when it was a halfway house, of the state, I'm trying to just discuss, made it illegal for government to even become involved. That's why the county is no longer involved with oversight or control of Delaney Hall, In reference to Esses County Correctional Facility, The process of doing as this meeting is going on is I've spoke to the Oversight Committee because they have one to be able to enter in. I get complaints just as some of you out there I know that while Delaney Hall was going through So within the next, I'm waiting on a date. and the Oversight Committee will be allowing us so we can go in and deal with these issues I've heard other people from the community talk about the Esses County Correctional Center. So we can't talk about one without dealing with the other and they're right next door to each other. But having access to what they call the green monster in dealing with the issues at Delaney Hall. if they have to pay a price for what they do, their consequences, you can pick your sin, But that does not mean that they should be molded fool, You don't know what showing person concern when it comes to going to these facilities seeing some things and having conversations, that I will be going back down there again. And I've reached out to the oversight committee And the mothers that have given me legitimate, well, I'll know the legitimate when I get in to deal with what is going on with their children, I just wanted to thank you council president. I don't know if it's a motion or amendment or whatever We're gonna do based upon the agenda and comments and then go to there and then we'll come back for motions. Just wanted to point out some of the information that everybody is accurate in their assessment. When I was appointed to the commission of housing authority, there was already an ordinance around security measures and that they had to be armed and an unarmed guard in the facilities. And Mr. Muhammad was on a commission at that time prior to me coming there and recognizing realizing that the executive director at that time knew that the housing authority did not have the funding And instead of working as the commission and the ED working together to work out information that they could not fund, which was in and of itself kind of out of order to be in leadership. And so my prerogative on all of it was number one but to also let the executive director know at that time that he should have been a better steward of working with the city to ensure that he was able to make sure that the security ordinance could live out its true tenement in what they agreed upon. And so in the instance of those things not happening in occurring, one of the things that I pointed out to Mr. Muhammad and to the body was that ultimately, even if it was an unarmed security officer who has arresting power, that if any incident occurred at those sites, that those guards in and of itself would ultimately have to call the police. So it was not a matter of me not supporting security because I'm all for supporting security. In their words, security officers at that site. The realm in which I'm speaking of is that we have several buildings that are over a hundred units that are not attended by security and by ordinance, And as the city, we should be working to ensure And so I just wanna make sure that we bring clarity to all of these things because sometimes people like to come up and give part of the story. And I think it's important to give context And so I just wanted to share that from that perspective. So with regard to you, do you have something? but what we can't do is, and I tried to address it, but we really can't have people come back because then every time somebody go to the bathroom and they wanna come back if they missed a spot, So the way the senior fashion show has worked has been a ticketed event for every single year. And the usual ways that you get a ticket Number one, you're a senior that's a part of this or you get a ticket if you aren't registered So we have names of everybody who receives a ticket and everybody who receives a ticket from my office. And that is how we determine who is eligible to come in we wanna make sure everybody gets served And so anybody who shows up with a ticket And that's how we determine who can come in. And so we make sure everybody who gets a ticket or who registers, like I said, with senior services or calls my office, gets a legitimate ticket and is allowed access into the senior fashion show. to have what I like to call a senior prom. Is there anything from the administration? to address this idea that the administration has not been involved when it comes to other facilities. I'll tell you that I have myself been with the mayor including the juvenile detention facility, including children who have been on bracelets I remember having a conference with the courts with some of our kids when they were on release. The difference between this and Delaney Hall is that those facilities responded to what we were asking. the media didn't cover it because it wasn't a hot topic. So it still doesn't mean that, excuse me, we still did the work to address the issues. I think it's unfortunate that, you know, the comments that are made about Delaney Hall, your opinion about people is your opinion. As a whole, the people in this city who work for this city recognizing that I personally have not received any issues Not to say that I've never been in the Essex County Jail And we have not received anything official. But if we receive documentations or requests we will have to respond like in the other location. Council President, I will say that, you know, I recognize that sometimes in this building, in a council meeting, temperatures