A new short film highlighting the city's revitalization premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival Sunday night

NEW YORK CITY - This year's Tribeca Film Festival in lower Manhttan attracted Hollywood mainstays like Julianne Moore, Katie Holmes and Nicole Kidman.

But for more than an hour Sunday evening, it was the Big Apple's often overlooked neighbor to the west that took center stage.

A short documentary, "Newark On The Rise", was shown to a full house in a theater at the Crosby Street Hotel in Soho as part of the festival. Funded by Prudential, it showcased Mayor Ras Baraka and his efforts to guide the city out of decades and poverty and blight into a new age.

A panel discussion featuring Baraka, Prudential Vice President of Impact Investments, Ommeed Sathe and New Jersey development magnate Ron Beit followed the showing, with each discussing Newark and its recent success in attracting investors.

"If you come to Newark you can feel that it's different, that people actually believe collectively," said Baraka. "You can see visibly these things taking place. So it kind of reinforces people's sentiment."

While many of the projects touted by the panel - a downtown Whole Foods building, the Teachers' Village development on Halsey Street, the world's largest vertical farm in the Ironbound - will be familiar to locals, a crowd of largely new faces looked on intently as New York Times reporter David Gelles peppered the group with questions.

Newark eyes new life at long-vacant former Pabst brewery

Baraka acknowledged that crime and outside perceptions about the city's safety remained an obstacle, but stressed that the city was succeeding in spite of any biases.

He also addressed fears about gentrification pushing longtime residents out of the city, saying Newark had plenty of space to fit new residents without triggering displacement, and that newly introduced job training programs and affordable housing requirements would help ensure any new prosperity extended to all.

"That's always important for me that we make sure the folks that have been in the city 40, 50 years actually benefit from the renaissance that takes place," he said.

Beit attributed much of the city's recent success with developers to its access to major transportation networks and thousands of new college graduates each year, presenting an appealing new market for those priced out of saturated Manhattan, Brooklyn and Jersey City.

"We have this historic street grid, we have this historic streetscape," he said. "When we're done with it, it's going to be very hard to compete."

Those loud, red-eyed insects will be popping up from the ground this spring in several states. Watch video

They're very noisy, and they're creepy looking too. And they're getting ready to emerge from the ground after 17 years in hiding.

Cicadas are making a big comeback this spring. But not here in New Jersey, experts say.

A large group of those annoying red-eyed insects known as Brood V will soon be invading southwestern Pennsylvania, eastern Ohio, parts of Virginia and West Virginia, as well as a small area of central and northern Long Island in New York, said Tedor Whitman, director of the Cora Hartshorn Arboretum in the Short Hills section of Millburn.

"They're not going to be in New Jersey," Whitman said.

That's because the Garden State was swarmed by cicadas in the spring of 2013, and those pesky bugs only show up once every 13 to 17 years, depending on their brood type. So New Jersey has another 10 years before a major cicada invasion.

If you happen to hear a few cicadas buzzing in your backyard this year, don't be surprised, Whitman said. Those are annual cicadas, known as the North American Cicadidae, which have smaller populations and a shorter life cycle than the long-term  broods. The annual cicadas are a bit larger and greener than the others, and they tend to emerge in July, according to the Rutgers Cooperative Extension.

The cicadas that swarmed New Jersey in May and June of 2013 were the species that lay eggs and bury their larvae underground, attaching themselves to tree roots, Whitman said. They remain there for another 16 years before emerging from the ground. 

Perfect storm brewing for mosquitoes?

"They come out in the larva stage, looking like aliens, and the adults grow wings," Whitman said.

The loud, obnoxious clattering sound the cicadas make are mating calls.  

"They're trying to find mates before someone eats them," Whitman said, noting cicadas are a source of protein for lots of wildlife, including birds and foxes, as well as household pets like cats and dogs.

One good thing about cicadas: They don't bite or sting, and they're not interested in humans.

Len Melisurgo may be reached at LMelisurgo@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @LensReality. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

The arrests came after a pair of operations by an Essex County Sheriff's Department task force

ESSEX COUNTY - Six people were arrested Friday after a pair of busts by an Essex County Sheriff's task force that netted large amount of crack and heroin, authorities said.

In a statement, Sheriff Armando Fontoura said undercover detectives set up an undercover operation at the corner of Bloomfield Avenue and Watessing Avenue in Bloomfield, where residents had complained about drug trafficking.

They watched as a 2003 Mercury SUV driven by 40-year-old Hector Rivera of East Orange pulled up and parked by the intersection. When detectives moved in to investigate, the truck allegedly sped away into a nearby parking lot.

Numerous officers were able to box the vehicle in, and they later discovered a box filled with 750 glassine envelopes of heroin inside, according to Fontoura.

Arrest made in fatal hit-and-run of Jersey City man

Rivera, along with Newark residents Raymond George, Yyoung Moore, Bryant Twitty and Jamar Jacobs, were all arrested on multiple drug charges.

