Newark: Loss and Recovery in a Rising City

by: Rosi Efthim

Thu Apr 29, 2010 at 04:50:01 PM EDT

Photo: AP

We don't cover crime stories here. Not street crime, not usually. But these murders, of three of Newark's shiniest young people - Dashon Harvey and Iofemi Hightower (20) & Terrance Aeriel (18) - and the grave wounding of Natasha Aeriel (now 22), chilled us like every loss of a young person does. There have been too many losses. But when these three were taken, something shifted in Newark. Policy changed on the backs of three kids swiftly executed Aug. 4, 2007.

The first trial, for the first defendant, began Tuesday. The jury saw pictures. The prosecutor will talk about gang initiation. Natasha Aeriel, under heavy security, is on the stand today.

These kids had managed to avoid some of the risks of the streets. Three were home on a break from college in Delaware, and Iofemi Hightower was about to become a freshman there. That night, Harvey, Hightower and Terrance Aerial were lined up against a wall and killed by a single shot to the base of their skulls. Terrance's sister barely survived the attempt to end her.

A few months ago, I was driving around Newark with Ron C. Rice. We slowed the car as we passed by the playground where it happened. In his Ward, the West Ward. And he told me he goes by there every day, makes a point of it.

It's impossible to know whether Newark's Mayor and Council, elected in the first clean sweep in the city's history (and most up for re-election in May) were galvanized by those murders or whether the city laid down its marker, with a community collectively deciding enough was enough, and politicians unready to get tough on crime could run elsewhere. That's when anti-crime measures were ramped up. Cameras on the streets. Billboards paid for by the Newark teachers' union: HELP WANTED: Stop the Killings in Newark Now! Penalties for gun owners failing to report lost or stolen weapons. Gun-shot detection systems. New access to a national gun-tracking database.

By the end of 2008, Newark's murder rate had dropped by nearly 40%, though it bumped last year from 68 to 79. Last month, with the city holding its breath, Newark had its first month without homicide in 40 years.

But it isn't so simple. Both Cory Booker and Police Director Garry McCarthy have to answer for a loss in public trust after charges of excessive force. And hassling innocent people. And inadeqate professional guidelines for the police force. Reform is crucial, if innocent people - especially young people - feel their rights violated.

Outside of Newark, we talk sometimes about the meaning of a Newark Renaissance. We all have a stake in it, live there or not. And plenty of people don't see one ... yet. The City has to do this right. And Mayor Booker, Councilman Rice, every police officer and elected leader should live or die not only on crime statistics but on protecting the civil rights of every person living in New Jersey's rising City. Especially the young Dashons, Iofemis, Terrances, and Natashas whose names we don't know yet, and who are just now dreaming of their futures.

Rosi Efthim :: Newark: Loss and Recovery in a Rising City

Tags: Garry McCarthy, police, Cory Booker, Ron C. Rice, Newark, Terrance Aeriel, Natasha Aeriel, Iofemi Hightower, Dashon Harvey, featured, Newark murders, (All Tags)

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Newark: Loss and Recovery in a Rising City | 2 comments

Newark making strides (4.00 / 1)

Newark was founded in 1666 by Robert Treat and Jasper Crane, Presbyterians who left a Godless and sinful Connecticut with the idea of creating a New-Ark of the covenant - a place ruled as a theocracy where a stern God's will would prevail. Well it didn't quite work out that way. Since then Newark's identity went through a period when it competed successfully with New York and later in 1967 when it underwent civil unrest.

Today in spite of having one of America's largest airports and shipping ports, a substantial network of highways running next to it, trains, subways and light rail running through it, multiple universities, corporations, NJ Performing Arts Center, and Prudential Center, it remains a city in transition, with huge but unfulfilled potential.

Following a series of mayors and city councils who failed to lead Newark properly, Cory Booker took over just as the housing boom reached its peak and our Great Recession began to take hold. In addition, he now faces cuts in state municipal assistance. He has brought a new spirit of can-do, honesty, and innovation, but still faces an uphill battle.

Crime remain a significant obstacle for Newark's development. The horrific murder of the three promising youths sent a shock wave through the city. They even had friends in the gay community who mourned their loss in such a violent, senseless manner.

Nonetheless, residents, who in the past seemed apathetic toward their government are showing an increased civic involvement. In the past ten years more people have moved back into the city as it replenished its housing stock. For the future Newark needs good and even imaginative governance, a sound development plan, and ongoing civic engagement. It can offer so much more to its residents, visitors and the State, and it is slowly making strides, but it will not come easily or quickly.

"The work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die." - Sen. Ted Kennedy

by: Bill Orr @ Fri Apr 30, 2010 at 01:42:13 AM UTC