Beyond brick and mortar, elevating quality of life across Downtown Newark

The “yellow jackets” as they are informally known, Newark Downtown Districts (NDD) ambassadors work year-round to elevate the streetscape. The unmistakable sunshine yellow and black branding adorns their fleet of commercial vehicles and uniforms, a bright pop of color in the urban environment is a welcome sight. You can identify their “quality of life” ambassadors in their French Blue uniforms - their focus is addressing quality-of-life issues, such as improperly placed trash, panhandling, graffiti, public intoxication etc, has contributed to fostering an environment where residents, workers, and visitors feel secure.

The organization mission statement to “enhance cleanliness, safety and beautification of Downtown Newark while preserving and enriching culture, commerce and community” continues to make huge impact across Downtown Newark.

In 2023 this 501(c)(3), privately funded non profit celebrated a number of milestones: their silver anniversary (25 years) and expansion in the area they manage by <50%. Highlights of their year includes removal of ~900,000lbs of trash, 55,011 trash cans cleaned, 62,664 public fixtures cleaned, 8,729 stickers removed, 5247 graffiti items removed, assisted 14,000+ pedestrians, made 6000+ business contacts and <400 hours of snow removal.

The organization has continued to invest in their horticulture initiatives: you can see their vibrant, seasonal planters across the city, carefully curated to increase bio-diversity and to create a welcoming & lively atmosphere. Resilient evergreens are replaced in the spring to make way for the summer: you can expect bright flowers and bushes across the city in no time!

Rather than compost (or worse: simply trash), the plants each season the NDD team hosts plant donation events: each year the organisation donates over 8,000 plants back to the community. The first plant donation event of 2024 was held on May 11th 2024 at Newark Symphony hall, from 9am-1pm.

NDD Assistance

NDD staff were on hand to help residents select their preferred plants, offer advice about their care, load them into their vehicles and so much more. Most in downtown lack their own greens space /garden - they had that covered too! With art supplies (paint, brushes etc) on hand, you are able to decorate your own plant pot and receive a free succulent.

Children, teens, college students, professionals, seniors and an adult group-home made the most of the amazing weather on hand, aided by the music provided by Grnded DJ’s, Dana G, co-founder of Grounded Music Education: a DJ school located in the heart of downtown.

The event was a huge success with most of the larger plants finding new homes early in the morning: our recommendation is to attend early to secure your preferred plants and make the most of the activities on hand - many shared they still had succulents from last year going strong!

NDD is looking forward to its busiest year of programming in 2024:

• NDD Fitness Club - twice weekly (Tuesday & Thursday, April through October)

• NDD Seasonal Plant donations - September 14th & November 2nd

• NDD Parklet Program (June-October)

• NDD Game Night, Every second Tuesday, Newark Local Beer (June-October)

• NDD Paint with pride, June 21st & July 25th

• NDD Karaoke Night, July 30th, August 27th, September 17th

• NDD Jewel Box Jams, Second and fourth Wednesdays’s (June-September)

• NDD Fall Festival - October 26th 2024

• NDD Holiday Tree Lighting - December 7th

Learn more at www.downtownnewark.com and by following the organisation @newarkdowntowndistrict on instagram

We are looking forward to #elevating #welcoming #reimagining with NDD this summer: be sure to stop by to their programming across Newark.

House music history, a tale of two cities.

The popularity of one of the most recognisable forms of dance music was unmistakable on Friday night, April 12th at The Heart Ballroom at 37-39 Bloomfield Av, Newark NJ. Photos and video at the foot of this article.

Just a few short blocks away from the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart, the unassuming building exterior gave no hint as to the magnitude of what was occurring inside. Exiting my Uber, there were clues: a small group of people in a line to enter the building and the audible, unmistakable sounds of a serious sound system at work.

The excitement was high: one of the organisers of this event were none other than the team behind the Infamous Coffee Cave, formerly on Halsey Street in downtown Newark. While this venue closed before my arrival in Newark, I relished hearing the tales of regular late nights and early mornings hosting globally acclaimed DJs and producers: this particular night was to be no different, hosting the Grammy Award winning House DJ/Producer, Louie Vega, Anané (Louie’s wife!), and Newark DJ/Producer/Promoter Jihad Muhammad (Bang The Drum & Movement Soul Recordings).

I was first introduced to John Murray (Coffee Cave) at his regular haunt: BLK Box NWK, located inside the Gant-Gilbert Arts Collective at 505 Clinton Ave - I was there to support Grounded Music Education, a collective of DJ’s and producers who (amongst other things), lead DJ education classes, building community and supporting up and coming DJ’s. It was immediately clear that John had a fervour and passion for music and event production that few have.

Jihad Muhammed and I crossed paths at the summer time “Soul Music Project” parties, known as “After Work Wednesday’s” held in Military Park. I was honoured that Vernon Freeland of Random Access Entertainment asked me to be the opening DJ for the night Jihad was headlining - we had connected after I kept showing up to his events to both dance and take photos. It was there he learned of my music background:

I grew up across the Atlantic in Manchester. Famous for our soccer team(s) (there was only one team in Manchester during my childhood in the 90’s - no clues needed which team) rainy weather and a rich musical tapestry of our own: once known as “Madchester”, the city emerged as a bastian of independent music, born out of rave culture combining rock, house, dance, electronic and psychedelic music. Bands like Happy Mondays, Joy Division The Stone Roses, New Order, 808 State helped push creative boundaries.

