1990s NEWS
INTERVIEW CONTINUES:
Robert Lipsyte 14:42
Mr. Mayor, these are very strong statements for what you want. But one aspect of the housing picture you do have to take responsibility for and that's the adjective safe. I mean, you do have control over the police department and there is an image at least, that there has not been safety in this kind of low income housing and that Newark, Newark itself has been rattled with crime.
Sharpe James 15:08
Well, I think every every American city in America, I mean, Atlanta, I just came from the US Conference of Mayors a conference in Atlanta, Georgia. The headlines say that Atlanta, I lead the nation crime, not New Jersey, but weathers Atlanta or any urban area crime is everywhere. No city, no living room, no house can divorce itself of crime and drug. But we've been highly innovative in the city of Newark, we brought back and reinstituted the Mounted Police, we brought back to one man patrol to bring about greater police visibility down the street, we opened up a kiosk that broad market supervised 24 hours a day, there is a new spirit of cooperation. In the police department in the city of Newark. It was a James administration that has introduced a highly innovative idea of having our firefighters to be out of the firehouse and between the hours of three to 8pm to give greater visibility and be on the streets and check fire hydrants. We have been easily
Robert Lipsyte 16:07
These are very innovative. But despite them, Newark still rates third among the most crime ridden cities in America, why?
Sharpe James 16:19
I have not I have not read those statistics that you are quoting me right now. But I'm not sitting here to suggest that an urban city, the largest city in the state of New Jersey, the third oldest city in America, is without crime. We know we have a problem, we accept that problem. And I'm so pleased that we have a private public cooperation addressing that problem. We've been highly innovative, very critical. And I have the statistics and reports that show a decrease in crime in the city of Newark decrease in auto theft. And although we believe that it's still not enough, we're doing the best we can what limited funds we have. And I think like when people talk about homelessness, they talk about AIDS, they talk about crime, and they talk about drugs. It's time we talk about a federal national priority to give the cities the dollars to do what we expect them to do on a municipal level. We cannot talk about crime in the city of Newark, or East Orange or Paterson or Atlanta, or New York City, when we're spending over a million dollars a day to support the army and El Salvador, who's killing men, women and children and shooting six priests. And then we talk about the quality of life in our urban city. That's a failed American policy. And I'm saying some of those dollars are wish to be invested in Foreign Affairs could be put into our city
Robert Lipsyte 17:43
Mr. Mayor there are people who would turn that around and say that the money that you want to pour into an art center in Newark could very well be turned into more police officers on the streets, and more of the kind of public safety presence that would make Newark safer.
Sharpe James 18:03
Nothing could be further from the truth because first of all, the $33 million being given by the private sector. This is not to say if the private sector, those commendable business, people who come together and believe that the New Jersey Center for the Performing Arts belongs in the largest city in New Jersey, because of an airport, a seaport, our rail network, second to none the infrastructure, they believe it should belong there. And they are willing to donate $33 million of their money to make this a reality. This is not to suggest that if we do not build an art center, they're going to turn around and go to broad market and say give it to the homeless. They're supporting the arts, they believe in the arts, and they see what you've said earlier in the program. The city cannot be a tale of two cities. You can't have urban cities, the house, all the jails, all the methadone centers, all of the social agencies and say now be a viable city. A city is more than mortar and bricks. And what about the people who are not on welfare? What about the people who are not homeless? who still believe in a city who live in a city? Should they have the opportunity to go to a movie theater? Should they have the opportunity to go bowling should they have the opportunity to go rollerskating all of which do not exist in a city should they have the opportunity to go see the arts and and the cultural things that improve the quality of their life? I think what we have done is always talk about what we should do just for one part of the population what a city is it is a ethnic mix, a social mix, an economic mix, and we also have to be concerned about the total population or city. There are many people who want to go see Bolero. At the same time we have to be concerned about the homeless. There are many people who want to go to see a Broadway show at the same time but be concerned about crime and AIDS. So if you do not have a quality city, the quality of life dies and that's City, people move out of the city. And what we have in years to come is a city's occupied by only the poor, the downtrodden, the forgotten, those who are trapped and cannot escape that city, you have improved the total quality of life in our city. While we addressed the social problems.