Find out which high schools in your area made the list of the highest SAT scores in New Jersey.

TRENTON -- The average SAT score in New Jersey may have dropped in 2014-15, but plenty of local high schools helped keep New Jersey's score above the national average. 

Across the state, 185 public high schools posted an average score higher than the national average of 1,490, according to state data. More than 20 schools had an average score above 1,800, including six with an average score higher than 2,000. 

The exams are graded on a 2,400-point scale. 

Overall, New Jersey's average score was 1,508, according to the state Department of Education, a 6-point drop from the year before. Vocational-technical schools with selective enrollment dominated the list of the high schools with the highest scores. 

Among the SAT score highlights in New Jersey: 

• The Academy For Mathematics Science And Engineering in Morris County had an average score of 2,247, the highest in the state. 
• Princeton High School's 1,873 average score was the highest among high schools without selective enrollment. 
• North Star Academy in Newark led New Jersey's charter schools with an average score of 1,536.

View the gallery above to the see the schools with the 25 highest scores. Find your district's score here. 

While the importance of SAT scores may be fading as some colleges no longer require applicants to submit their score, New Jersey has one of the highest participation rates in the country at 81 percent of the Class of 2015 taking the test. 

The average score per section was 496 in critical reading, 518 in mathematics and 494 in writing. 

Students who took the SAT after March of this year will receive their score on the traditional 1,600-point scale. The writing section became optional this year as part of a series of changes to the test. 

Adam Clark may be reached at adam_clark@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on twitter at @realAdamClark. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Maplewood joins more than a dozen other towns in New Jersey that have passed similar laws.

MAPLEWOOD -- Under 21 and looking to buy cigarettes? Not in Maplewood.

The committee governing the suburban township voted Wednesday to raise the smoking age from the state-mandated 19 to 21, Mayor Vic DeLuca confirmed. The new ordinance, which goes into effect Aug. 17, applies to all tobacco and nicotine product sales within the township, he said.

While discussing the ordinance, DeLuca said he was inspired to propose the idea to the committee after Gov. Chris Christie vetoed a measure in January that would have raised the statewide smoking age to 21.

"Absent state action, I felt it was a leadership moment to enact a local measure that will promote public health and prevent younger kids from being introduced to smoking," he told NJ Advance Media.

In a video of the June 8 meeting, DeLuca said the governor "failed in his responsibility to protect (young people)." 

Lawmakers passed the statewide bill earlier this year, and Christie's veto was seen as a win for retailers who argued that they would lose out on not only tobacco sales, but also on ancillary sales of items people picked up while shopping for cigarettes. It was estimated that the state would have lost $16.2 million in sales tax revenue if the law had gone through.

Essex joins counties banning smoking at parks

But, proponents of the law have pointed to health statistics about smoking to back it. According to the Centers for Disease Control, smoking kills 480,000 Americans every year, and about 40 million Americans smoke. Recent research suggesting that most smokers begin using tobacco at a young age, and that raising the minimum smoking age could curb the number of people who take it up, has prompted towns and cities across the country to pass similar measures.

Maplewood Committeewoman India Larrier called the ordinance "an excellent step in protecting our youth."

In a Star-Ledger editorial earlier this year, Linda J. Schwimmer, the President & CEO of the New Jersey Health Care Quality Institute, encouraged New Jersey towns to do the same, pointing to the New Jersey law that allows municipalities to create more stringent laws regarding the sale of tobacco. As of January, at least 15 other towns had similar laws on the books.

In the video, Maplewood Committeeman Greg Lembrich said he was initially against the measure. He was, he said, uneasy about creating two separate sets of rules for adults in the township, and acknowledged that younger cigarette buyers could just cross town lines to buy tobacco products elsewhere.

"That shouldn't prevent us from being a leader," he said, noting that he was swayed by health statistics to support the law.

"(I) hope that other communities and eventually the entire state of New Jersey follow our lead." 

Jessica Mazzola may be reached at jmazzola@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @JessMazzola. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Savion Glover, the Tony-nominated choreographer of 'Shuffle Along,' says he will join the production in July

Savion Glover has never stopped dancing.

"Performing is where I live," says the Newark-born tap sensation who learned to dance at age seven.

And after a few years out of the spotlight, Glover has returned in a major way. His widely-praised tap choreography for "Shuffle Along, Or The Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed" earned him his fourth Tony nomination. In the year of the "Hamilton" juggernaut, many are predicting the underdog Glover will actually snag the prize away from "Hamilton"'s Andy Blankenbueler. 

And last month it was announced that Glover will also join the cast of the musical, alongside stars Audra McDonald, Billy Porter and Brian Stokes Mitchell. It will mark his first Broadway stage appearance since 1996's "Bring in 'Da Noise, Bring in 'Da Funk," for which he won the Tony for Best Choreography and was nominated for Best Actor. (Both "Shuffle Along" and "Bring in 'Da Noise" were directed by Glover's longtime collaborator and mentor, George C. Wolfe.) 

"I enjoy it all," Glover says, when asked about the rigors of creating a new show --  as well as trying to sell it and make it a hit. "I'm grateful to be able to share the dance in any way (I can). So whether it's preparing for the Tonys or for TV shows, I just enjoy what I do. I'm thankful to be a vessel, or messenger, for the dance."