Earlier that day, members of the task force traveled to an apartment building on Broad Street in Newark to serve a search warrant against an alleged Bloods gang member, 34-year-old Ronnie Wimberly.

They found Wimberly in his bedroom with other men, and shortly thereafter uncovered 148 vials of crack cocaine and a loaded .45-caliber semi-automatic handgun hidden around the home, according to Fontoura.

Wimberly was charged with various drug possession and distrubtion offenses, and the two other men - 34-year-old Rashawn Davis of Newark and 24-year-old Jerald Wiles of Elizabeth - were each found to have open warrants.

Fontoura said the six drug suspects were arraigned in Essex County Superior Court Monday and are being held on bonds ranging from $350,000 to $500,000.

Dan Ivers may be reached at divers@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @DanIversNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Yanafi Mojica, Armand Padron, and Nathaniel Garcia are charged in the shooting death of Michael Williams II in Belleville

NEWARK -- Three men pleaded not guilty on Monday to charges of killing another man during a dispute outside a Belleville strip club last year.

Yanafi Mojica, 32, Armand Padron, 28, and Nathaniel Garcia, 22, all of Elizabeth, entered the pleas through their attorneys when they were arraigned before Superior Court Judge Ronald Wigler in connection with the Oct. 8 shooting death of Michael Williams II, 28, of Newark.

The three men were indicted on March 18 on charges of murder, conspiracy to commit murder, unlawful possession of a weapon and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose.

Mojica, Padron and Garcia remain in custody at the Essex County Correctional Facility in lieu of $1 million, $550,000 and $400,000 bail amounts, respectively.

The incident occurred in the early morning hours of Oct. 8 outside Wet, a gentlemen's club on Belleville Avenue.

An argument involving the three men and Williams started inside the club and spilled out into the street, according to Katherine Carter, spokeswoman for the Essex County Prosecutor's Office.

Prosecutors are alleging Mojica shot Williams during the incident, Carter said.

In 2014, Wet made headlines after a 39-year-old Hackensack livery cab driver was fatally shot on Route 80 shortly after leaving the strip club. A Newark couple was later arrested in connection with the killing.

Bill Wichert may be reached at bwichert@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @BillWichertNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

U.S. District Judge Madeline Cox Arleo urged Phillip Biondello to use his time in prison to resolve to stay sober.

NEWARK -- A couple of blotches on his criminal record -- a petty theft from 2001 and a passport fraud -- were significant factors in the prison sentence Phillip Biondello received Monday in federal court for bribing a doctor to bring business to his Essex County laboratory.

But the real problem for Biondello were not those two incidents, but a 30-year struggle with addiction to prescription drugs and alcohol, U.S. District Judge Madeline Cox Arleo said.

Arleo sentenced Biondello to nine months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for paying bribes and challenged him to use that time to focus on sobriety. 

"You have to make a personal commitment," Arleo told a tearful and apologetic Biondello. 

Biondello was charged in December with paying monthly bribes from 2011 through 2013 to an unnamed doctor in return for having his patients' blood samples sent to Biondello's former laboratory, Infinity Clinical Laboratories.

He was charged Dec. 10 and pleaded guilty the same day to one count of bribing a physician in violation of the federal health care anti-kickback statute.

Doctor took $200K in bribes: indictment

During his sentencing, defense attorney Joseph Hayden said federal sentencing guidelines at times can be "draconian," and that Biondello's criminal past sounded worse than it is. The petty theft case would not have factored into his sentence at all had it occurred a month earlier, and the passport fraud involved Biondello's use of his brother's passport so he could visit his wife's family in Columbia, he said.

"There was no underlying criminal scheme," Hayden said. 

Biondello also has made $28,000 in restitution, a sum equal to the profit made by his lab, Hayden said. The scheme generated more than $176,000 for the lab, prosecutors said. They did not claim Biondello paid for unnecessary tests or compromised patients' health. 

Arleo also acknowledged that Biondello has been in treatment for his addictions, saying she agreed with Hayden that Biondello is "trying."

Considering his family support and personal history, Arleo issued the sentence that was considerably lower than the 24 months federal prosecutors recommended.

"I cut you a break today," she told Biondello, 49, warning him that another violation of the law could send him to prison for most of the rest of his life, if not all of it.  

Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph N. Minish objected to the sentence and said it remains to be seen if the government will appeal.

He also said the physician, whom he would not name, has been charged, pleaded guilty to taking the bribes and is cooperating with federal prosecutors.

Tim Darragh may be reached at tdarragh@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @timdarragh. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

The city has gone the first three months of the year without a homicide for just the second time in three decades

Irvington officials are touting a more than three-month stretch without a homicide and other reductions in violent crime after reorganizing the city's public safety operations. (File photo)

IRVINGTON -- The year is still young, but local officials are celebrating a nearly unprecedented era of peace in a city that has traditionally been one of the state's most notorious centers of violence.