get high. And they usually just put a notice on the wall that says that if you disrupt someone else then that stops you from speaking in the future. because it's very, very difficult to be in a space And unfortunately, we've had that a number of times. And I know you're trying to do the best you can, But it's obvious that some folks come here I just recommend that we just go forward with that. But there was some comments in reference to the conditions I recognize that there has been a history of complaints when it comes to living conditions in the city. Again, when people say things like nothing's happening, we've had legislation, we've had court cases the Urban League was here with a project that stemmed from us getting a receiver. I just think that sometimes when we make comments, we forget about what's really happening. And I recognize that some of the comments that are made But the harsh reality is that it's far from the truth. I do appreciate the fact that when I'm sitting here, I take notes and the information that I'm getting, So for example, the young lady that came up she said something about something happening in the wall. I look back and I saw Mr. Adams speaking to her They're just gonna go address the issues and try to do the best we can to make sure we help folks. I do know that the last comment that was made And usually when I hear things like that, I just think that is just unfair to say. Like when you talk about any of the departments the clerk staff, the administration staff, I think it's just wrong to make those comments, Because the harsh reality is that we all doing I have nothing else really to respond to at the moment but I just appreciate the opportunity to speak No, not motions, but I would like to echo and we had the respect of working together. And that's what has to occur and to congratulate him. That's just to say to us that we can work together. And this governing body is about working together. Whether we agree on some things or disagree it is not the channel of making a channel We're in the way of the people's business and making the people's business correct. And I'm so happy that I've had the opportunity Matter of fact, he drove me in one election, drove me around the different districts. all the best in your future endeavorness and he should be a resource to all of us as a governing body and as the city of Newark I wanna be noted and you used to be noted for your contributions to this great city of Newark. And I thank you for your leadership and direction and congratulations and may the future endeavorness and your future bring you back always to 920 Broad Street I just wanna, before I do my announcement, I wanna echo with councilman Quintana said, and I'm honored that I got to sit next to you. You know, I got to know you here and outside. or sometimes we don't agree and sometimes we do, you know, that's just the business of the city, say hello and I'm glad I got to know you and look at a person I thought that I knew, you know, because that's what happens to all of us. and I just wanna say congratulations man. I just wanna do my, I gotta go pick up the kiddies so I just wanna do my shout outs real quick. And I say shout outs because I wanna give a big shout Speedway Avenue School, the girls basketball team, the girls didn't only win the basketball championship, the girls also won the cheerleading gold division Three Pete as we call it, councilman council. You know, y'all did a lot of winning over there So I just wanna shout out our babies, man. A lot of times they don't get the recognition from their elders or their mentors outside of the school, And we just want them to know that we support them so shout out to the gold division three time I'm an ex basketball player for this school. I've been out of the eighth grade a long time, but you know, it's an honor to see my alma mater and see them continue to carry on a legacy in a program that is a winning program right there I'm looking at Dana because I forgot the actual time, and thank you once again to my colleagues up here I've really grown as a legislator, you know, I've really grown, you know, you guys helped me a lot. You don't realize how much, but I just wanna thank y'all and I look forward to continue these next four years because our people of the great city of Newark, New Jersey And I know I'm gonna do my best to make sure that we team up together and make that happen. We're gonna skip you councilman and go to councilman. To my good friend Carlito who has been steadfast and honorable and a workaholic in his approach in a way that he has tackled this council and ensuring that this city, the residents that is in align with the roles and responsibilities of the city and always working to try to figure out ways that this city can continue to pump, raise and generate revenue to help our homeowners here. I believe that you have served well in your capacity. that your family is ready to have you to themselves You always be around for advice, information but we know as you continue to move throughout this city that you will continue to lift up, fight for we wanna have a motion saluting the work and service of Councilman Carlos Gonzalez for over 20 years of service here in the great city of Newark of helping to grow and expand the services Anything else Councilman before we do a roll call? So we wanna wish all of the graduating students of 2026 and all of the schools that will be graduating to have a four way stop around Madison and 17th street with some kind of flashing lights, the amber lights. We have had a lot of fatalities in that area And it is time that we deal with that matter urgently. and get assistance for helping us to weigh and add another