When we caught up with him in the lobby of New York's Music Box Theater, he was in the midst of a full court press of awards season activities -- including appearances at last weekend's Drama Desk awards, where the show won Best Musical and Glover picked up the Best Choreography prize. ("Hamilton," eligible last year for those prizes, was not a factor.) 

"Shuffle Along" is about the making of a real 1921 musical (also called "Shuffle Along") that gave a boost to the careers of future legends Josephine Baker and Nat King Cole. Glover labored alongside Wolfe and the cast for months to bring the show to life.

And with so much history and so much talent to pay tribute to, one of the challenges was to bring the show in under three hours.

"Some of the things that got cut were some of my more challenging pieces," Glover laments. "We had a whole dream ballet section --which was a beautiful number -- but it didn't even make it in to previews."

Which isn't to say Glover's work isn't on ample display onstage. Among the most dance-heavy shows in recent memory, "Shuffle Along" finds Glover making a particularly expressive use of tap, which is here required to convey not just the characters' joy but their disappointments and strivings. Writing in the Chicago Tribune, critic Chris Jones called Glover's work "the show's calling card, entry point and, although it may not at first seem so, its most radical gesture."

Glover is clearly happy with how the show turned out. "The whole journey was wonderful. It's like having a baby," he laughs. "Of course, I think the baby is beautiful."

"Shuffle Along" is Glover's only new creative baby of late, either. In addition to creating dances and a possible future collaboration with Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, he has also taken on a new role as one of three artistic advisors for the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark.

"I think that my presence at New Jersey Performing Arts Center as dance ambassador -- and myself being on the board -- will allow for another generation to feel like the NJPAC is available to them," Glover says.

"There's a whole generation who might not be familiar with Lang Lang (the superstar Chinese pianist that performed at NJPAC last year) or that genre of music. At the same time, there's a whole generation that might not know anything about Alvin Ailey or Dance Theater of Harlem. So I think if they see or hear someone speaking about the importance of these companies and artists, maybe they will come check it out."

In speaking with Glover, it also seems clear that the main reason he took on this position with NJPAC is his passion for his hometown.

"I was born and raised in Newark," he says as he heads back into rehearsal. "My school is in Newark N.J., my business is in Newark, N.J. That's home. I just come to New York to visit and work sometimes."

James C. Taylor can be reached writejamesctaylor@gmail.com. Find NJ.com/Entertainment on Facebook.

More than 50 people turned out for this New Jersey high school's first comic-con on Saturday, wearing character outfits and exchanging books and toys.

MAPLEWOOD -- High school walls are often covered with support for the school's sports teams or flyers for an upcoming dance.

That's why on Saturday afternoon, 17-year-old Lyric Patterson said she and other students were thrilled Columbia High School on Parker Avenue held its first-ever comic-con in celebration of comics, movies, anime and sci-fi, to name a few. 

"This is a new light for the school," Patterson said of the day-long event hosted by the school's Comicology Club, which consists of about 12 kids. "It shows there's nothing wrong with being a nerd or geek -- someday we're going to rule the world anyway." 

Students roamed the school's cafeteria, glancing at cartoon artwork and toys made from sci-fi films. Susan Rinaldi, 68, of South Orange, stood behind her table, displaying toys and antiques she collected over the years from movies such as "Super Smash Bros" and Star Trek."

"Capt. Kirk was supposed to be my first husband, but that guy got the luck of it," she said, nodding to her 80-year-old husband Dan. 

Tom Jeron, 46, of Pompton Lakes, who works for South Orange-Maplewood School District and helped organize the event, said more than 50 people came out to meet the 20 vendors and guests. Jeron, wearing a "Batman" polo T-shirt, said he hopes to make the event an annual gathering. 

One of the guests was Matt Bell, who has been impersonating Marty McFly from "Back to the Future" for more than seven years. The 31-year-old from New Milford said he does about 40 events a year, imitating the fictional character played by Michael J. Fox. 

NJ man, 95, is oldest working comic book artist 

Another was 45-year-old Will Torres, of North Plainfield, who said he fell in love with drawing cartoon characters while watching the original "Spider-Man" at the age of 7. Three years ago, Torres said his artwork was featured on the 27-story billboard attached to retailer American Eagle Outfitters in Times Square. 

"I don't think I'll ever see my artwork that big ever again," said Torres, who is working on a comic book he hopes is published within a year. 

When the school's Comicology Club meets, Patterson said, they talk about diversity in comics and how women characters are often sexualized. 

Sometimes, women aren't seen enough in the industry. As 40-year-old Robert Lee was leaving the event with his 5-year-old son Harrison -- who he said "could name Batman's villains before he could name his vegetables" -- Jeron stopped him to say there was something he didn't like about his shirt, covered in comic book characters.

"There's not a single female on that shirt," Jeron said, pointing to what Lee was wearing. "I almost bought that shirt a couple years ago but didn't because of that reason."

"Oh, you're right," Lee said, holding his son's hand. "This must be the most misogynistic shirt I own. I feel so bad." 

Two men dressed as Gen. Veers and a storm trooper from the film series "Star Wars" stood outside the high school most of the day. Under the outfits were Taylor Goodson, 26, and Bryan Phil, 43, who volunteer at 501st Legion, a Star Wars costume organization. Goodson said the 10,000-person group has 80 New Jersey volunteers, who create costumes and work events such as comic-cons or hospital visits.