For the first time since 2008 and just the second time in the last 31 years, Irvington failed to record a homicide during the first three months of the year -- a statistic Mayor Tony Vauss said reflects a wider drop in overall violent crime. The city totaled 14 homicides during all of 2015.

While murders often make headlines, police are also on pace for significant drops in assaults, robberies, thefts and auto thefts, giving officials hope they might prove more than a winter fluke.

"Everybody's excited and happy about the direction we're going in," said Mayor Tony Vauss.

Public Safety Director Tracy Bowers -- who took over the department after longtime Chief Michael Chase was ousted earlier this year -- credited the drops largely to work by newly formed, specialized units such as an Intelligence Unit and the 8-member TACIT (Threat Assessment Criminal Intelligence) team.

"Those guys they don't have regular jobs that are in the queue. They respond to the concerns right away," he said. "It's just a whole program that's going on with people buying into the new leadership and trying to get crime down."

3 arrested on drug charges in Irvington undercover operation

The city has also made a number of arrests targeting the city's violent drug gangs, taking not just criminals but guns and drugs off the streets, according to Bowers.

Vauss said the city's recent move to combine the city's police, fire and emergency management departments into a single public safety operation has also been key in streamlining police operations by turning them over to Bowers.

Prior to the change, Bowers set policy as part of his role as police director, while Chase was responsible for allocating resources and other day-to-day decisions. Chase, a 40-year veteran who had been chief since 2002, has filed a lawsuit over his termination.

"I think the reorganization changing to public safety department definitely helps us maneuver our people and our resources a lot better on the ground," Vauss said.

Promising signs early in the year, however, do not always translate to long-term success combating violence.

Last year, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka trumpeted a 40 percent decline in homicides and other crimes during his State of the City speech in April, only to see a bloody summer drive them well above 2014 levels.

Vauss said he recognized that sustaining safety on Irvington's streets would take a longer, more coordinated efforts from both police and citizens, but felt this year's early returns indicated things were trending in the right direction.

"Crime will no longer be tolerated in this community," he said. "That's the message we've been saying from the beginning and we're now starting to see results."

Fraynned Ramirez, 26, of Hartford, Conn., should be considered armed and dangerous, authorities said

Fraynned Ramirez (Essex County Prosecutor's Office)

NEWARK - Authorities have identified a second suspect in a double shooting that killed a Rutgers-Newark student last week.

Fraynned Ramirez, 26, of Hartford, Conn., has been charged with murder, felony murder and robbery in connection with the April 10 death of 21-year-old Toms River native Shani Patel, Essex County Prosecutor Carolyn Murray and Newark Public Safety Director Anthony Ambrose said in a statement.

Ramirez remains at large and should be considered armed and dangerous, they added.

A Newark man, Marcus Feliz, has already been charged in the incident at Patel's off-campus apartment on Central Avenue. He remains at the Essex County Jail on $750,000 bond.

Police sources have described the homicide as a drug-related robbery gone awry. Patel's 23-year-old roommate was also shot during the incident, but is expected to recover.

Rutgers student killed in possible drug robbery had 'bright future'

Neither Ramirez nor Feliz were Rutgers students, according to Murray and Ambrose.

The Essex County Sheriff's Department is offering a $10,000 reward for information that leads to Ramirez's capture.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Essex County Prosecutor's Office Homicide and Major Crimes Task Force tips line at (877) TIPS-4EC or (877) 847-7432.

Authorities have identified Orange resident Jordan Bryan as the victim of a fatal shooting on Sunday night in Orange

Authorities have identified 23-year-old Orange resident Jordan Bryan as the victim of a fatal shooting on Sunday night in Orange.Ed Murray/The Star-Ledger 

ORANGE -- In what represents the second homicide in Orange in three days, a 23-year-old man has been identified as the victim of a fatal shooting on Sunday night, authorities announced on Monday.

Township resident Jordan Bryan was gunned down in the 400 block of Cary Street, according to a news release issued by Acting Essex County Prosecutor Carolyn A. Murray and Orange Police Director John Wade.

Bryan was pronounced dead at the scene at 8:05 p.m., the release states.

Authorities said no arrests have been made in the killing. The investigation remains active and ongoing, authorities said.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Essex County Prosecutor's Office Homicide/Major Crimes Task Force tips line at 1-877-TIPS-4EC OR 1-877-847-7432.

Bryan's killing occurred three days after another shooting in Orange that left a 17-year-old boy dead.

In that incident, Davon Jones and three other male victims were struck during a shooting in the 100 block of Taylor Street on Thursday night, authorities said.

Police arrived at the scene at 9:30 p.m. and found Jones suffering from multiple gunshot wounds, authorities said. Jones was transported to University Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead, authorities said.

The three other victims were taken to area hospitals to be treated for non-life threatening gunshot wounds, authorities said.

