FOREST HILL SUPERNEIGHBORHOOD
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Welcome everyone to the website of the Forest Hill Superneighborhood Organization, launched on November 7, 2007.
At the request of Mayor Cory Booker and the Newark City Council, Newark has begun a long-term program of defining and strengthening all of its existing neighborhoods, for the purpose of improving the Quality of Life. The Forest Hill Superneighborhood is now one of 20 Superneighborhoods in the City of Newark. Each Superneighbor-hood contains residential neighborhoods and an associated community business district, and has a population of approximately 10,000 to 30,000 residents. This is comparable in size to many suburban towns throughout New Jersey which have a very close-knit sense of community. Superneighborhood will improve upon the close sense of community of Newark's neighborhoods, while strengthening all aspects of the quality of life, and improving communication with all city departments.
The NY Times article of August 26, 2007 is a good summary of what our neighborhood is about, although the official boundaries of the Forest Hill Superneighborhood are somewhat larger than what was published in the NY Times.
See Yes We're In Newark - NY Times 08-26-2007
The Forest Hill Superneighborhood is run by the Forest Hill Superneighborhood Council, which is elected by its members. The officers are Chairperson, Vice Chairperson, Secretary, Treasurer, and Sergeant of Arms, as defined in the organization's bylaws. Officers have 2 year terms. The election of new officers for the organization has been deferred from February 2008 to February 2009.
The Superneighborhood initiative is overseen by Margarita Muniz, Deputy Mayor of Community Engagement for the City of Newark. Margarita regularly attends the meetings and provides a wealth of information to the group. She can be reached at munizm@ci.newark.nj.us.
Each Superneighborhood signs an annual community covenant which establishes the priorities agreed upon between city government and the organization. Ours is called the Forest Hill Superneighborhood Community Covenant.
Newark's Superneighborhood program is itself a "work in progress" and it continues to grow and evolve as it enters its second year. One of the founding philosophies is that ideas, initiatives, and citizen input should flow in a bottom-up fashion from the neighborhoods to city hall. This is not a top-down organization.
Our website format currently allows us only five pages. The other four are as follows:
BREAKING NEWS --- updated daily or at least weekly. This contains an ongoing chronology of important news, with the most recent news posted on top.
GOALS & ACCOMPLISHMENTS --- Lists the current goals of the organization and our accomplishments to date
LINKS & DIRECTORIES --- An informational database for the Forest Hill community, listing key directories and links
COMMUNITY CALENDAR --- Lists our events, as well as other events happening in the community
Newark's Superneighborhood Conference, held on November 3, 2007 at the NJIT Campus Center was a watershed event with a very large attendance. Speakers included Margarita Muniz, Deputy Mayor of Community Engagement, Motia "Mo" Butler of Newark Now, and Michael Green, Director of Neighborhood Services.
It was explained at the Conference that the Mayor & City Council desire "Constituent-Focussed Communications" between all of its departments and the public. They have identified Communications as an area needing major improvement, and they seek to improve the quality and quantity of information flow. One of the goals of Superneighborhood is to help facilitate this flow of information.
Newark is also refocussed on "branding" and there is renewed focus on "how we identify the city". 5 Pillars of Quality of Life were identified for the QLife initiative, with the idea that "Municipal Priorities = Quality of Life". They are:
(1) Public Safety
(2) Government Reform
(3) Child & Family Well-being
(4) Community Engagement
(5) Economic Development
Each Superneighborhood is to have at minimum a Chair, a Vice-Chair, a Sergeant-At-Arms, a Secretary, a Treasurer, a Youth Representative, and a Faith-based community organization, and some leeway is allowed for the organizations to expand beyond this structure.
Five of the twenty Superneighborhoods were established in 2007 (including Forest Hill), and another 5 will be established in 2008. By March, 2008, the Forest Hill Superneighborhood will submit its first SNCC Report to the City of Newark.
The Forest Hill Superneighborhood organization seeks to rally and organize the residents of our district (see below map). We seek to involve and interract with Block Watches, Business organizations, Tenant Associations, Non-profit organizations, houses of worship, and other concerned citizens who live or work in the Forest Hill Superneighborhood.