In the parking lot, spectators took cellphone photographs of replicas of the 1966 Batmobile and the "Back to the Future" DeLorean, provided at the happening by Delorean-Entertainment. 

As of 2 p.m., legendary comic book writer Dennis J. "Denny" O'Neil was on his way to the gathering, which was scheduled to end at 5 p.m. Voice Actor Tatyana Yassukovich, who voiced Barriss Offee in the TV series "Star Wars: The Clone Wars," was also at the turnout. 

Yassukovich said she enjoys the "geekdom" of comic-cons. 

"People get so crazed," she said. "It's just like being a Bernie Sanders supporter or a Philadelphia Eagles fan."

Luke Nozicka may be reached at lnozicka@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @lukenozicka.

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During his stop at the Essex County Courthouse on Friday afternoon, his Imperial Majesty Ooni Adeyeye Enitan Babatunde Ogunwusi spoke of the need for peace. Watch video

NEWARK -- For citizens like Fikayo Ojo, having an African king in the city was a milestone.

"It is a significant thing for the Africans and Nigerians in the area," the 29-year-old from the city said of his Imperial Majesty Ooni Adeyeye Enitan Babatunde Ogunwusi, the head of Ife, a Yoruba city in Nigeria, who spoke to a crowd Friday afternoon outside the Essex County Courthouse on Market Street. 

The king, who is in the region for the Odunde Festival -- a Sunday celebration in Philadelphia to honor African culture -- preached of peace and unity to the crowd of a couple dozen people. He talked of how there were once no boundaries in Africa. 

"It has been proven scientifically that everybody, be it white folks, be it black folks ... immigrated out of Africa," he said. "Why should we not all come together as one happy family? ... Why can't we make everything (even)?"

Before making his appearance at the courthouse -- which was met with swarms of people trying to get cellphone photographs of the king -- he stopped by Newark Mayor Ras Baraka's office, County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo said. 

The newly-appointed African king got a taste of New York on Friday morning, when he was delayed for the news conference because of traffic, organizers told the crowd. About 30 people waited at least an hour and a half to see the king. 

DiVincenzo said having the king in the city was important considering its diverse population, including a "strong Nigerian community." 

Some in that community referred to the king Friday as a hero or father. He may also be seen as "a different example of an African," said Akil Kokayi Khalfani, director of the Africana Institute at Essex County College.

"We often don't have African royalties come to the U.S.," he said. "Sometimes people have negative ideas about Africans, so to have him present is very meaningful."

The king, who started as the 51st "Ooni" of his region in December, was greeted at the courthouse by several freeholders and former Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver, who at one point teared up during the king's speech. 

"Your majesty I must tell you, your citizens of Nigeria that have adopted New Jersey as their home serve you with great honor and distinction," she said, which was followed by a roar of cheers. 

Kehinde Omisore, 36, who brought her 2-year-old son Ademola out to see the king, said she was thrilled to see the leader of her hometown. 

"This is a huge occasion and a great honor," said Omisore, who was born and raised in Nigeria. "We're just so excited to be out here."

Luke Nozicka may be reached at lnozicka@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @lukenozicka. Find NJ.com on Facebook and Twitter.

The EMTs were live-streaming on Periscope when an emergency call came in and they remained at the drive-thru

James Hovan in a screehshot from the live-stream videoNews 12 New Jersey 

NEWARK -- Two EMS workers for a hospital in Newark were suspended without pay for waiting more than several minutes for their dinner at a drive-thru restaurant before responding to a call, according to a report.

The incident, which occurred Thursday night at the White Castle in Newark, was captured on live-streaming video, prompting at least one viewer of the Periscope video to question why the EMTs, who work for University Hospital, didn't immediately head out to the call, reports New 12 New Jersey.

At one point, one of the workers responds to the viewer by saying he wasn't about to leave his dinner waiting while they responded to a call that was most likely a "taxi ride," a reference to people feigning life-threatening emergencies to get transportation to the hospital for non-emergency conditions.

"I'd be willing to bet my paycheck this is a taxi ride," EMS worker James Hovan is heard saying on the video.

They eventually responded to a second call, but after they had received their dinner, which included an order of mozzarella sticks for Hovan, according to the video.

Hospital spokeswoman Stacie Newton told News 12 Hovan and his partner were on unpaid administrative leave.

"University Hospital is deeply concerned about this matter.  The individuals involved have been placed on unpaid administrative leave pending an investigation," Newton told NJ Advance Media.

Mayor Ras Baraka convened a political roundtable to discuss issues affecting urban communities of color.

NEWARK -- As the nation gears up for November's general election, Mayor Ras Baraka is preparing to throw in his two cents.

African-American leaders have concerns, Baraka said, and they want the presidential candidates to hear them.

The mayor this weekend convened a political roundtable in Newark to produce an action agenda regarding urban communities of color for presentation to the campaigns of presumptive party nominees Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. 

The leaders who joined the roundtable hoped to deepen the conversation about urban issues happening in the national political arena by raising questions about the cost of housing, day care and college, among other topics.

"Those issues aren't really addressed," Baraka said Friday. "And we think the only way to address them is to create a dialogue."

The three-day conference on "Power Politics and Community Reinvestment" includes panel discussions about education, income inequality, the Black Lives Matter movement, and arts and culture. 

Although the panelists are contributing to an action agenda to be given to the presidential candidates, Baraka said the purpose of the roundtable lies deeper than that presentation. 

