North Ward Center

History

Brief History
The North Ward Center (NWC) was born out of the turmoil and despair following the Newark Riots in 1967. The North Ward, which then numbered about 90,000, had been the primary home of Newark's large Italian-American population. In 1970, the Italian-American mayor of Newark was defeated in a bitter and divisive election campaign by Ken Gibson, who became the city's first African-American mayor.

The reaction to these events among the North Ward residents took multiple forms. The majority of neighborhood residents responded with fear and hostility. While many chose to leave, a small segment of the North Ward residents remained who had important needs that were being neglected in the atmosphere of confrontation and conflict.

The inspiration for the establishment of the NWC (which was initially named the North Ward Educational and Cultural Center) came from Monsignor Geno Baroni. He was a man of the people who carried his passion for social improvement into the Catholic priesthood. Father Baroni convinced the center's founder Stephen N. Adubato, Sr., to leave his position with the Newark public schools and devote his full-time to organizing the NWC, and provided him with a stipend from a Ford Foundation grant.

The North Ward Center was organized in 1970, in a small, second floor office, to provide information to residents about services available to them, with particular emphasis on North Ward students, who had the lowest college-admission rates in the city.

The North Ward Center - 1970

Thirty six years ago our doors opened and today we have 5 Institutions....1 Mission.

Newark Business Training Institute - 1980
Over the past 20 years, NBTI has been recognized by the State of New Jersey as a "best -practice" model in the transition from welfare to work. NBTI serves adults and youths in a variety of occupational training and worker adjustment services.

North Ward Child Development Center - 1975
Serving over 500 children daily, ranging from 2 1/2 to 5 years of age, our Pre-Kindergarten program is designed to provide a learning environment that will help children develop intellectually, socially, physically and emotionally.

Robert Treat Academy - 1997
The North Ward Center entered the 21st Century in grand style with the Robert Treat Academy Charter School. This Academy educates 450 students in grades K-8. RTA's goal is to send students to the best high schools and colleges in the country. On the statewide test, students scored the highest of any urban school in New Jersey.

Casa Israel - 2001
This state-of-the art facility houses our adult medical day care center. Casa Israel provides the highest quality care, including primary and preventive healthcare, as well as therapeutic and recreational services for the community.

About our headquarter: The Clark Mansion
In 1973 people and local merchants were leaving Newark, real estate prices spiraled downward, and many remaining small businesses in the North Ward were hanging by a thread. That same year, the Center made what many considered a leap of faith when it purchased the Clark Mansion as its headquarters building. Situated on a ridge overlooking the Manhattan skyline, the mansion sits on a 2.5 acre park like setting and is one of the Ward's most prominent architectural landmarks.

For many years, it was the home of a financially troubled private school that could not restore nor maintain the historical integrity of the facility. Committed to returning the building to its former glory, the members of the Center family rolled up their sleeves to peel paint from carved oak lintels, strip linoleum from parquet floors but more importantly worked towards creating the Victorian Mansion into a premier service center. Today, the Center's headquarters is on the National Register of Historic Buildings. For the North Ward community, the Center is a symbol of stability committed to improving the neighborhood's quality of life.

Not only does the Clark mansion house several programs, it is a meeting place for local community groups, non-profit organizations and the site of many community and cultural events.

				The Clark Mansion Fire In the winter of 1976, a thunder storm set the roof on fire. The fire ravaged the 3rd floor and caused extensive damage to the second floor and the main staircase.
Click on the image to enlarge

Recognition
The Center has been recognized formally many times for the character and quality of the services it provides. Most frequently, the recognition comes in the form of renewal financial support from corporations, foundations, and public agencies. The Newark City Council, the County of Essex Board of Freeholders and the General Assembly of New Jersey have honored the Center with resolutions citing the exemplary programs. For specific services, the Center has been recognized by the Puerto Rican coalition, the Mayor of Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, The Boys' & Girls' Clubs of Newark, The Puerto Rican State Wide Parade Committee, the Newark Landmark and Preservation Commission, Budweiser (for support of women's softball), The Newark Jaycees, The Bronze Shields (African American police officers group), The Italian government (for earthquake relief), among many others. Most recently, Stephen N. Adubato, Executive Director of The North Ward Center, was recognized by the Governor of Puerto Rico, Anibal Acevedo Villa, for his leadership and commitment to the Puerto Rican Community.

Celebrating Newark's Diversity
Can celebration be categorized as a service? We are not certain, but we are sure that a description of the Center and its place in Newark would be incomplete without describing our unique role in bringing people together to celebrate their different ethnic backgrounds. We owe this tradition to the teachings of our inspirational founder, Monsignor Geno Baroni.

Each year, we host - with a touch of lightness - the "Society of Italians who celebrate St. Patrick's Day" at which a prominent Italian-American honors Irish-Americans. More seriously, the Center commemorates the contributions of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., with an annual ceremony of remembrance and celebration. We host an annual Puerto Rican Scholarship Dinner by honoring four North Ward Puerto Rican students who have exhibited educational leadership, triumphed over adversity and are dedicated to pursuing a college education.

Assertions about leadership, management standards, financial and program quality controls are easily made, but no narrative can capture three decades of changing the lives of so many people. The fact is that the North Ward Center has survived for 36 years, during which time it has provided high quality services to thousands of persons and has continued to celebrate the great diversity of Newark and the people.