weigh station in these areas into our communities that can be of assistance to us. Then I would like to have a sorrow and regret to the Brower family, to Ms. Desiree Brower and the entire Brower family for the loss of Reverend Clifford Brower from Blessed Assurance Church and to the entire community for this loss on all of the islands in the South ward stating absent Scott round tree yes yes councilman bay thank you council president first i wanted to offer sorrows and regrets and my sincere condolences to city of newark's deputy mayor rock my muhammad on the loss of his sister deirdre muhammad she passed away this morning and so we definitely offer our sincere um for some prayers for the muhammad family so i wanted to insert that and again we want to congratulate uh councilman gonzalez on his retirement we thank him for his many years of dedication to the city of newark and to the residents we want to thank him for that and i want to echo councilman council and congratulating all of the graduates here in the city of whether you graduated from free kindergarten or law school we want to say congratulations and we're very proud of you thank you thank you roque uh second second second by councilman council roll call council members bay yes council yes gonzalez yes kelly king connor ramos absent scott roundtree yes silva absent president clump yes councilman i'm sorry one i would be remiss if i didn't make this announcement i'll get knocked over the head uh this friday at st john baptist church on bergen street i will be hosting the juneteenth reparations conference uh sponsored by the city newark councilman council's office as well as the social justice institute uh at 9 a.m at st john's baptist church on bergen street forgot the address uh that's at 9 a.m a discussion around reparations uh and the movement forward towards that uh and on saturday uh we're going to host our annual southward juneteenth festival the city of newark southward councilman pack council will be hosting our southward annual juneteenth festival the theme of the festival this year is the house music edition and so we have music vendors health and wellness amusement rides live performances from 11 a.m to 7 p.m right on bergen street between lions and nye avenue so we encourage each and every person to come out you're not doing anything this saturday and enjoy our juneteenth festivities on bergen street on saturday and on friday at our reparations conference starting at 9 a.m at st john baptist church on bergen street pasted uh john gilmore thank you councilman councilman scott roundtree sure uh thank you council president uh on next week tuesday june 23rd um i will along with assemblywoman tucker and of course the mayor be hosting another utility assistance event people need help with their electric bills i think we had over 120 people come to the last one a couple of weeks ago so we're doing it again um that's with catholic charities dca bpu new jersey shares psc and g and mccasadeta and pedro that's again tuesday june 23rd 2026 10 a.m the 3 p.m at greater abyssinian baptist church 88 lions avenue newark new jersey on that same day for years um starting with the gibson james administration we started the 41st annual gospel music month celebration under the leadership of not just the administration but dr louis from wgma and this year once again we'll be celebrating here on june 23rd at 11 a.m in the council chambers the host will be dr louis the producer and we will be honoring those who have participated and made their contribution to gospel music of course the department of recreation has partnered with us and the seniors will be served lunch after the program on june 27th there's a young lady that comes up to the microphone and she has been working tirelessly on this community event which is called restoring hope the skylar avenue birthday block party father and son event it's going to be held on june 27 it will be between Eckert and Rinner uh skylar connecting them she has the restoring hope organization along with some of the officials here that will be making sure that some of the things she wants to do for that block that day that we will be trying doing our best to assist you um i see that there's some individuals that have already made a commitment to give you things for the box she didn't ask but not one dime she just wanted to get hot dogs and food and toys you know most people come they want a donation donation she didn't ask me any of that council president she just asked for non-monetary contributions and we want to commend for kira bradley because sometimes we look at individuals the way we want to see them but when people have a heart for the people what you really have to do is see how you can help them do better so they can be better and maybe even feel a little bit better about what they're doing so we commend you on june 30th we're having a women's career day at 375 micarta highway from 10 a.m to 2 p.m of course if some brothers come in the room they will be able to put out an application we're not going to just say uh counseling gonzales that we're not going to allow men to apply for a job because that'd be a little discriminatory but it's a women's career day so it's a job fair that will be held from 10 a.m to 2 p.m myself along with workforce development communities incorporated of course city of newark will be hosting this event on june 30th 20 26 10 a.m to 2 p.m thank you karen gaylord for assisting us with putting this program together and people talk about jobs they talk about housing but then there's a thing called opportunity uh newark women's and we didn't councilwoman bay we didn't even have this discussion yet but the date is june 30th because