"We're doing this because we have to," he said. "We have to put the agenda together, we have to push the momentum. ... I don't expect specific people to respond, but what they have to expect in their non-response is our reaction to their inability to respond." 

In other words: The point of the roundtable is to raise voices, regardless of whether Clinton and Trump speak back. 

Roundtable participants included Frank Mena, Belize's minister of state; Beverly Bond, founder of non-profit Black Girls Rock; Etan Thomas, a retired NBA player; and others.

Baraka has recently been vocal about several issues facing Newark residents. Last month, he said "a huge need" for more low-income homes in the city has left 20,000 residents on a waiting list for public housing. 

He also led a march at the Port Newark-Elizabeth Marine Terminal to urge the longshoremen unions there to hire more black Newark residents. 

MORE ESSEX COUNTY NEWS

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

The three-day event in Newark runs through Sunday

NEWARK -- The Ironbound section of Newark came alive on Saturday with the sound of traditional Portuguese music and the hearty smell of barbecue during the annual Portugal Day Festival. The cultural celebration attracted thousands of festival-goers.  

The three-day event which began Friday offers a variety of ethnic food. The most popular traditional foods were grilled sardines, chourico sausages, Portuguese barbecue chicken and sangria.  

The festival offered plenty of entertainment including  performances by various musicians, Portuguese recording artists and classical guitarists. Most of the live entertainment starts at around 5 p.m. daily.

The family-friendly event had dozens of vendors and carnival type games for children.

Adults and kids could test their soccer skills at the New York Red Bulls BULLevard by running through various drills and games.  Members of the Street Team performed freestyle tricks and also interacted with kids.

On Sunday the festival runs from noon to 10 p.m. A Portuguese parade will kick off at 3 p.m. starting at Ferry Street and Wilson Avenue.

Patti Sapone may be reached at psapone@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @psapone. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Anyone with information asked to call investigators

ORANGE -- A 24-year-old Orange resident was wounded in a shooting near Metcalf Park, a city spokesman said Saturday.

The victim was shot in the abdomen and leg around 7 p.m. Friday near the Argyle Avenue entrance to the park, according to spokesman Keith Royster. The injuries were not considered life-threatening, the spokesman said.

Emergency services brought the victim to University Hospital in Newark for treatment, Royster said.

Reward offered as colleagues 'heartbroken' over killing

The investigation was ongoing and anyone with information was asked to call 973-266-4111, extensions 5064 or 5051.

Noah Cohen may be reached at ncohen@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @noahyc. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Male found early Saturday

NEWARK -- A person died after he was found suffering from what appeared to be a head injury on Lincoln Avenue early Saturday in the city, authorities said.

The person, identified only as a male, was discovered lying in the street unconscious, according to Chief Assistant Prosecutor Thomas Fennelly, of the Essex County Prosecutor's Office. He was pronounced dead at University Hospital around 11:40 a.m.

The cause and manner of death were pending an autopsy, Fennelly said. The prosecutor's Major Crimes Task Force, including city detectives, were investigating the death.

Reward offered as colleagues 'heartbroken' over killing

Noah Cohen may be reached at ncohen@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @noahyc. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Where to find all of your action for the 2016 state finals.

Where to find all of your action for the 2016 state finals.

Officer expected to survive after serious injuries, public safety director says

NEWARK -- A Newark police officer suffered serious injuries when he was struck and dragged by a car that fled the scene early Sunday, authorities said.

The 37-year-old officer, who was listed in stable condition Sunday night, was attempting to issue a traffic summons to a vehicle around 3:40 a.m. near Foundry and Roanoke streets when that vehicle hit him, according to Acting Essex County Prosecutor Carolyn Murray and Newark Public Safety Director Anthony Ambrose.

The officer, a 14-year veteran of the force, was expected to survive, Ambrose said earlier on Sunday. Authorities did not release the officer's name, citing safety reasons.

No arrests have been made and the investigation was ongoing, according to Chief Assistant Prosecutor Thomas Fennelly, of the prosecutor's Major Crimes Unit. Preliminary reports from the prosecutor's office first said a second vehicle hit the officer, but the agency corrected that account in a statement issued later.

"A police officer was almost killed this morning because a driver didn't want to get a ticket, choosing to flee and drag the officer 80 yards down the street," said Newark Fraternal Order of Police President James Stewart Jr. "He is surrounded by family at the hospital and has a long road to recovery ahead of him."

More than 70 sworn in as Newark police officers, firefighters

The Essex County Prosecutor's Office and city police were investigating. Fennelly said more details were not immediately available Sunday night.

Noah Cohen may be reached at ncohen@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @noahyc. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

"Give (the money) to Sandy victims first and when all the victims are back in their homes, give it to someone's pet project," one official says. Watch video

A state program to lend more than $400 million in taxpayer dollars to replenish affordable housing lost during Hurricane Sandy so far has assisted fewer than two dozen victims of the storm, state statistics show.

The Fund for Restoration of Multifamily Housing began disbursing zero- and low-interest loans in 2014 in the nine counties most affected by Sandy, with the caveat that Sandy victims on limited incomes be given priority on the new rental units.

But of the 2,000 units completed with the help of the public money, only 15 are occupied by New Jersey residents whose homes were damaged or destroyed, according to the state Department of Community Affairs.

