By Kyrsten Ramkishun
Newark People’s Assembly, a new initiative launched by the city, is hosting a series of town-hall meetings to discuss alternative ways to solve the stormwater and sewage overflow issues in the City of Newark. There will be 10 community meetings in total, two in each of Newark’s five wards. Drew Curtis, the senior equitable development manager of Ironbound Community Corporation, who is organizing these meetings with the city, said he wants “to ensure real and authentic feedback from residents on the alternative ways to solve stormwater and Combined Sewer Overflow issues.” The main topics to be discussed during these meetings will be flooding, water quality, litter and illegal dumping, bad smells, and affordability of the different alternatives.
According to the Newark People’s Assembly website, the initiative wants to “bridge the gap between the community and City Hall.” “This will enable Newark’s decision makers to consider the opinion of the stakeholders when considering and/or deciding programs, projects, initiatives, and development that may impact their lives.”
Newark Stormwater Solutions is a dedicated website for Newark residents to get updates on community meetings, provide input on the evaluation of alternatives, and download the community presentations in English, Spanish and Portuguese.