we didn't want the sun the month to go out and so i grabbed william mobile ashby center got the date locked it in and figured this is my opportunity to announce uh the newark citywide women meeting that's hosted by myself amina bay and of course our councilwoman bay and the first lady of the city of newark same day from six to seven thirty we didn't put the speakers on because it's going to be a surprise but every meeting you come to you're going to receive some information that's going to help them not just improve your life but help you move forward in life and then there's the westward august fourth along with myself the north interfaith alliance we will have we've been hosting the national night out under gloria dr gloria harris who started this event in front of her church on wisconsin avenue many many years ago over 20 years ago and then dr bridgeforth came along and said can we make it bigger so now we block about three or four blocks and we bring food clothing and all types of services for national night out that's august 4th from 4 p.m to tpm 10 p.m uh 1001 south lunch avenue is where we will start i too uh want to congratulate every graduate from they say when you go to kindergarten to go to first grade it's not called graduating well that's a promotion so i'm going to congratulate all those who are being promoted and all those who are graduating whether it's high school whether it's college whether it's a trade school no matter where you are in the city of newark or throughout the state because we have people that have left city of newark and going off to college and graduated so we congratulate you too we just hope that you're going to come back and give back um to the city of newark so congratulations to all of our 2026 scholars um sorrow and regret ruttledge staggers 91 years old he has three children that actually worked for the city of newark they don't um and we just want to express profound sorrow and regret jacarlos m gonzalez councilman at large what can we say other than my experience sitting on the council i always knew when over the past 20 years that i've been here with the administrations that you had legal knowledge you had number knowledge uh and and some of the things i often say and i won't i know council president we do want to get out of here but the truth is you all have different skill sets like all of us have like the public expects us all to be the same do the same act the same i'm not a lawyer nor am i an accountant so the the benefit of having you and councilman krump as legal i look for that if you make a decision that you have the expertise to do that and so i've always when you speak it's been such an honor and a privilege to know that when you start talking numbers you know what you're talking about because you're an accountant that's that's my prayer and when you start looking at things legally that you know what you're talking about even though you say you haven't practiced law in a long time um so i'm i'm honored that i did get the chance to spend four years up here with you even though i spent 12 down 16 downstairs um watching you so thank you for being an example of what ethics um knowledge and and i guess concern and commitment to your seat um really is so thank you and on that note i want to wish the honorable margarita muniz a happy birthday because today is her birthday so at your last meeting official margarita muniz his wife so and i had the honor privilege of working with her for years your mother so i'm saying that because it's his official meeting he's sitting here his wife's birthday so we want to make sure that um we say um honorable margarita muniz we thank you i know you might not be watching you might be we want to thank you for sharing your husband with us and the public um for all these years thank you margarita thank you councilman gonzalez and we pray that your life there's no such a thing as being retired you might get a little tired but you ain't read nothing you're just going to be recharged to be honeydew honeydew would you go get the food honeydew would you go get the beans and rice honeydew do this do that so we love you we honor you and we thank you and on behalf of my family and my assignment as a councilwoman at large god bless you thank you this is a second second
All right, before we get to any motions, does the council have anything to respond to? All right, Councilwoman has something to say. Yes, I do, because it's comments, not motions. and the Esses County Correctional Facility. but I have visited all of them over the years to address the concerns of delivering things to those who were incarcerated halfway houses but the people who allowed us to come in with the ministries to provide services for them. I said it yesterday when someone said something I've been actually going down there for quite some years. Of course, they caught me a couple of weeks ago, not just in Delaney Hall when it was a halfway house, of the state, I'm trying to just discuss, made it illegal for government to even become involved. That's why the county is no longer involved with oversight or control of Delaney Hall, In reference to Esses County Correctional Facility, The process of doing as this meeting is going on is I've spoke to the Oversight Committee because they have one to be able to enter in. I get complaints just as some of you out there I know that while Delaney Hall was going through So within the next, I'm waiting on a date. and the Oversight Committee will be allowing us so we can go in and deal with these issues I've heard other people from the community talk about the Esses County Correctional Center. So we can't talk about one without dealing with the other and they're right next door to each other. But having access to what they call the green monster in dealing with the issues at Delaney Hall. if they have to pay a price for what they do, their consequences, you can pick your sin, But that does not mean that they should be molded fool, You don't know what showing person concern when it comes to going to these facilities seeing some things and having conversations, that I will be going back down there again. And I've reached out to the oversight committee And the mothers that have given me legitimate, well, I'll know the legitimate when I get in to deal with what is going on with their children, I just wanted to thank you council president. I don't know if it's a motion or amendment or whatever We're gonna do based upon the agenda…