At the request of Mayor Cory Booker and the Newark City Council, Newark has begun a long-term program of defining and strengthening all of its existing neighborhoods, for the purpose of improving the Quality of Life. The Forest Hill Superneighborhood is now one of 20 Superneighborhoods in the City of Newark. Each Superneighbor-hood contains residential neighborhoods and an associated community business district, and has a population of approximately 10,000 to 30,000 residents. This is comparable in size to many suburban towns throughout New Jersey which have a very close-knit sense of community. Superneighborhood will improve upon the close sense of community of Newark's neighborhoods, while strengthening all aspects of the quality of life, and improving communication with all city departments.
The NY Times article of August 26, 2007 is a good summary of what our neighborhood is about, although the official boundaries of the Forest Hill Superneighborhood are somewhat larger than what was published in the NY Times.
See Yes We're In Newark - NY Times 08-26-2007
The Forest Hill Superneighborhood is run by the Forest Hill Superneighborhood Council, which is elected by its members. The officers are Chairperson, Vice Chairperson, Secretary, Treasurer, and Sergeant of Arms, as defined in the organization's bylaws. Officers have 2 year terms. The election of new officers for the organization has been deferred from February 2008 to February 2009.
The Superneighborhood initiative is overseen by Margarita Muniz, Deputy Mayor of Community Engagement for the City of Newark. Margarita regularly attends the meetings and provides a wealth of information to the group. She can be reached at munizm@ci.newark.nj.us.
Each Superneighborhood signs an annual community covenant which establishes the priorities agreed upon between city government and the organization. Ours is called the Forest Hill Superneighborhood Community Covenant.
Newark's Superneighborhood program is itself a "work in progress" and it continues to grow and evolve as it enters its second year. One of the founding philosophies is that ideas, initiatives, and citizen input should flow in a bottom-up fashion from the neighborhoods to city hall. This is not a top-down organization.
Our website format currently allows us only five pages. The other four are as follows:
BREAKING NEWS --- updated daily or at least weekly. This contains an ongoing chronology of important news, with the most recent news posted on top.
GOALS & ACCOMPLISHMENTS --- Lists the current goals of the organization and our accomplishments to date
LINKS & DIRECTORIES --- An informational database for the Forest Hill community, listing key directories and links
COMMUNITY CALENDAR --- Lists our events, as well as other events happening in the community
Newark's Superneighborhood Conference, held on November 3, 2007 at the NJIT Campus Center was a watershed event with a very large attendance. Speakers included Margarita Muniz, Deputy Mayor of Community Engagement, Motia "Mo" Butler of Newark Now, and Michael Green, Director of Neighborhood Services.
It was explained at the Conference that the Mayor & City Council desire "Constituent-Focussed Communications" between all of its departments and the public. They have identified Communications as an area needing major improvement, and they seek to improve the quality and quantity of information flow. One of the goals of Superneighborhood is to help facilitate this flow of information.
Newark is also refocussed on "branding" and there is renewed focus on "how we identify the city". 5 Pillars of Quality of Life were identified for the QLife initiative, with the idea that "Municipal Priorities = Quality of Life". They are:
(1) Public Safety
(2) Government Reform
(3) Child & Family Well-being
(4) Community Engagement
(5) Economic Development
Each Superneighborhood is to have at minimum a Chair, a Vice-Chair, a Sergeant-At-Arms, a Secretary, a Treasurer, a Youth Representative, and a Faith-based community organization, and some leeway is allowed for the organizations to expand beyond this structure.
Five of the twenty Superneighborhoods were established in 2007 (including Forest Hill), and another 5 will be established in 2008. By March, 2008, the Forest Hill Superneighborhood will submit its first SNCC Report to the City of Newark.
The Forest Hill Superneighborhood organization seeks to rally and organize the residents of our district (see below map). We seek to involve and interract with Block Watches, Business organizations, Tenant Associations, Non-profit organizations, houses of worship, and other concerned citizens who live or work in the Forest Hill Superneighborhood.
