Newark council, DPW discuss using clean-communities funds for cameras, signage to curb illegal dumping

Council members at a Newark Municipal Council premeeting on Sept. 3 pressed city public works officials for immediate action to stem illegal dumping in neighborhood “hot spots,” and discussed using clean-communities grant money for signage, QR-code outreach and leased cameras.

The discussion came during reports and resolutions when council members from the South, West and East wards described recurring piles of household and construction waste on privately owned lots and city islands, and asked what the city would do to make cleanup and enforcement more sustainable.

“Kareem Medina, interim director of the Department of Public Works, said staff will pursue cameras and a public information push. “We're gonna look to get our own cameras. Right? So we're gonna look to use some of that clean community money to stop littering and illegal dumping and some of those hot spots,” Medina said.

Council members pressed for additional steps beyond calls for cleanup: more identification of property owners, enforcement of the city’s vacant-and-abandoned property rules on privately owned lots used for dumping, and targeted outreach in languages other than English. Councilman Silva asked that DPW mail notices and materials in Portuguese, Spanish, Creole and English; Medina said a zoning/garbage mailing for affected zones would go out in multiple languages “in a couple of days.”

Several council members urged camera placement in recurring dumping corridors such as Third Avenue and Mount Prospect Avenue and Riverside, which they said receive large amounts of construction debris over weekends. Councilman Quintana encouraged residents to photograph dumpers and provide license-plate information: “If you see something, let us know. Take the plate number, and then we should do something,” he said.

Business Administrator Eric Pennington and other administration staff said the city is also enforcing a vacant-and-abandoned-property ordinance and pursuing cases in court where property owners have not kept lots cleaned; Pennington said fines under that ordinance can be attached to property and are foreclosable. Pennington told council members the city had been consolidating cases and expected trial or plea resolution in the near term.

Council members requested a list of long-term lease obligations in the city budget to better understand DPW and other departments’ financing pressures; Medina and the finance office committed to provide follow-up materials to the council.

The council’s discussion also touched on operational details: DPW said some older camera units had become obsolete and that the city had examined leasing mobile tow‑behind camera units that could be moved to hot spots; costs cited for purchasing a tow‑around camera unit were roughly $50,000–$60,000, with leasing running into several thousand dollars a month depending on configuration. Medina said the administration planned to use county and police camera resources where possible while seeking to lease or acquire units for the city.

The department also confirmed plans to expand public outreach and to pursue partnerships with local businesses and property owners to host cameras in interim periods.

The council did not take a recorded vote during the discussion. Officials said specific grant applications and camera-leasing plans would be returned to the council for consideration as funding requests and procurement steps proceed.

Ending: Council members asked for regular follow-up on the enforcement results, a timeline for camera acquisition or lease, and the multilingual mailing list to be shared with council offices.