Show full comment (4134 words)
All right, before we get to any motions, does the council have anything to respond to? All right, Councilwoman has something to say. Yes, I do, because it's comments, not motions. and the Esses County Correctional Facility. but I have visited all of them over the years to address the concerns of delivering things to those who were incarcerated halfway houses but the people who allowed us to come in with the ministries to provide services for them. I said it yesterday when someone said something I've been actually going down there for quite some years. Of course, they caught me a couple of weeks ago, not just in Delaney Hall when it was a halfway house, of the state, I'm trying to just discuss, made it illegal for government to even become involved. That's why the county is no longer involved with oversight or control of Delaney Hall, In reference to Esses County Correctional Facility, The process of doing as this meeting is going on is I've spoke to the Oversight Committee because they have one to be able to enter in. I get complaints just as some of you out there I know that while Delaney Hall was going through So within the next, I'm waiting on a date. and the Oversight Committee will be allowing us so we can go in and deal with these issues I've heard other people from the community talk about the Esses County Correctional Center. So we can't talk about one without dealing with the other and they're right next door to each other. But having access to what they call the green monster in dealing with the issues at Delaney Hall. if they have to pay a price for what they do, their consequences, you can pick your sin, But that does not mean that they should be molded fool, You don't know what showing person concern when it comes to going to these facilities seeing some things and having conversations, that I will be going back down there again. And I've reached out to the oversight committee And the mothers that have given me legitimate, well, I'll know the legitimate when I get in to deal with what is going on with their children, I just wanted to thank you council president. I don't know if it's a motion or amendment or whatever We're gonna do based upon the agenda and comments and then go to there and then we'll come back for motions. Just wanted to point out some of the information that everybody is accurate in their assessment. When I was appointed to the commission of housing authority, there was already an ordinance around security measures and that they had to be armed and an unarmed guard in the facilities. And Mr. Muhammad was on a commission at that time prior to me coming there and recognizing realizing that the executive director at that time knew that the housing authority did not have the funding And instead of working as the commission and the ED working together to work out information that they could not fund, which was in and of itself kind of out of order to be in leadership. And so my prerogative on all of it was number one but to also let the executive director know at that time that he should have been a better steward of working with the city to ensure that he was able to make sure that the security ordinance could live out its true tenement in what they agreed upon. And so in the instance of those things not happening in occurring, one of the things that I pointed out to Mr. Muhammad and to the body was that ultimately, even if it was an unarmed security officer who has arresting power, that if any incident occurred at those sites, that those guards in and of itself would ultimately have to call the police. So it was not a matter of me not supporting security because I'm all for supporting security. In their words, security officers at that site. The realm in which I'm speaking of is that we have several buildings that are over a hundred units that are not attended by security and by ordinance, And as the city, we should be working to ensure And so I just wanna make sure that we bring clarity to all of these things because sometimes people like to come up and give part of the story. And I think it's important to give context And so I just wanted to share that from that perspective. So with regard to you, do you have something? but what we can't do is, and I tried to address it, but we really can't have people come back because then every time somebody go to the bathroom and they wanna come back if they missed a spot, So the way the senior fashion show has worked has been a ticketed event for every single year. And the usual ways that you get a ticket Number one, you're a senior that's a part of this or you get a ticket if you aren't registered So we have names of everybody who receives a ticket and everybody who receives a ticket from my office. And that is how we determine who is eligible to come in we wanna make sure everybody gets served And so anybody who shows up with a ticket And that's how we determine who can come in. And so