ShopRite Coming to Central Ward Site

Springfield Avenue Marketplace will also contain 150 apartments, retailers

Construction is scheduled to begin this fall on a ShopRite supermarket and scores of apartments at a Central Ward site, thrilling labor organizations who feared mega-retailer Walmart would build there instead. Tucker Development Corp., which also recently built a Marriot hotel on Broad Street, announced Tuesday its plans for the 11-acre Springfield Avenue Marketplace, which will boast 125,000 square feet of retail space at the corner of Springfield Avenue and Jones Street. The supermarket will take up about half that space, CEO Richard Tucker said in a statement. Construction of the supermarket should take about a year, a Tucker spokesman said Tuesday. “This is a homecoming of sorts for Wakefern, which located its first warehouse in …

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Booker Asks Court to Shut Down Newark Water Agency

Newark Watershed Conservation and Development Corp. delivers water for Newark, Bloomfield and other nearby communities.

The administration of Mayor Cory Booker last week filed a complaint in Superior Court  seeking the dissolution of the Newark Watershed Conservation and Development Corp. and permission to audit the troubled agencies books, Nj.com reported. The move comes as the city prepares to fold the agency’s functions into the city’s water department. The agency oversees the delivery of water to Newark, Bloomfield, Belleville and other communities and manages 35,000 acres of watershed property in Passaic, Morris and Sussex counties. The Newark Municipal Council and a group of outside activists, the Newark Water Group, have long been pushing for the dissolution of the agency, where officials previously have complained of possible improper financial …

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This Inspiring Story Brought to You by Grape-Nuts

Booker: 'Leading Newark Is the Greatest Challenge of My Life'

Cory Booker says community collaboration is the secret to Newark's progress, in this series sponsored by Grape-Nuts.

About this sponsorship: In honor of the 60th anniversary of Sir Edmund Hillary’s historic ascent of Mount Everest, Patch and Grape-Nuts are teaming up to highlight those who inspire people around them to climb their own mountains. As the mayor of Newark, New Jersey’s largest city, Cory Booker says he understands the importance of leadership. But he especially acknowledges the importance of inspiring and engaging local leaders to assist in achieving community goals. Q. PATCH: What is the biggest challenge you’ve taken on?   A. BOOKER: Leading Newark is the greatest challenge of my life, but it’s not a policy challenge.  I’m proud we’ve notched victories — fought to improve education, create jobs and cut crime. But the challenge has been the…

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Police: Newark Pizzeria was Used as Gambling Den

Bloomfield resident arrested for illegal betting.

Newark police Sunday raided a pizzeria allegedly being used as a gambling parlor, the department said in a statement. Members of the special investigation unit executed a search warrant shortly before noon at Florina Pizzeria and Restaurant, 734-736 Mt. Prospect Ave., and found gambling paraphernalia as well as $30,000 in cash. Police had begun investigating the business after receiving information about gambling there. Police arrested Flor A. Martinez-Azcona, 41, of Union; Yenisse Rodriguez, 19, of Bloomfield; Lucianny Duran Rosario, 19, of Newark; and a 17-year-old Newark resident. All face charges of promoting illegal gambling, possession of gambling records and possession of gambling devices. Martinez-Azcona was also charged with …

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Newark Police Up Security in Wake of Boston Marathon Bombing

DeMaio: Measures are precautionary, no specific threat received in Newark

Newark police announced additional security measures in response to the bombing of the Boston Marathon Monday, but added that the measures were strictly a precaution and not in response to a specific threat.  “The Newark Police Department has not received any information that would indicate any issues of concern as it relates to the city of Newark,” Police Director Samuel DeMaio said in a statement. “However, in response to this incident we have assumed a proactive posture and taken some precautionary measures.” Two bombs went off near the finish line of the annual race Monday afternoon, killing two and wounding more, CNN reported. The network also quoted federal officials who said the bombings were the work of terrorists. In Newark, …