Bill Wichert may be reached at bwichert@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @BillWichertNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Service on the Morris and Essex line was suspended Monday after someone was killed by a train in South Orange

SOUTH ORANGE A person described as a female trespasser was killed by an NJ Transit train near the station, the agency said in an alert.

A spokeswoman said the victim was struck shortly before 5 p.m. by a Hoboken-boud train. NJ Transit police were at the scene investigating as of about 5:45 p.m.

Service along the Morris and Essex line was suspended but was restored about a half-hour later. There were lingering delays along the Morris and Essex line of about an hour, the spokeswoman also said.

Paul Milo may be reached at pmilo@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter@PaulMilo2. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

An email mistakenly sent to police in Verona, N.J., instead of in Verona, Italy, caused police here to help the depressed international student.

VERONA -- A case of mistaken "municipal" identity resulted in the township police department helping save the life of a suicidal student in Verona, Italy last week, a report says.

Police chief Mitchell Stern told BuzzFeed News that he got an email Thursday from a Chinese student in the U.K. who said another Chinese student in Verona, Italy, had threatened to kill herself. 

The student in the U.K. had accidentally emailed the Verona, N.J., police, instead of the Verona, Italy, police, according to the BuzzFeed report. 

Stern could not find a website for the Verona police in Italy, so he contacted INTERPOL, which reached out to the Italian state police, the report says.

The Italian police said in a Facebook post they had gone to the girl's apartment and found her alive, with her wrists partly severed and a bottle of anti-depressants next to her. 

Stern told BuzzFeed the girl had been brought to a hospital and was in stable condition. 

MORE ESSEX COUNTY NEWS

Marisa Iati may be reached at miati@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @Marisa_Iati. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

While the testing follows the discovery of lead in Newark School water pipes and the watrer supply for Flint, MIch., the testing is actually tied to Hurricane Sandy

HOBOKEN -- In the wake of possible contamination by Hurricane Sandy, free testing of lead levels will be offered Thursday and again next week to children under 18, pregnant women, and adults involved in efforts to recover from the storm.

Thursday's e testing will take place at the Hoboken Multi Service Center, 124 Grand Street, from 9-11 a.m., and Noon-2 p.m., the city announced Monday. Testing during the same hours at the same location will be offered on April 28.

Although the announcement follows episodes in which lead was found in the water in some Newark schools due to outdated pipes and throughout the water supply of Flint, Mich., the Hoboken testing was actually prompted by the devastating flooding caused by Hurricane Sandy in 2012.

The testing, which is being administered in conjunction with Jersey City's health department, is being funded by a grant that is part of a broader Sandy recovery program. Copies of the test results will be given to each individual or the child's parent or legal guardian.

In addition to the results, educational materials will be provided addressing various topics: the effects of lead poisoning; preventing lead poisoning; nutritional guidelines; lead in makeup, toys, and cookware; common household lead hazards.

Steve Strunsky may be reached at sstrunsky@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @SteveStrunsky. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

A talented writer with an eye for detail and a caring voice for those without one, former Star-Ledger reporter Mary Jo Patterson died on Sunday.

She could write chilling stories of injustice, and quickly switch gears to the strange tale of the building of a Biblical-style ark using wood taken from abandoned buildings in Newark.

On the day of the worst terrorist attack in the nation's history, she calmly put together a sharply-written narrative woven from notes and phone calls of an army of reporters deployed throughout the region, and then spent the next ten years documenting the emotional anguish and scars carried by the families of those who perished on 9/11.

Mary Jo Patterson, an award-winning journalist and writer who was a member of The Star-Ledger team that won the Pulitzer Prize for breaking news in 2005, died Sunday after a long illness. She was 70.

A top reporter at the state's largest newspaper for 30 years, Patterson found compelling stories among the rich and the poor, the powerful and the forgotten, and the young and the old.

"She was the heart and soul of the paper," said David Tucker, a former managing editor. "She was what a reporter ought to be."

Born in Buffalo, Patterson was the fourth of five children of James and Marguerite Patterson. She was graduated from Ohio Wesleyan University and earned master's degrees in comparative literature and journalism at Columbia University. Before working at The Star-Ledger, she was a reporter at The News-Tribune in Woodbridge, and then for a time at the Albany Times Union, before returning to New Jersey.

Her husband, former Star-Ledger political writer David Wald, who met his wife while both worked for the paper, said Patterson went into journalism because she wanted to be more involved in public life.

"She had a curiosity," he said. "She wanted to know how things work."

Tucker called Patterson the "go-to" person on every major story of the day.

"Whenever there is a big breaking story, it's controlled chaos. You get that rising panic that maybe we won't make deadline. But seeing her writing was always just so reassuring," he said. "I remember her bent over her keyboard on 9/11. She had an intense, incredible focus. Even if the details were horrific, the writing was tremendous. The story had no blemishes and nothing was out of place."

10 years later: remembering 9/11

Even the simpler stories reflected an eye for detail and color, as well as her ability to catch seemingly ordinary things others might easily miss.