we make sure everybody who gets a ticket or who registers, like I said, with senior services or calls my office, gets a legitimate ticket and is allowed access into the senior fashion show. to have what I like to call a senior prom. Is there anything from the administration? to address this idea that the administration has not been involved when it comes to other facilities. I'll tell you that I have myself been with the mayor including the juvenile detention facility, including children who have been on bracelets I remember having a conference with the courts with some of our kids when they were on release. The difference between this and Delaney Hall is that those facilities responded to what we were asking. the media didn't cover it because it wasn't a hot topic. So it still doesn't mean that, excuse me, we still did the work to address the issues. I think it's unfortunate that, you know, the comments that are made about Delaney Hall, your opinion about people is your opinion. As a whole, the people in this city who work for this city recognizing that I personally have not received any issues Not to say that I've never been in the Essex County Jail And we have not received anything official. But if we receive documentations or requests we will have to respond like in the other location. Council President, I will say that, you know, I recognize that sometimes in this building, in a council meeting, temperatures get high. And they usually just put a notice on the wall that says that if you disrupt someone else then that stops you from speaking in the future. because it's very, very difficult to be in a space And unfortunately, we've had that a number of times. And I know you're trying to do the best you can, But it's obvious that some folks come here I just recommend that we just go forward with that. But there was some comments in reference to the conditions I recognize that there has been a history of complaints when it comes to living conditions in the city. Again, when people say things like nothing's happening, we've had legislation, we've had court cases the Urban League was here with a project that stemmed from us getting a receiver. I just think that sometimes when we make comments, we forget about what's really happening. And I recognize that some of the comments that are made But the harsh reality is that it's far from the truth. I do appreciate the fact that when I'm sitting here, I take notes and the information that I'm getting, So for example, the young lady that came up she said something about something happening in the wall. I look back and I saw Mr. Adams speaking to her They're just gonna go address the issues and try to do the best we can to make sure we help folks. I do know that the last comment that was made And usually when I hear things like that, I just think that is just unfair to say. Like when you talk about any of the departments the clerk staff, the administration staff, I think it's just wrong to make those comments, Because the harsh reality is that we all doing I have nothing else really to respond to at the moment but I just appreciate the opportunity to speak No, not motions, but I would like to echo and we had the respect of working together. And that's what has to occur and to congratulate him. That's just to say to us that we can work together. And this governing body is about working together. Whether we agree on some things or disagree it is not the channel of making a channel We're in the way of the people's business and making the people's business correct. And I'm so happy that I've had the opportunity Matter of fact, he drove me in one election, drove me around the different districts. all the best in your future endeavorness and he should be a resource to all of us as a governing body and as the city of Newark I wanna be noted and you used to be noted for your contributions to this great city of Newark. And I thank you for your leadership and direction and congratulations and may the future endeavorness and your future bring you back always to 920 Broad Street I just wanna, before I do my announcement, I wanna echo with councilman Quintana said, and I'm honored that I got to sit next to you. You know, I got to know you here and outside. or sometimes we don't agree and sometimes we do, you know, that's just the business of the city, say hello and I'm glad I got to know you and look at a person I thought that I knew, you know, because that's what happens to all of us. and I just wanna say congratulations man. I just wanna do my, I gotta go pick up the kiddies so I just wanna do my shout outs real quick. And I say shout outs because I wanna give a big shout Speedway Avenue School, the girls basketball team, the girls didn't only win the basketball championship, the girls also won the cheerleading gold division Three Pete as we call it, councilman council. You know, y'all did a lot of winning over there So I just wanna shout out our babies, man. A lot of times they don't get the recognition from their elders or their mentors outside of the school, And we just want them to know that we support them so shout out to the gold division three time I'm an ex basketball player for this school. I've been out of the eighth grade a long time, but you know, it's an honor to see my alma mater and see them continue to carry on a legacy in a program that is a winning program right there I'm looking at Dana because I forgot the actual time, and thank you once again to my colleagues up here I've really grown as a legislator, you know, I've really grown, you know, you guys helped me a lot. You don't realize how much, but I just wanna thank y'all and I look forward to continue these next four years because our people