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Alicia Keys Coming to Newark April 8, Tickets on Sale this Week

'Girl on Fire Tour' continues with a stop at Prudential Center

Singer-songwriter Alicia Keys begins her 24-city “Set The World on Fire Tour”  next month that will include a stop at the Prudential Center April 8. The 14-time Grammy winner is touring in support of her number-one album Girl on Fire.   R&B star Miguel, whose “Adorn” has reached number one on the urban adult charts, will be opening for Keys. Presale tickets are available for Citi credit card holders Feb. 13 at 10 am through Citi’s Private Pass Program. For more information, click here. Regular sales of tickets begin Saturday, Feb. 16 at noon and can be ordered through Ticketmaster.com or by calling 800-745-3000…

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Round The Clock Service on WTC-Newark Line Restored

Work is still being done to resume service on the WTC to Hoboken line.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey announced on Monday that round-the-clock service has been restored on the WTC to Newark line. The WTC to Hoboken line remains out of service, but construction is ongoing, the Port Authority announced. "Crews continue to work around-the-clock to return weekday Hoboken to World Trade Center service and weekend service between Newark and the World Trade Center," the press release stated. "Those are the final segments of service yet to be restored." The Exchange Place and World Trade Center Stations remain closed weekends from 10 p.m. Fridays through 5 a.m. Mondays during the month of February. This measure is to allow crews uninterrupted time to complete necessary repairs.

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Booker Urges Support for Lautenberg, Despite his Interest in Senate Seat

Mayor wants senator's blessing for 2014 campaign

Despite declaring interest in Sen. Frank Lautenberg’s job and registering a “Booker for Senate” campaign with federal election officials last week, Newark Mayor Cory Booker said Monday he was not trying to poach any of the veteran lawmaker’s support.  Speaking on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” Booker said his focus during the next year will be on his current job, including hiring more police officers and overseeing an estimated $1 billion in investment destined for the state’s largest city. His campaign for Senate in 2014 is only in the “preliminary stages,” he said. After months during which Booker deliberated over whether to run for governor against Republican Chris Christie, the 43-year-old mayor announced in December his decision to instead …

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Authorities Seek Public's Help in Finding Murder Suspects

Two wanted for homicides occurring in the final days of 2012

Authorities are asking the public’s help in locating two suspects wanted in two different Newark murders late last year.    Tyquaah Mayse, 33, of Newark is wanted for the murder of Wesley L. Howard, 38, also of Newark. Howard was shot multiples times in the first floor hallway at 860 South 11th Street in Newark Dec. 24, 2012. Mayse has been charged with murder and weapons offenses.   Dwayne Edwards, 35, of East Orange, is a suspect in the shooting death of Raymar Kadeem Lecky of West Orange. Lecky, 22, was shot at Sanford and Lanark avenues in Newark on Dec. 31, 2012. Bail for both men has been set at $1 million.   Both men are presumed to be armed and dangerous. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Essex County Prosecutor’s …

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Extended into January: Wild and Mild, Girlhood is on Display in Newark

The Newark Museum exhibits Angels & Tomboys: Girlhood in 19th-Century American Art -- extended run until January 20

Dr. Holly Pyne Connor, Curator of Nineteenth-Century American Art, has girls on her mind. She has curated Angels & Tomboys: Girlhood in 19th-Century American Art, a major traveling loan exhibition, which is the first to examine nineteenth-century depictions of girls in paintings, sculpture, prints and photographs. The exhibit is at the Newark Museum until January 20. This is an extended run due to popular demand. Connor explains that the exhibit includes works by John Singer Sargent, Thomas Eakins, Winslow Homer, Cecilia Beaux and William Merritt Chase. The range of artists mirrors the range of perceptions of girlhood -- from "angelic, passive and domestic" to tomboys, working girls, and awkward adolescents. Girls portrayed in the exhibit'…

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