There was the young woman from Newark, brutally attacked by a troubled 16-year old, making her way back to recovery:

Her shoulders, usually stooped, are straight. Her mind, frequently invaded by flashbacks, is clear and focused as she vocalizes with her voice teacher on this wintry February day in Newark. As for her scars, she seems unaware of them. There are 56 of the jagged lines, brutally etched into her face and almost every other part of her body two years ago by a homeless teenager wielding a paring knife...

The piece on the arrest of internet child porn suspect:

Even a routine obituary became a work of art in Patterson's hands, like the time she wrote about a centenarian's long-planned death:

When Bertha Lee Jones was approaching her 100th birthday, she decided it was time to plan her funeral. Mind you, she wasn't ready to die. Her health was just fine. But given her age, it seemed like a sensible thing to do. And she had strong opinions on the subject. She instructed her granddaughter to dress her in the blue gown she had once worn at a dinner in her honor at the Bethlehem Baptist Church in McKeesport, Pa., where she had once been a deaconess, choir member and president of the Ladies Official Board. She selected four spirituals for the service. Then she went on living, for nearly 10 years. Last Saturday, two months and two days before she would have turned 110, Mrs. Jones died at the House of the Good Shepherd nursing home in Hackettstown, where she had lived since 1998.

Patterson could be by turns biting, acerbic and wildly funny, more than once wondering out loud about what she considered a questionable assignment suggested up by some editor, "What genius thought this one up?"

At the same time, she served as a mentor to many reporters in the newsroom.

Retired Star-Ledger Editor Jim Willse recalled meeting her for the first time when he first came to the paper and began talking to reporters one-on-one. "She stonewalled me. She didn't have much to say. Finally, I started talking about myself in hopes I would draw her out, without much success," he said. "After she was gone, it dawned on me that she had just done a 'reporter's job' on me--the creative silence."

He chuckled as he remembered the meeting in his office. "I learned more about myself than I did about her," he said. "I said to myself, 'this is going to be just fine.'"

Mary Jo Patterson in the Star-Ledger newsroom after a trip to Portugal for the newspaper in 1996. (Rich Krauss | Star-Ledger file photo)

Kitta MacPherson, a former colleague and now a journalism professor at Rutgers Newark, said Patterson could do anything at the paper. "She was unflappable. She was a star at the paper from the time she came until the time she retired," said MacPherson.

Some of the stories that resonated deepest with her, she said, were those about the abuse she uncovered in the state's foster care system.

"That meant a lot to her. At the core was this sense of justice--dead children dying at the hands of abusive parents or foster parents. Those got to her," MacPherson said. "She was angry."

Following her early retirement from The Star-Ledger, Patterson wrote for the metropolitan section of The New York Times and contributed articles for the websites and alumni magazines of Drew University, The College of New Jersey, and Rutgers. She also authored a book on the history of the New Jersey Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union.

She also focused much of her time on her other true passion--gardening--becoming an Essex County Master Gardener and helping launch a project with the National Park Service that brought back some of the historic gardens at Glenmont, the home of Thomas Edison in Llewellyn Park in West Orange.

In addition to her husband, Mary Jo Patterson is survived by her children, Molly Wald of Kanab, Ut., and Benjamin Wald of Newark; her sister Temple Weste of Hilo, HI,; brother James (Andy) Patterson and his wife Marian of Cleveland; and brother Charles Patterson of Clearwater, Fl. She is also survived by seven nieces and nephews and four grandnieces and nephews. She was predeceased by her parents and her brother John Patterson.

Graveside services will be private. A memorial service will be held on Sunday, April 24, at the Codey & Jones Funeral Home, 54 Roseland Avenue in Caldwell, with visitation at noon and the service at 1 pm.

Ted Sherman may be reached at tsherman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TedShermanSL. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

A man approached a group of young children in Bloomfield Sunday.

BLOOMFIELD -- A man claiming to be a police officer approached a group of children and told them he was going to "throw you in a van," WABC 7 reported Monday.

The incident occurred around 5:30 p.m. at Brookdale Park, when a man in civilian clothes approached a group of five 11- and 12-year-olds, the Essex County Sheriff's Office said. The children fled from the man and reported the incident to their parents.

Police are working on a sketch of a suspect but the man has been described as heavyset and in his 50s.

Paul Milo may be reached at pmilo@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter@PaulMilo2. Find NJ.com on Facebook.        

Pennsylvania man also charged following traffic accident

NEWARK -- Two men were arrested in separate incidents over the weekend on gun charges, Acting Public Safety Director Anthony Ambrose said.

Officers Jose A. Yunque, Angel Perez and Edwin Ramos responded around 1 p.m. Saturday, when a tipster told police a man armed with a gun was a passenger on an NJ Transit bus travelling west on South Orange Avenue. Ali Ivey, 21, of Newark, was arrested and charged with unlawful possession of a weapon.