Legendary (& infamous) clubs like the Hacienda (opened in 1982-1997) had similar trajectories to Newark club Zanzibar (1979-2007) - meteoric rise, only to eventually be closed and replaced by new development. However in Manchesters case this enabled the opening of another legendary (now closed) venue:

Sankeys, a former soap factory warehouse, was home to one of the only sound systems from the same team behind Zanzibar, Studio 54, and Paradise Garage (Richard Long, Larry Levin, Steve Dash) in Europe. During my clubbing years in Manchester it was named The #1 Night Club in the world, 2 years running by DJ Mag - I was fortunate to spend many long nights both on the dance floor and behind the decks in the bar, “Bassment” main room and “Spektrum” upstairs.

I can vividly remember my first night there: Roger Sanchez, playing on the mighty, earthshaking 4 point sound system: similar to what I know was waiting at the Heart Ballroom!

Waiting on the kerb my heart rate was already elevated in anticipation for the night ahead: first order of business, earplugs in. I was lucky to have been advised early in my music journey that once tinnitus starts, it may never go away. Knowing the raw power of the sound system that waited inside (I could feel it outside), I knew my ears would thank me, especially with my love of being in close proximity to the speakers!

Seeing me with my tripod and heavy backpack filled with camera equipment I was ushered inside: “he’s with us right?” - some head nods and I was into the ballroom: YES.

Jihad had the crowd on their feet. The dance floor already 3/4 full at ~9.15pm. I was as impressed seeing him spin as the first time: House grooves, gospel influenced tracks, classics, some harder sounds: the crowd twirling, feet stepping, hands in the air - I barely had time to get my camera gear out and snap some shots before his set came to a glorious conclusion. Had I not been so busy I would have Shazammed a number of tracks!

The photos (and Video) below tell a story of his set and tell it better I can possibly attempt in words - in short, it was awesome.

11PM: Anané came on on play: WOW. My first time seeing her spin, and I can say she had the dance floor eating out of the palm of her hand. The dance floor was full - but i’m happy to share that it was never too crowded or uncomfortable (take a read about this). Her set was full of variety and her energy was infectious (see her dance moves better in the video!). The time flew by: I saw a number of friends had arrived and were enjoying the show. I was making lots of friends too: having a camera in your hand helps!

1AM: Louie’s first track was a classic, lightening the mood and bringing a totally different energy - a well timed change up and very well received! His set was impeccable as always (I have seen him a few times), his custom isolator setup was being worked hard in addition to the Pioneer DJ (now Alpha Theta), DJM V10 - he brought the energy up, down, and showed his mastery of his craft.

My lower back and feet starting to burn - lifting a cinema camera above your head for extended periods is not ideal, but im happy I did! The footage from the Nikon Z9 & Nikon Z8 was unreal: this was the first time I went all out. Both cameras are capable of an “oversampled” 4K image, essentially taking the 8K resolution it’s capable of, and making a really good 4K image. I filmed everything in ProRes RAW in a LOG profile: technical jargon for, more worked to do later, but a better quality image, with the the maximum dynamic range possible (you want that). Filming using these format is ~12 gigabytes per MINUTE of record time. When I checked later I had <650 gigabytes of data from the night!!!

I encourage you to watch the video on a large (hopefully 4k) TV to really appreciate what it looks like!

To conclude: I have travelled far and wide to both perform as a DJ and appreciate the performance of others. The Newark club and music scene I have experienced has been amazing. I can highly recommend it as welcoming, authentic, and effortless: too many clubs these days are about being seen, not dancing. 

Jersey is having a resurgence, the global success of “Jersey Club” showing that the club music is popular with a new generation of club goers - its an exciting time to live in the city that has such rich musical history and is continuing to push boundaries. I have a few collaborations planned of my mine to do exactly that! (watch this space).

You can find me this summer: it’s easy. Listen for the loud music and you will spot me either right on the dance floor, or with a camera in hand, or if you are lucky: both!

@elevatewelcomereimagine.com on instagram 

WHAT IS BREWING IN NEWARK?

#Elevate #Welcome #Reimagine

In 2024, Newark Local Beer will celebrate its 3rd year as the only craft brewery in the city.

Located at street level of Art Deco apartment building Walker House at 538 Broad Street, directly across from Harriet Tubman Square, Co-Owner & Brewmaster Steve Hughes shared “we chose Newark because of the rich brewing history that exists here and hope to cultivate this for a new generation”.

Lil’Bud, Session IPL, 5.3%, Crisp Light & Hoppy, Photo by Charles David Photography (www.elevatewelcomerimagine.com)

Just across the square is the newly renovated Ballantine House: the family home of the brewing magnate who started operations in the city in the late 1800’s, at one point the nations 3rd largest beer brand.