Critics contend the program, which has so far allocated to developers $413 million of $591 million, helps investors and builders more than people affected by the storm.

"Sandy money should be used to get people back in their homes," said John Ducey, mayor of Brick Township. "There wasn't any affordable housing affected here. Give (the money) to Sandy victims first and when all the victims are back in their homes, give it to someone's pet project."

See where the money went

Other local and state officials, as well as developers, dismissed the criticism and said the program revealed a silver lining of the storm: long-needed money to help address the state's serious lack of affordable housing.

The number of victims moving into the units was "predicted to be very, very low" from the start, said Anthony Marchetta, executive director of the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency, which administers the program.

"Let's face it, the storm was three and a half years ago," Marchetta said. "Most people have already adjusted their living environment."

Developers, including for-profit and nonprofit companies as well as public housing authorities that receive the money, must give Sandy victims a 90-day priority when units go on the market and follow rules about notice and advertising.

Christina Stoltz, 55, said that outreach is lacking. Her Beach Haven West home was destroyed during the massive storm, and she has had to move in and out of several affordable housing apartments while waiting for it to be rebuilt.

Not far from where Stoltz lives now, in Barnegat, a new development is under construction with the help of $8.3 million in loans from the state program. But she said she had no idea people like herself could get priority when it's complete.

"I think it's a lack of knowledge," Stoltz said. "I'm positive people don't know about this. I'm involved in Sandy programs and I don't know about it. If I don't know about it, you know the public doesn't know about it. And that's horrible."

Money for the program was part of a $4.2 billion relief package awarded by the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development to help the state recover and rebuild. A spokesman for the department declined comment.

The nearly 60 projects that have been awarded money, including 27 that are complete, will create approximately 4,000 units for low- and moderate-income families and senior citizens. The program also sets aside money for rehabilitation of public housing and administrative costs.

But from the start the program faced criticism over who it was benefitting most.

In 2013, Gov. Chris Christie's administration came under fire after The Star-Ledger reported it awarded millions to a proposed senior housing complex in Belleville even though the town sustained little damage. The award came shortly before the town's Democratic mayor endorsed Christie for re-election.

A follow-up review in 2014 found a third of the money that had been awarded was earmarked for projects in Essex and Middlesex counties, while many hard-hit shore communities in Ocean County saw relatively little of it. Later that year, the state adopted new rules to send more money there and Monmouth County.

Those changes also happened, in part, because of a settlement reached between the state and several affordable housing and minority advocacy groups that had filed a federal administrative complaint over the distribution of Sandy aid money.

A spokesman for one of those groups, the Fair Share Housing Center, a frequent adversary of the administration, declined comment on the number of victims living in the housing but said, overall, the organization was happy with the program.

"This was an incredible program to fund properly, to make sure New Jersey's working-class families weren't discluded from the recovery," the spokesman, Anthony Campisi, said.

And that's because, for advocates who had long fought for more affordable housing, the loans are a welcome catalyst. And builders say they were necessary help.

Brad Ingerman, a developer behind the $200 million transformation of a 55-acre abandoned glass factory in Aberdeen Township, said at an unveiling ceremony in April he never thought he would be "so thankful for a hurricane or superstorm."

"But Sandy money came along and it made the affordable housing aspect of this project viable," Ingerman said.

The site will soon feature 540 new residential units, including 110 affordable units financed with nearly $18 million in loans through the state program.

Determining whether the program is really helping Sandy victims or not is difficult because the state does not track how many are not back in their homes, said Amanda Devecka-Rinear, director of the New Jersey Organizing Project.

"I think it's outrageous," Devecka-Rinear said.

Recovery advocates estimate the number to be at least 5,000 based on how many households received aid money but have not yet been completed. That, however, does not include renters or people who did not receive aid from the state.

Lisa Ryan, a community affairs spokeswoman, confirmed the state does not keep tabs on victims. And nailing down an exact figure of how many people are still displaced is a "tough question to answer," said Jay Lynch, the planner for Toms River.

Still, he said the town's pleased with the results: One complex has been completed there with help of the program, and several more are in the pipeline.

"It became a very efficient way to provide much needed housing," Lynch said.

NJ Advance Media reporter Stephen Stirling contributed to this report.

Alex Napoliello may be reached at anapoliello@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @alexnapoNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Great stories from the sectional playoffs right through the finals at Kean

Teams and players that made a mark in the year's tourney

Quality-of-life crackdown at city's busiest intersection

It was high noon on a very sunny Thursday at the corner of the busiest intersection in Newark.

Lunch time at the corner of Broad and Market, like rush hour and when schools let out, is a busy time for the local, ah, entrepreneurs.

When the busses, businesses and schools empty out, the hand-to-hand drug dealers and panhandlers are there to meet and greet.

But on this day last week, the corner boys saw more cops than customers, as part of a new police initiative to clean up Broad and Market.

Newark police officers Ercelle Spellman and Janet Santiago, in uniform and wearing hi-viz green/yellow vests, approached two young men standing in the vestibule of a convenience store called Brothers Traders.

"What are you doing down here?" Spellman asked.

"Waiting for the bus," one answered.

"The bus stop is over there," she said. "If you're waiting for the bus, go to the bus stop."

They moved along, which store owner Mohammed Rony said is "very good for us."

"They come (the small vestibule) like it's their store, not ours, like they're the owners," Rony said. "But the last few days with all the police (around) has been very good."

