NEWARK, NJ—Newark city officials say the city is prepared to build on such strengths as its port and transportation infrastructure, and a vibrant and growing arts and culture sector, but warn that the city is still recovering from poor planning and government policies discouraging urban investment put in place after World War II and a flight to the suburbs that accelerated after the city was wracked by the 1967 riots, which the mayor and some in the audience referred to as “the rebellion.”

Mayor Ras J. Baraka, two of his deputy mayors, a developer of affordable housing in the city, and the social investments manager for the city's largest employer, Prudential Financial, discussed the challenges facing the city in a Town Hall meeting February 12 before a packed Victoria Theater crowd at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center.

Joining the mayor on the Economic Development panel were Baye Adofo-Wilson, Newark's director of housing and economic development; Rahman Muhammad, deputy mayor of Employment; Maria Yglesias, a principal with M&M Development; and Ommeed Sathe, Prudential Director of Social Investments. The panel moderator was Marcia Wilson Brown, associate dean for program development in the School of Public Affairs and Administration at Rutgers-Newark.