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Kentucky…and Newark…Emerge Victorious
Thu, 03/31/2011 - 02:01 — admin
By Lee Shenkman | Essex County Politics Contributor
The NCAA college caravan rolled into Newark late last week on its way to the Final Four in Houston. Kentucky, Ohio State North Carolina, and Marquette had their eyes set on the college basketball championship. As it turned out, Kentucky had a pretty good weekend on the basketball court of the Prudential Center. Newark, though, had a better one.
Who would have imagined that last statement some years ago, when the NCAA made the decision to award the regional bracket to Newark? The answer is Cory Booker. And, to a large degree, the reason for the success of the weekend’s festivities belongs to Mayor Booker. While Kentucky can take pride in winning the berth to Houston, Newark can feel immensely proud that it was portrayed to the country as a symbol of rebirth and hope.
Now, let’s not get all choked up and emotional about what this NCAA weekend did. Newark still has a lot of problems. It still remains a city with failing schools, blighted neighborhoods, high crime, high unemployment, and, certainly in some areas, a lack of opportunity. And if you want to blame Cory Booker for some, maybe even all of those things, fine. He’s the mayor, he’s in charge, he gets the blame.
At the same time, however, he is also the mayor who presides over a city that successfully hosted one of the highest profile sporting events in the United States. Moreover, he was instrumental in convincing the NCAA to let Newark host the event, not the easiest job in the world.
“You know, sometimes (Newark) doesn’t have a great reputation,” said a North Carolina fan to a reporter from the Newark Star-Ledger during the weekend. The fan’s attitude probably wasn’t helped much by North Carolina’s final-round loss to Kentucky, but he has a point. Newark has a lousy reputation. For the last few decades, to most of the country, Newark was synonymous with crime, corruption, bad schools, and inner-city blight.
But things are changing for the better. One of the signs of Newark’s renewal is the Prudential Center, championed by former mayor Sharpe James (and opposed by the Central Ward Councilman at the time, Cory Booker). Other positive signs also began to appear during the James years. Yet, the news of whatever progress Newark made toward reinventing itself seemed destined to stay in Newark.
Cory Booker began to change that perception of Newark. Since his election as mayor in 2006, he has become to a large degree “America’s mayor.” He is a regular…and much sought after…guest on the national scene. His charisma, charm, wit, and dedication to Newark are constantly in evidence on national TV. He has become Oprah’s favorite mayor. Perhaps if one were cynical, one could say that he is doing this to build up his own reputation, to further his own career, which may one day include a Washington, DC, address.
And yet, even if this is true, his ambition has also begun to shine a positive spotlight on Newark. The rest of the country is now starting to think of Newark as a place where good things are happening, where decades of decay and gloom are being reversed. Cory Booker has become an ambassador from Newark to the rest of the country. And it is beginning to pay off.
It is quite likely that Mark Zuckerberg’s decision to donate $100 million to improve Newark’s schools resulted from Cory Booker’s enthusiasm and belief in the future of the city. It is almost certain that Cory Booker’s constant presence and praise of Newark resulted in the NCAA’s decision to send the best teams in college basketball to downtown Newark.
And so the round of the Sweet Sixteen was played this past weekend in Newark. The fans who came from Kentucky, North Carolina, Ohio, Wisconsin got to experience the best of Newark, and they liked what they found. Moreover, the rest of the country began to see a different side of Newark, the Newark that Cory Booker has been talking up for years.
Are all of Newark’s problems solved because of the success of the weekend? Absolutely not. Newark still has a whole host of problems that need to be dealt with. Crime is still too high. The schools are still too poor. Opportunities for far too many are still far too few. A lot of work still remains ahead for Newark. Cory Booker should be held responsible for making things better. His deeds will have to match his rhetoric.
But, for the moment, let us celebrate what he…and Newark…did accomplish.
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