2023 was fun: “we hosted everything from Art Shows & Festival Programming as part of North to Shore Festival & Newark Arts Festival, musical acts including DJ,s bands, singers, poets, trivia nights, game nights with our partner The Newark Downtown District, happy hours for Audible & Method Climbing (our neighbor) paint and sips, birthday parties, Newark Tech Week, Newark City Parks Afrovibrations, weddings…just about anything you can think of!….with our proximity to the NJPAC, and Prudential Center, & both Broad Street & Newark Penn Station we have also hosted events pre & post show for fans of The New Jersey Devils, Seaton Hall Pirates, Rutgers and even fans of K-Pop Group BLACKPINK for their sellout Born Pink Tour and of course the MTV VMA’s….”

Between 10-12 different brews are always available on tap, with different seasonal specialities, there is something for for everyone: “from crisp lagers, to wheat beers, kolsche, sour, hoppy, dry, dark, malt etc”. One of my personal favourites is actually not even a beer! The Hard Seltzer is an easy 10/10, nothing like the store bought canned varieties that have become more popular: the Newark Local Beer version “ Weekender” is special:

“it’s great that we have something other than beer that also satisfies the needs of anyone with gluten sensitives: its gluten free, and we use fresh, seasonal, real fruit puree’s, from grapefruit, tangerine, cherry, watermelon etc and then use a champagne yeast which gives the seltzer a unique, champagne, winey type quality while also remaining fresh and fruit forward - super refreshing and packed full of flavour, perfect on a hot day”.

“Weekender”, 5.4% ABV - Hard Seltzer (Gluten Free), Photo by Charles David Photography (Elevate Welcome Reimagine)

2024 looks to be another exciting year with talk of Comedy shows, more musical programming and Steve shared “we have over 6000ft of space available, inducing a private room for events. For anyone interesting in hosting an event of any size please use our website contact from at www.newarklocalbeer.com, we would love to hear from you”.

One of the highlights of Newark Local Beer is the variety and diversity of staff and patrons: I have chatted with lawyers, professional artists, engineers, chef’s, entrepreneurs, film makers, beer lovers, beer haters (who loved the seltzer), folks from other states & countries, local regulars and first timers - all enjoying good conversation and a refreshing drink!

Newark Local Beer, Photo from Charles David Photography (Elevate Welcome Reimagine.com)

With the continued development of new residential and commercial space continuing in 2024 and beyond, many hope these additional residents will also help stimulate additional investment into nightlife activities. Demand for, and attendance at programming by the likes of Gallery Retail, Brick City Comedy Revue, Newark First Fridays, Cool Vines Newark, BUNKR, Brownmill, Plantivia are high and increasing, with other pop up events at Marcus B&P, ODR Studios.

DJ Nigerian Mitch @nigerian_mitch & Isiah “Zay” Little, Creative Director & Founder of GalleryRetail and Newark First Fridays, at Cool Vines - Silent Disco Happy Hour, every Wednesday.

Whispers of a city backed “office of nightlife” have been circulated for some time with permitting and licensing for businesses remaining an issue. A recent $1.5million grant to The Newark Alliance by the NEJDA to develop “Festivals United”, is planned to create “a coordinated strategy, fundraising, operations, marketing and public relations campaign that will leverage the ongoing efforts of multiple existing festivals throughout the city. Festivals United is a new coalition of six major arts and cultural festivals based in Newark: AfroBeat Fest, Halsey Festival, Lincoln Park Music Festival, Newark Arts Festival, Newark Pride, and Newark Winter Village, all in partnership with Newark City Parks Foundation” (NJEDA Press release).

Summertime programming outdoor throughout the city continues to go strength to strength, with the Soul Music Project in Military Park, various events at Mulberry Commons, The Weequaiac Park House Music Festival, to name a few, but all risk adverse weather and cancellation.

Early in 2024 the producers behind the infamous, now closed “Coffee Cave”, are hosting a highly anticipated, first events of its type at the newly renovated Newark Symphony Hall, Terrace Ballroom.

My hope is that developers with access to large inventories of commercial space see the potential activation of their spaces with indoor programming as a great way to help them market their spaces and Newark as a whole: using warehouse and commercial space in this way is nothing groundbreaking.

The Warehouse Project in Manchester (UK), operates one of the most successful nightlife endeavours in Europe by taking un-used commercial spaces and turning them into event spaces for a limited period, bringing in $14m/year and hosting the largest musical acts in the world.

With Newarks proximity to New York there is an opportunity to attract top tier musical talent, with an ability for promoters to book shows for Thursday/Friday/Saturday/Sunday across Newark, New York & Brooklyn.

New Jersey is currently working to attract and invest in the film and TV industry with Lionsgate and Netflix set to invest heavily, creating thousands of jobs - this boost to the creative economy highlights the future demand for these skillsets.

Investment in nightlife economy helps develop the pipeline of talent locally: musicians, DJ’s, singers, lighting techs, sound techs, photographers, videographers etc all need to hone their craft on a smaller stage before they can be propelled to top tier. If Newark can enable this pathway, I see a bright future ahead for the talent in the city.

#Elevate #Welcome #Reimagine