MORE: Recent Mark Di Ionno columns

The police come on foot, on horseback, stand-up scooters, motorcycles and black-and-white patrol cars.

Those are the ones you see.

The department is also using plainclothes and undercover officers, with some help from the Essex County Sheriff's office, during "quality of life" sweeps in the downtown area, spreading out from Four Corners.

During an operation in the first week of June, police made 30 arrests and seized 51 decks of heroin, 15 bags of pot and about 191 prescription painkillers.

They also wrote 35 quality of life summonses, which include littering, unlicensed peddling and obstructing public passageway. They made 63 traffic stops and wrote 110 motor vehicle violations.

That was just the first sweep. Anthony Ambrose, the city's public safety director says they will keep coming -- and frequently.

"This is no one-day thing," he said. "We're changing how we do things."

The intersection of Broad and Market streets has been the center of Newark since its founding. Robert Treat actually lived there.

During the 1910s and 20s, "Four Corners" was known as the busiest intersection in the world. Whether it was true or not, a one-day count by the state in October of 1926, saw 26,228 cars, 6,742 buses and trolleys, and 3,474 trucks pass through the intersection.

The city's oldest skyscrapers - Fireman's Insurance building, National Newark (744 Broad) and 1180 Raymond Boulevard - were built near the intersection.

But the bustle of the 1920s is very different than the modern chaos of Four Corners.

"When I took over (in December)," Ambrose said, "the first thing the mayor (Ras Baraka) said to me was, 'We've got to clean up Broad and Market.

"He said, "Every time I walk through there, and I got three or four drug dealers approaching me."

Margie Toney, owner of Urban Eyewear, has been in business on the corner for six years, and loves the new police presence.

"I had to replace the door twice, that window once and that window once," she said, pointing to her storefront. "Everything is Plexiglas now so the kids can't break it.

"I have a hard time keeping employees," she said. "They don't feel safe."

Toney has had stores in Paterson, Brooklyn and the Bronx and said Newark is the first place she's ever hired a security guard.

"His job is to keep the kids away from the door."

She said her biggest problem is when school lets out and hundreds of kids converge on the intersection.

"They've had fights that stop traffic," she said.

Toney said one fight happened when her landlord, Michael Hirschhorn, was showing a vacancy to representatives from Burlington Coat Factory.

"That was that," she said. "They didn't want the business."

And that is bad for business.

"This is the hub of the city," Ambrose said. "You can't a negative perception. We're going to get rid of those negative perceptions."

"We hear from business owners all the time," said Newark Police Sgt. Louis Plaza, who is in charge of the Newark Downtown Task Force, housed in a storefront next to the old Paramount.  

"They love having us on the street," he said. "It makes them feel we have a vested interest in their success."

Lee Young pays $250 a year for his peddlers' license and has a cart stocked with Afrocentric merchandise. He is glad the city is cracking down on "guys who put out a blanket on the street.

"I'm doing everything right, I pay for my spot, and those guys hurt my business," he said. "They just add to the chaos."

On Thursday, there were lunch time concerts in Military Park, with food trucks and outdoor exhibits. There are luxury apartments in the old skyscrapers, new stores and apartments at Teacher's Village, a new Prudential office towers and the Hahne's Building project is moving along. A large retail, residential and hotel complex called Four Corners Millennium is planned.

All of the good is in jeopardy if the chaos overwhelms it.

"We can't tolerate open air drug markets. It's tough. You arrest one guy, another guy takes over," Ambrose said. "But we'll get it done."

Mark Di Ionno may be reached at mdiionno@starledger.com. Follow The Star-Ledger on Twitter @StarLedger and find us on Facebook.

Seventy-one students received their diplomas at graduation.

Saint Vincent Academy commencement speaker Quovella Maeweather Spruill, center, with class of 2016 salutatorian Chiamaka Onwunaka, left, and valedictorian Adebola Adeagbo at graduation. 

NEWARK -- Saint Vincent Academy bid farewell to the 71 members of the Class of 2016 during a graduation ceremony held June 5 at the school.

Class salutatorian Chiamaka Onwunaka of Bloomfield offered an invocation and Adebola Adeagbo of Irvington delivered the valedictory address before handing over the podium to Quovella Maeweather Spruill, the first female chief of detectives in the Essex County Prosecutor's Office and a member of the Class of 1988, for the commencement address.

Every member of the school's Class of 2016 will attend college in the fall.

To submit school news send an email to essex@starledger.com.

The 78-year-old Paper Mill Playhouse will be awarded the Regional Theater Tony Award Sunday night for what the American Theater Wing called its tradition of world-class theatrical revivals as well as its more recent history as a launching pad for Broadway productions. Opened in a once-derelict paper mill in Millburn in 1938, the theater survived a devastating fire in 1981 and near financial ruin in 2007 and is now a sought-after partner for major Broadway producers, with two shows in the last season alone — "Bandstand" and "A Bronx Tale: The Musical" — transferring to the Great White Way.

The West Orange-raised son of Nigerian immigrants, Okieriete Onaodowan plays both the swaggering Hercules Mulligan and the prissy James Madison in 'Hamilton,' which earned a record 16 Tony nominations and a Pulitzer Prize for creator Lin-Manuel Miranda

Following a recent matinee performance of the blockbuster musical "Hamilton," co-star Daveed Diggs is holding court in the center of the "Hamilton" stage, pressing the flesh, flashing his wide smile for selfies with a few lucky star-struck fans allowed to linger after the rest of the audience has been sent away. The wild-haired performer, whom many say steal the show as both the speed-rapping Marquise de Lafayette and the flashy Thomas Jefferson, is the odds-on favorite to bring home the Tony Sunday for best featured actor in a musical.