On Sunday, Officer Daniel Mendez responded to a motor-vehicle accident and arrested one of the drivers, Raymond Leroy Pitts of Pennsylvania, who was dazed when police arrived, Ambrose said. Pitts was arrested on a charge of unlawful possession of a weapon after a gun was allegedly found in his car.

"I encourage those who want to get involved to use the tip-line. It is a valuable way to help in making our city safer under the cloak of anonymity. I applaud the tipster and the excellent job the

officers did in arresting both suspects," said Ambrose.

The investigation into these incidents is ongoing and the suspects' charges may be upgraded or amended. Authorities ask that anyone with information relevant to this or any other crimes contact the department's 24-hour Crime Stoppers' tip line at 877-NWK-TIPS (877-695-8477) or 877-NWK-GUNS (877-696-4867). All crime stopper tips are kept confidential.

From Salsa to Hip-Hop, several blind dancers were light on their feet when they participated in a "Dancing with the Blind" competition to show those us sight that the blind can lead a fulfilling life.

Brandon Scott sat nervously, waiting his turn, hoping he wouldn't embarrass himself.

He had practiced  the roaring 1920s dance routine many times with his partner, Denae Marshall. He counted his steps and mouthed the lyrics to "Jump, Jive and Wail,'' so that he would know all the moves he needed to make at the right time during the song.

But even with his intense preparation, Scott was still "terrified'' at the thought of shaking a leg in front of people, let alone a dance competition in Newark.

MORE: Recent Barry Carter columns  

"This is not my comfort zone,'' he said "I'm not a dancer.''

 Please.

 When the DJ cued up the music, my man let go of his inhibitions and danced his behind off, leaving his mobility cane somewhere back stage.

 My bad. I forgot one important wrinkle.

 Scott, 30, is blind. The Red Bank resident lost his vision when he was 2-years-old old to Retinoblastoma, a cancer of the eye that predominantly afflicts children.

 He has never let his condition get in the way of doing things and he didn't let his nerves get in the way of helping a good cause.

Take a good look at Eyes Like Mine Inc., a Newark nonprofit organization that sponsored a "Dancing with the Blind'' competition this month at Essex County College.

"We're not disabled. We're differently abled,'' said Naquela Wright, the group's vice president.

It was working, as the dancers kicked off an evening of fun with the "Cuban Shuffle,'' a popular line dance to show those of us with sight that the blind can lead a fulfilling life.

Eyes Like Mine president Krystle Allen was out there, too, with her 6-inch silver heels, setting an example for others.

"I don't party for pity,'' she said. "I party in heels.''

And then the competition started.

Six blind dancers and their sighted partners wowed the crowd with Salsa and Hip-Hop, liturgical and modern dance, house music and tap dance routines. Judges held up scorecards, offering the kind of  comments you'd hear on TV's "Dancing with the Stars.''  Family and friends were into it, too, cheering the competitors.

Abdul Salaam, a retired doctor known as "Brother Magnetic,'' said he has taught Salsa for many years and never had a student like his partner, Rebecca Irvin-Bryant, 64, of Newark.

"She dances like an angel,'' Salaam said. "She sees with her hands, her feet, her ears and her heart.''

Bryant, who lost her sight 12 years ago, said she hadn't danced Salsa in ages and that she was focused on not falling.

There was no need to worry about this salsera. She knocked off the cobwebs, stepping gracefully to "I'll always love you" by Tito Nieves.

The judges thought so, too, holding up 9s.

Janet Jackson Jones, 60, of Newark, immersed herself in the words of the song that she danced to with her partner, Joyce Frierson, the dance instructor at their Newark church.

"I can only imagine,'' a gospel tune by Tamela Mann, took on greater meaning for Jones, who danced into the arms of her Christian faith.

She lost her vision six years ago, her preschool teaching job, too. But's she okay. Jackson Jones is working on her job skills and continues to dance with joy at Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church.

"God said he wanted her to see with her spiritual eyes,'' Frierson said.

The affair, held for the first time, captured your attention and showed off the organization's motto: "Vision loss doesn't break us, it builds us.''

If this was on a billboard, the words would be next to a picture of 22-year-old Laura Etori.

She lost her "eagle eye sight" three years ago as a high school student in her native Kenya, but optic nerve damage didn't stifle her audacious zest for life.

Etori is a freshman majoring in finance at Rutgers University-Newark.

"I wanted an adventure,'' she said.

She misses Africa, but had fun dancing with her partner, Elijah "Smiley'' Issamadeen, whom she said was understanding if she messed up when they practiced modern dance moves to "Zero,'' an R&B song by Chris Brown.

MORE CARTER: Newark residents to battle dollar store developer again

Edie Boyd didn't have to worry about Jose Lugo shrinking under the spotlight. Her partner, who is blind, couldn't wait to dance to an upbeat house music song.

"Let's go, baby. Let's go,'' said Lugo, a Newark resident.

While he was amped with anticipation, 18-year-old Justin Bonds of Irvington performed a creative dance number with Team Jagear, a local dance group of which he's a member.

