Earlier today, Mayor Baraka along with City employees, community stakeholders, and Newark residents gathered to Occupy the Block today at the intersection of Broad and Market Streets in the City’s Downtown.
There was an obvious shift in energy at Broad and Market as a crowd of about 100 people descended on the intersection laughing, talking, smiling, and Snapchating.
Building on the success and support from Newark residents during his Occupy the Block events of last year, Mayor Baraka is resuming this important campaign to unite residents from the entire City against despair, violence, and crime, and to promote love, hope, and empowerment. Occupy the Block is a community engagement tool modeled after the historic Occupy movement, which advocates social disruption of harmful or ineffective constructs.
This afternoon’s event was intended to focused on the historic Four Corners intersection of Broad and Market Streets in the City’s Downtown, to address quality of life issues in the area, including crime, littering, illegal sales of drugs, loose cigarettes, and bootleg merchandise, and merchants and vendors who violate health and safety ordinances.