of the great city of Newark, New Jersey And I know I'm gonna do my best to make sure that we team up together and make that happen. We're gonna skip you councilman and go to councilman. To my good friend Carlito who has been steadfast and honorable and a workaholic in his approach in a way that he has tackled this council and ensuring that this city, the residents that is in align with the roles and responsibilities of the city and always working to try to figure out ways that this city can continue to pump, raise and generate revenue to help our homeowners here. I believe that you have served well in your capacity. that your family is ready to have you to themselves You always be around for advice, information but we know as you continue to move throughout this city that you will continue to lift up, fight for we wanna have a motion saluting the work and service of Councilman Carlos Gonzalez for over 20 years of service here in the great city of Newark of helping to grow and expand the services Anything else Councilman before we do a roll call? So we wanna wish all of the graduating students of 2026 and all of the schools that will be graduating to have a four way stop around Madison and 17th street with some kind of flashing lights, the amber lights. We have had a lot of fatalities in that area And it is time that we deal with that matter urgently. and get assistance for helping us to weigh and add another weigh station in these areas into our communities that can be of assistance to us. Then I would like to have a sorrow and regret to the Brower family, to Ms. Desiree Brower and the entire Brower family for the loss of Reverend Clifford Brower from Blessed Assurance Church and to the entire community for this loss on all of the islands in the South ward stating absent Scott round tree yes yes councilman bay thank you council president first i wanted to offer sorrows and regrets and my sincere condolences to city of newark's deputy mayor rock my muhammad on the loss of his sister deirdre muhammad she passed away this morning and so we definitely offer our sincere um for some prayers for the muhammad family so i wanted to insert that and again we want to congratulate uh councilman gonzalez on his retirement we thank him for his many years of dedication to the city of newark and to the residents we want to thank him for that and i want to echo councilman council and congratulating all of the graduates here in the city of whether you graduated from free kindergarten or law school we want to say congratulations and we're very proud of you thank you thank you roque uh second second second by councilman council roll call council members bay yes council yes gonzalez yes kelly king connor ramos absent scott roundtree yes silva absent president clump yes councilman i'm sorry one i would be remiss if i didn't make this announcement i'll get knocked over the head uh this friday at st john baptist church on bergen street i will be hosting the juneteenth reparations conference uh sponsored by the city newark councilman council's office as well as the social justice institute uh at 9 a.m at st john's baptist church on bergen street forgot the address uh that's at 9 a.m a discussion around reparations uh and the movement forward towards that uh and on saturday uh we're going to host our annual southward juneteenth festival the city of newark southward councilman pack council will be hosting our southward annual juneteenth festival the theme of the festival this year is the house music edition and so we have music vendors health and wellness amusement rides live performances from 11 a.m to 7 p.m right on bergen street between lions and nye avenue so we encourage each and every person to come out you're not doing anything this saturday and enjoy our juneteenth festivities on bergen street on saturday and on friday at our reparations conference starting at 9 a.m at st john baptist church on bergen street pasted uh john gilmore thank you councilman councilman scott roundtree sure uh thank you council president uh on next week tuesday june 23rd um i will along with assemblywoman tucker and of course the mayor be hosting another utility assistance event people need help with their electric bills i think we had over 120 people come to the last one a couple of weeks ago so we're doing it again um that's with catholic charities dca bpu new jersey shares psc and g and mccasadeta and pedro that's again tuesday june 23rd 2026 10 a.m the 3 p.m at greater abyssinian baptist church 88 lions avenue newark new jersey on that same day for years um starting with the gibson james administration we started the 41st annual gospel music month celebration under the leadership of not just the administration but dr louis from wgma and this year once again we'll be celebrating here on june 23rd at 11 a.m in the council chambers the host will be dr louis the producer and we will be honoring those who have participated and made their contribution to gospel music of course the department of recreation has partnered with us and the seniors will be served lunch after the program on june 27th there's a young lady that comes up to the microphone and she has been working tirelessly on this community event which is called restoring hope the skylar avenue birthday block party father and son event it's going to be held on june 27 it will be between Eckert and Rinner uh skylar connecting them she has the restoring hope organization along with some of the officials here that will be making sure that some of the things she wants to do for that block that day that we will be trying doing our best to assist you um i see that there's some individuals that have already made a commitment to give you