But in a show with no shortage of breakout performances -- seven actors are up for Tonys  -- Diggs' own favorite is that of Okieriete Onaodowan, the West Orange-raised performer who also plays a dual role: the swaggering spy Hercules Mulligan ("Busta Rhymes meets Donald O'Connor," read the casting notice) in the first act, and the professorial detail man James Madison in the second. 

"He is so transformative," Diggs says. "As Hercules Mulligan, he has such a huge presence, and then as James Madison, he just disappears."

Madison y Madison. #bam4ham #Presidents #whiteHouse #KatyPerry

A photo posted by TheIncredibleOak (@oaksmash) on Mar 14, 2016 at 12:25pm PDT

As if on cue, Onaodowan, 28, the son of Nigerian immigrants, quietly emerges from backstage, hands thrust in the pockets of his pinstriped pants, a cap over his close-cropped hair. Six feet tall and broad-chested -- he's a former football player -- he is more Mulligan than Madison in real-life. But he says he takes his greatest joy in embodying both men over the course the show.

"I don't want to be anyone but me, but as a versatile as possible," he says a little while later, polishing off a platter of smoked alligator in puff pastry, a glistening slab of pork belly and a mountain of short ribs and cheese grits at a Theater District restaurant. (There's a reason he's known as the Incredible Oak.) 

"I want to exercise all my muscles. I want to do plays. I want to do everything." 

He's well on his way. Since snagging and helping develop the double role in "Hamilton" before the show's Off-Broadway premiere at the Public Theater last year, he has beatboxed at the White House, traveled to Israel for the Forbes 30 Under 30 summit, and posed for photos with fans ranging from Usher to Bill Gates to Louis C.K. to his own idol Dave Chappelle. 

And just recently he was asked to play Kristoff in a lab version of the upcoming stage adaptation Disney's "Frozen," as sure a thing as possible on Broadway. It doesn't ensure him the role in the musical, scheduled to hit Broadway in 2018, but it's certainly a sign that Onaodowan has arrived after years as a struggling actor. 

"He just needed to perform," says Craig Champagne, his West Orange High School English teacher and mentor who has kept in touch since Onaodowan's graduation in 2005. "I don't mean that in terms of ego. You have to eat, sleep, drink, have sex. He needed to perform." 

Echoing, perhaps unconsciously, the show's signature call to arms "I am not throwing away my shot," Champagne adds, "I don't think he could imagine his life not doing it, that this was it. You get one chance." 

'Up in it, lovin' it'

As much as "Hamilton" is a history pageant freed of fossilized assumptions, it also a portrait of dueling temperaments -- the volcanic ambitions and desperate talents of the orphaned immigrant Alexander Hamilton versus Princeton scion Aaron Burr's cold-bloodedness and which-way-the-wind-blows caution. 

The meditation on duality extends to the casting, in which Onaodowan and Diggs, as Hamilton's compatriots Mulligan and Lafayette in the first act, become his antagonists in the second as James Madison and Thomas Jefferson.

Mulligan, a garrulous Irish-born tailor, was among Hamilton's first friends in America, and as a tailor, he eavesdropped on British officers and was able to pass crucial information to Hamilton during the war. ("His name is just the best rapper moniker I ever heard in my life," Miranda writes in "Hamilton: The Revolution," the musical's companion book. "So he gets the most fun punchlines.") Born into a wealthy slaveholding family from Virginia, James Madison, on the other hand, was brilliant but small and sickly. 

In the first act of "Hamilton," the actor's muscled frame is packed into a voluminous green suede duster with a knit cap pulled low over his forehead -- Onaodowan's personal signature, lifted by costume designer Paul Tazewell, who defines the "Hamilton" aesthetic as period from the neck down, modern from the neck up.

As Mulligan, Onaodowan brays his intro, all bluster: "Brrrah brraaah! I am Hercules Mulligan, up in it, lovin' it, yes I heard ya mother said, "Come again?" Lock up ya daughters and horses, of course it's hard to have intercourse over four sets of corsets." As Madison, though, Onaodowan's coarse rasp dissolves into a genteel professorial cadence.  

"Ideally I wanted it to be a double take," Onaodowan says. "I wanted you to forget and that at some point realize it's the same person."

'In New York you can be a new man'

Always big for his age and powerfully built, Onaodowan started playing football at West Orange High School, but he fractured his femur horsing around with some friends. It was six months before he could walk again, and with football no longer an option, he joined the school's Jubilee Choir and got involved in the theater program. "To stay out of trouble, more or less," he explains. 

"I don't know if he ever handed me an essay on time," Champagne recalls with a laugh. "He didn't need to write an essay about 'Beowulf' or Shakespeare. What he needed was an ear. The best thing I did was never collect an essay from him."

Okieriete Onaodowan played Oberon in "Midnight Madness," a musical adaptation of Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream" for the New Jersey Youth Theatre.New Jersey Youth Theatre

Onaodowan went on to win a spot in the New Jersey Youth Theatre, the well-regarded musical theater training ground then based at NJPAC. But he clashed with his parents about pursuing acting as a career; they pushed for college.

