Newark council approves Mulberry and Frontage Road abatements amid public outcry over process and benefits

The Newark Municipal Council on May 21 approved a 30-year tax abatement for 317 Mulberry Street and a 17-year tax abatement for a warehouse at Frontage Road, votes that drew a prolonged public response calling for tighter oversight and clearer community benefits.

The 30-year abatement for 317 Mulberry Street was sponsored by Councilman Lou Silva and seconded by Councilman Gonzales. Allison Ladd, director of Economic and Housing Development, told the council the Mulberry project is one of five related developments and that together the five projects provide 32.5% affordable units across the combined sites. Brandy Daniel, legislative coordinator for economic and housing development, confirmed the individual project at 317 Mulberry does not include on-site affordable units because it falls under earlier zoning rules.

Residents and advocates who spoke during the public hearing said the abatement process lacks transparency and community safeguards. Deborah Salter, identified as a longtime resident and frequent public speaker, asked whether the 30-year abatement applies to the five projects collectively or to each property individually and requested the legal citations that permit the arrangement. Emily Akins described the package on the council dais as looking "scam-ish" on paper and pressed for clarity about rents, unit mix and parking. Manera Al Boumani said the tax-abatement committee process lacks broad community participation and accountability and urged a return on investment that benefits residents.

Paul Pereira was identified in testimony by city staff as the local developer who owns the five parcels; the city said developers receiving abatements still pay taxes and that the projects will return ratables and jobs. Councilman Silva noted the Frontage Road site employs hundreds of local residents and said infrastructure work there addressed past flooding and other constraints.

Council members also voted to defer a subset of abatement items later in the meeting; the body recorded motions to defer several agenda items collectively after extended public comment about senior outreach, community-benefit agreements and the tax-abatement committee's functioning.

Why it matters: Tax abatements remove or reduce property tax payments for developers for a set period and are intended to spur investment and job creation. Newark residents told the council they are not seeing consistent protections or measurable benefits tied to abatements, and speakers urged stronger community-benefit agreements, enforcement of developer commitments and regular reporting to the council.

Council action and next steps: The council approved the two ordinances on final passage by recorded roll call (see the separate "Votes at a glance" item for full tallies). Several other abatement requests were deferred for further review; city staff told speakers they would provide additional documentation about which projects must meet inclusionary housing requirements and which do not under the zoning rules in force when each project was approved.

Speakers and attributions in this article were taken from the public record during the May 21 meeting. Quotations are attributed only to speakers listed in the meeting record.