things for the box she didn't ask but not one dime she just wanted to get hot dogs and food and toys you know most people come they want a donation donation she didn't ask me any of that council president she just asked for non-monetary contributions and we want to commend for kira bradley because sometimes we look at individuals the way we want to see them but when people have a heart for the people what you really have to do is see how you can help them do better so they can be better and maybe even feel a little bit better about what they're doing so we commend you on june 30th we're having a women's career day at 375 micarta highway from 10 a.m to 2 p.m of course if some brothers come in the room they will be able to put out an application we're not going to just say uh counseling gonzales that we're not going to allow men to apply for a job because that'd be a little discriminatory but it's a women's career day so it's a job fair that will be held from 10 a.m to 2 p.m myself along with workforce development communities incorporated of course city of newark will be hosting this event on june 30th 20 26 10 a.m to 2 p.m thank you karen gaylord for assisting us with putting this program together and people talk about jobs they talk about housing but then there's a thing called opportunity uh newark women's and we didn't councilwoman bay we didn't even have this discussion yet but the date is june 30th because we didn't want the sun the month to go out and so i grabbed william mobile ashby center got the date locked it in and figured this is my opportunity to announce uh the newark citywide women meeting that's hosted by myself amina bay and of course our councilwoman bay and the first lady of the city of newark same day from six to seven thirty we didn't put the speakers on because it's going to be a surprise but every meeting you come to you're going to receive some information that's going to help them not just improve your life but help you move forward in life and then there's the westward august fourth along with myself the north interfaith alliance we will have we've been hosting the national night out under gloria dr gloria harris who started this event in front of her church on wisconsin avenue many many years ago over 20 years ago and then dr bridgeforth came along and said can we make it bigger so now we block about three or four blocks and we bring food clothing and all types of services for national night out that's august 4th from 4 p.m to tpm 10 p.m uh 1001 south lunch avenue is where we will start i too uh want to congratulate every graduate from they say when you go to kindergarten to go to first grade it's not called graduating well that's a promotion so i'm going to congratulate all those who are being promoted and all those who are graduating whether it's high school whether it's college whether it's a trade school no matter where you are in the city of newark or throughout the state because we have people that have left city of newark and going off to college and graduated so we congratulate you too we just hope that you're going to come back and give back um to the city of newark so congratulations to all of our 2026 scholars um sorrow and regret ruttledge staggers 91 years old he has three children that actually worked for the city of newark they don't um and we just want to express profound sorrow and regret jacarlos m gonzalez councilman at large what can we say other than my experience sitting on the council i always knew when over the past 20 years that i've been here with the administrations that you had legal knowledge you had number knowledge uh and and some of the things i often say and i won't i know council president we do want to get out of here but the truth is you all have different skill sets like all of us have like the public expects us all to be the same do the same act the same i'm not a lawyer nor am i an accountant so the the benefit of having you and councilman krump as legal i look for that if you make a decision that you have the expertise to do that and so i've always when you speak it's been such an honor and a privilege to know that when you start talking numbers you know what you're talking about because you're an accountant that's that's my prayer and when you start looking at things legally that you know what you're talking about even though you say you haven't practiced law in a long time um so i'm i'm honored that i did get the chance to spend four years up here with you even though i spent 12 down 16 downstairs um watching you so thank you for being an example of what ethics um knowledge and and i guess concern and commitment to your seat um really is so thank you and on that note i want to wish the honorable margarita muniz a happy birthday because today is her birthday so at your last meeting official margarita muniz his wife so and i had the honor privilege of working with her for years your mother so i'm saying that because it's his official meeting he's sitting here his wife's birthday so we want to make sure that um we say um honorable margarita muniz we thank you i know you might not be watching you might be we want to thank you for sharing your husband with us and the public um for all these years thank you margarita thank you councilman gonzalez and we pray that your life there's no such a thing as being retired you might get a little tired but you ain't read nothing you're just going to be recharged to be honeydew honeydew would you go get the food honeydew would you go get the beans and rice honeydew do this do that so we love you we honor you and we thank you and on behalf of my family and my assignment as a councilwoman at large god bless you thank you this is a second second