And Laurel King, a Newark resident who is blind, dusted off her tap shoes to dance with her 7-year-old daughter, Gabrielle, who attends the same Marie Wildey Dance School in East Orange that King did when she was as a child.

As for Scott, he no longer has to worry about being horrified.

Scott jumped to the music. He did a little jive, too, and threw his hands in the air as if he was wailing.

"I just let the music carry me,'' Scott said.

And the judges followed, crowning Scott and his partner the winners - having earned nothing but 10s.

Barry Carter: (973) 836-4925 or bcarter@starledger.com or nj.com/carter or follow him on Twitter @BarryCarterSL

A total of 12 candidates are seeking three open spots on the board

NEWARK - Voters are heading to the polls today to select three new members of the city's School Advisory Board.

The annual election comes at a critical time in the state-controlled district's history, with a looming promise from Gov. Chris Christie to return it to local governance after more than 20 years, and the spread of charter schools making for an uncertain future.

A total of 12 candidates are seeking three-year terms this year, including city teachers, prominent minister and a former head of the city teachers union.

Everything you need to know about Newark's school board election

The field also features the so-called "Newark Unity" slate, a coalition of candidates supported by Mayor Ras Baraka, North Ward Councilman Anibal Ramos Jr. and pro-charter school organizations - parties who have often found themselves in separate ideological corners in the city's education debate.

Incumbents Ariagna Perello, Rashon Hasan and Khalil Sabu Rashidi are not seeking reelection, meaning the board will have three new members after votes have been tallied.

In addition to possibly attaining true governing power over the district, those elected will need to wrangle with widespread lead contamination in the school system's water supply and a budget deficit that has exceeded $60 million each of the last two years.

Polls will remain open until 8 p.m.

Dan Ivers may be reached at divers@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @DanIversNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

A woman who pleaded guilty to taking part in the May 2013 botched robbery that left a 12-year-old Jersey City boy dead is expected to testify today against the man accused of the killing.

JERSEY CITY -- A woman who pleaded guilty to taking part in the May 2013 botched robbery that left a 12-year-old Jersey City boy dead is expected to testify today in a Hudson County courtroom against the man accused of the killing.

Janice S. Everett, 28, of Rahway, was initially charged with felony murder, but she pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy to commit robbery and agreed to cooperate with the state's case against Farrarhd H. Gunter of Newark, who is standing trial in the murder of Gywan Levine Jr.

The state says that Everett pulled over her Chrysler 300 in Jersey City on the night of the shooting, and her boyfriend, Shawn Harris, 36, of Irvington, and Gunter, 36, got out. The two men then walked to where Gywan Levine Sr. and his son were playing basketball and opened fire during a robbery, according to the state.

Levine Sr. was shot in the leg and robbed, but he survived his injuries. His son was struck in the upper arm by a bullet that then penetrated his chest, killing him, authorities have said.

Harris was also charged with felony murder, but he too pleaded guilty and is also expected to testify against Gunter. Harris admitted two counts of armed robbery.

Authorities have said that police tracked down the trio after Everett tried to use Levine Sr.'s credit card -- which was taken in the robbery -- online to buy sneakers for Harris. Everett provided information that led authorities to Harris and Gunter.

U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone visited Perth Amboy on Monday to highlight the need for improvements on the state's water infrastructure.

U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone (D-Dist. 6) met with Perth Amboy Mayor Wilda Diaz along with members of the Perth Amboy City Council on Monday, April 18, 2016, in Perth Amboy to highlight the need for improvements to New Jersey's water infrastructure.Submitted Photo

PERTH AMBOY — U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. said the state's water infrastructure is in dire condition.

Though he said the issue wasn't a particularly "sexy" one, he nevertheless said it is one in which needs to be addressed — immediately.

Pallone (D—6th Dist.) visited Perth Amboy on Monday and met with the city's mayor, Wilda Diaz, and members of the Perth Amboy City Council to highlight the need for repairs to various aging water systems around the state.

"They are very dire," he said in an interview with NJ Advance Media.

The problem, he said, funding for water infrastructure in the state has remained stagnant for too many years.

In February, Pallone introduced the AQUA Act, which "which significantly increases water infrastructure funding authorization so local communities can repair and replace their aging water systems," a statement from the congressman's office read.

The AQUA Act reauthorizes the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (SRF) — which is the "primary source of federal funding for drinking water infrastructure projects" — for five years at higher levels "to meet the growing needs gap," the statement said.

Perth Amboy received a $1.7-million grant from the SRF, Pallone said.

He added that Congress has "neglected to reauthorize the program" which is putting it in danger of being eliminated each year."

The lack of funding, he said, led to the crisis in Flint, and other communities.

"You would hope there would be support for this," Pallone said. "They (Congress) haven't even passed the bill over Flint. I do think there is more and more awareness, so hopefully it something that can spur a bipartisan approach."