So he auditioned for and was accepted into Rutgers' competitive Mason Gross School of the Arts. He left after a year. There were auditions to attend, couches to surf, and, despite leaving school, more to learn. He remained with the New Jersey Youth Theatre, starring as Coalhouse Walker Jr. in the group's widely-praised 2006 production of "Ragtime," and later worked as an assistant teacher under Janeece Freeman Clark.

"No matter who was the teacher, he would take out a notebook and he would taken down notes himself," Freeman Clark remembers. "Here he was in the role of assistant teacher, but he always considered himself a student. Some people reach the point where they feel like they've arrived. I still don't think he's at that point. I think he still considers himself a student, always learning."

Roles trickled in -- 2010's off-off-Broadway production of "The Last Days of Judas Iscariot," (he played Pontius Pilate) and 2011's "Ruined," the Pulitzer-winning play at La Jolla Playhouse. That same year, he also scored an ensemble spot in the first national tour of "American Idiot" and made his Broadway debut the next year in the ensemble of "Cyrano de Bergerac." In 2013, it was a hefty role in "The Brothers Size" at San Diego's Old Globe, and then he moved up to a small role as Apollo Creed's cornerman (and Creed understudy) in the musical "Rocky," which opened in March 2014. 

The show's producers posted its closing notice on July 15. The next day, the Public Theater posted a casting notice for "Hamilton." 

'Wait for it, wait for it'

"Hamilton" had been in the works since 2009, when Miranda debuted what would become the opening song of the show at the White House Poetry Jam. He had a close-knit circle of collaborators helping develop "Hamilton," many of them veterans of his Tony-winning Broadway musical "In the Heights," including actors Christopher Jackson and Javier Munoz, director Thomas Kail, and musical director Alex Lacamoire.

Onaodowan came on board in 2014 for a lab before the show's Off-Broadway run; he was so outside the "Hamilton" circle that he had an entire conversation with Lacamoire believing he was Miranda. 

While Miranda & Co. had strong ideas for Mulligan, their James Madison was less defined -- and Onaodowan relished developing the character. "It's great to have that freedom," he says. "It feels good to create, and to actually have input, and your choices are your choices. My walk is my walk because that's what motivated me to move." 

(After a behind-the-curtain struggle with producers, Onaodowan and more than two dozen original "Hamilton" cast members recently won financial recognition for their roles in developing the show that turns a profit of about $600,000 a week, according to the New York Times. That could mean $10,000 a year each, and potentially much more. "I am not talking about that," Onaodowan says politely but very firmly.)

"Hamilton" cast contracts expire in July, and there has been much speculation about who will be leaving amid what must be high-stakes contract renegotiations (Miranda is mostly likely among those departing). "I'll see how I feel," Onaodowan says, "if my spirit needs to stay, if my spirit needs to go." 

That's not necessarily a dodge. Onaodowan recently took part in Freeman Clark's Broadway Buddy program, run through her Vanguard Theater Company, in which which theater professionals mentor up-and-coming artists, particularly those of color. 

He worked with Marcus Beckett, a young black actor from East Orange.  "One piece of advice that he gave me, both in performing and in life, if you are constantly doing something and the intention is not behind it, stop doing it."

Okieriete Onaodowan, second from left, as Hercules Mulligan in "Hamilton," with Daveed Diggs as Marquis de Lafayette, left, Anthony Ramos as John Laurens, second from right, and Lin-Manuel Miranda as Alexander Hamilton.Joan Marcus 

When asked whether he'd like to take a crack at any of the other parts in "Hamilton," Onaodowan demurs, although he admits he does covet Burr's lush song, "Wait For It," which the cast will be performing at the Tonys Sunday: "The idea that you are in control of yourself. Finding patience and waiting for your opportunities. And working hard in the meantime."

His dream role is one that doesn't exist yet: He talks of a half-forgotten tale about an ambitious hustler who flips assumptions about privilege and cultural birthright. Wait, isn't that "Hamilton," the musical he's already in? 

Nope, Onaodowan wants to see a big Broadway musical of "White Men Can't Jump." Producers, consider yourselves notified. 

Vicki Hyman may be reached at vhyman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @vickihy or like her on Facebook. Find NJ.com/Entertainment on Facebook, and check out TV Hangover, the podcast from Vicki Hyman and co-host Erin Medley on iTunes, Stitcher or listen here.

TV HANGOVER SHOW: Ep. 38: We pledge allegiance to "Veep" | TV Hangover Show

The commuter jet was surrounded on the tarmac by emergency vehicles just before 4 p.m. Sunday

Emergeny vehicles surrounded a Delta jet on the tarmac at Newark Liberty International Airport on Sunday afternoon.Anna Dickson 

NEWARK -- Emergency crews were put on alert at Newark Liberty International Airport on Sunday, after a Delta Airlines jet reported a hydraulics issue, officials said.

The commuter jet reported the problem as it approached the airport at 3:35 p.m., said Port Authority police spokesman Joe Pentangelo.

The department's lime green firefighting vehicles awaited the plane's arrival on the tarmac, but in the end weren't needed, when the plane landed without incident, Pentangelo added.

A Port Authority agency spokesman, Scott Ladd, said no on was hurt, and the plane was towed to the terminal. 

Delta did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

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