David Lippman has served 19 years as public information officer for Newark, N.J. His work ranks as professionally informative, accurate and timely. Newark, which I visited during the Great N.J. Transit Fare Holiday of 2024 when travelers rode trains, buses and light rails for free, lists on a personal email communication. So, imagine interest generated by news regarding redevelopment in Brick City. The floor and this next segment belongs to Mr. Lippman. Mayor Ras J. Baraka joined Governor Phil Murphy, New Jersey Performing Arts Center President and CEO John Schreiber and other dignitaries to break ground (last week) on the $336 million redevelopment of its 12-acre campus. The redevelopment is a transformational project that will bring to downtown Newark hundreds of new homes, shops and restaurants, plus new outdoor gathering spaces, a unique community center and a professional rehearsal space. The three-year project will include the establishment of ArtSide, a new mixed-use, mixed-income residential development designed by celebrated architectural firm Skidmore Owings & Merrill, which will include 350 rental units and retail and cultural spaces — including a new home for Newark’s beloved jazz radio station, WBGO — along an extension of Mulberry Street, on what is now NJPAC’s Parking Lot A. A full 20 percent of the residential units in the development will consist of affordable housing. “The streets of Newark have always been steeped in the arts. This is a city where jazz and hip hop are in the breeze, and every wall without a mural is just a canvas no one’s yet claimed,” said Mayor Baraka. (Wait a minute. If Baraka presented such adventurous prose, and no reason exists that he didn’t considering his earth roots to poet and activist father Amiri Baraka (born Everett Leroy Jones), then Trenton establishments should invite him to their next open mic events). “The new neighborhood around NJPAC will fully embrace that dynamic spirit, bringing more housing, stores, and gathering places to our already lively downtown. And one of the highest notes of all will be the new headquarters for our city’s iconic jazz station, WBGO,” Baraka added. The reimagined campus will also include the 58,000-square-foot Cooperman Family Arts Education and Community Center, designed by the renowned architectural firm of Weiss/Manfredi. It will be built on the site of Parking Lot C and will serve as a dynamic hub where students, community partners, and artists can gather, learn, and create. “NJPAC’s campus redevelopment is more than a construction project; it’s a powerful investment in Newark’s communities and future,” said Governor Murphy. “This initiative will not only provide more housing and commercial spaces, but also create vibrant cultural and educational opportunities that will enrich the lives of Newark residents for generations to come. I’m proud to support this transformative project that embodies the spirit of creativity and inclusivity that is at the heart of our state.” Reading this press release delivered emotions from that famous restaurant scene in Harry Met Sally when Meg Ryan gets all hot and lathered for Billy Crystal and screams, Yes, yes, yes! while a nearby female patron quips, “I’ll have what she’s having.” Well, Trenton needs what Newark got, what New Brunswick has, a $750 million downtown project underway, and anything close to the $900 million Netflix initiative in Eatontown, Monmouth County. In September 2022, Cooper University Hospital in Camden announced a $2 billion expansion. Just once, life could feel like several hundred million bucks if Gov. Murphy stood with Trenton Mayor Reed Gusciora and announced a significant capital city project not tethered to federal handouts or tax exempt state projects. Of course, Trenton welcomes the state-proposed $75 million Maternal and Infant Health and Innovation Center planned for the Battle Monument area near Pennington Avenue and Warren Street. However, despite the positive social awareness and improved health benefits of this project, it’s another state building being constructed on the fringe of impoverished neighborhoods. Not sure why, but Trenton remains unattractive to big projects and ginormous dreams. While Newark enjoys various nicknames including Gateway City — welcome to Trenton: the Red-Headed, Stepchild. L.A. Parker is a Trentonian columnist. Find him on Twitter @LAParker6 or email him at [email protected].