New Jersey's systems, he said, are among those communities in serious need of improvements. There are 11 cities in the state with high lead levels, according to a previous report which cited 2014 statistics from the New Jersey Department of Health.

New Brunswick was listed as having high lead levels as were Irvington, East Orange, Trenton, Newark, Paterson, Plainfield, Jersey City, Elizabeth, Atlantic City, and Passaic, along with Salem and Cumberland counties.

Pallone said lead pipes were band 30 years ago, "and yet we have so many pipes left over in the urban areas," he said.

For more information on the AQUA Act, visit www.pallone.house.gov.

Spencer Kent may be reached at skent@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @SpencerMKent. Find the Find NJ.com on Facebook.

An attorney for the Newark-based college confirmed it received subpoenas from the U.S. Attorney's office late last week Watch video

NEWARK - Already dogged by the suspension of its president and a state investigation, Essex County College now appears to be under scrutiny by the federal government.

Joe Hayden, an attorney for the college, said the school received a subpoena from U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman's office late last week. He declined to say exactly what materials the office was seeking.

"I don't think it's appropriate to go into the documents, but we will promptly and efficiently comply with (the subpoenas)," he said.

Matthew Reilly, a spokesman for Fishman, said the office could neither confirm or deny the existence of any investigation.

College scandal widens with state subpoenas, new focus on athletics

Its apparent foray into the school, however, marks at least the second law enforcement agency to request documents from the Newark-based community college since its Board of Trustees suspended President Gale Gibson and General Counsel and Vice President for Human Resources Rashidah Hasan in late March.

Less than two weeks later, the state attorney general's office issued subpoenas for documents related to a credit card spending scandal in the school's athletic department. Longtime track and cross country coach Michael Smart resigned in October after being unable to produce receipts for tens of thousands in expenses on the school-issued cards.

Multiple sources at the school, who asked not to be identified because they were not authorized to speak on the matter, confirmed the state comptroller's office is also in the midst of a wide-ranging investigation into the school's finances.

A. Zachary Yamba, an Essex County College President Emeritus who agreed to replace Gibson on an acting basis last month, said he had directed staff to comply with any and all requests for documents, but declined to comment directly on any of the probes.

"They've been coming fast and furious," he said.

The college has been thrust into turmoil since the suspensions of Gibson and Hasan, which Gibson claims is retribution for raising concerns over the athletic credit card spending, county officials' use of a campus print shop and other alleged financial irregularities.

The school's Board of Trustees, meanwhile, alleges Gibson overstepped her authority on multiple occasions, including raiding employee hard drives and blocking colleagues from lodging complaints or otherwise communicating with its members. Attorneys for both Gibson and Hasan could not be reached for comment.

The controversies have also caught the eye of the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, the non-profit group that accredits area colleges.

Richard Pokrass, a spokesman for the commission, confirmed that it sent a letter to school officials April 4 requesting a supplemental report "addressing recent developments at the College which may have implications for current and future compliance" with several of the commission's 14 accreditation standards, including institutional resources, leadership and governance, administration and integrity.

Essex County College has faced issues with accreditation before. In 2011, the school received a formal warning in 2011 that it could face probation if it didn't improve methods of measuring how the institution was performing and whether students were learning what they should in class.

Accreditation is critical to any institution's operations, and students at non-accredited schools could have difficulty obtaining financial aid or run into problems with other colleges if they try to transfer credits or enroll in graduate school.

Yamba said he was not concerned that the multiple probes might place its accreditation in danger.

"Anytime a member institution makes headlines in the press, it's due diligence basically to send a letter," he said. "A lot of things are happening, however, we are on top of the situation."

Marcus Feliz appeared in court on charges related to the April 10 shooting death of Shani Patel

NEWARK -- A Newark man pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to charges in a double shooting earlier this month that left a Rutgers-Newark student dead.

Marcus Feliz, 25, entered the plea through his attorney, Joseph Rotella, when he was arraigned on murder, felony murder and robbery charges in connection with the April 10 killing of 21-year-old Toms River native Shani Patel.

Another suspect, Fraynned Ramirez, 26, of Hartford, Conn., also has been charged with those offenses and he remains at large, authorities said. Neither Ramirez nor Feliz were Rutgers students, authorities said.

During Tuesday's hearing, Feliz appeared in a green prison uniform with black-rimmed eyeglasses.

Superior Court Judge Ronald Wigler said Feliz's bail amount would remain at $750,000 and he has been required to surrender his passport. Wigler said the matter would be referred to the grand jury.

Rotella said during the hearing that Feliz would cooperate with the state's request to obtain a DNA sample from him. Feliz remains in custody at the Essex County Correctional Facility.

The incident occurred at about 10 p.m. in Patel's off-campus Central Avenue apartment, authorities said. His roommate, a 23-year-old Rutgers-Newark alum, also was injured in the shooting.

Police sources have said the incident may have been a targeted, drug-related robbery.

Bill Wichert may be reached at bwichert@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @BillWichertNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.