The state's gay community is dispersed throughout the state — but it is making it presence known.

Surveillance operation came in response to complaints of drug dealing, according to sheriff

Hakeem Telfair, 22 (Photo: Essex County jail) 

Hakeem Telfair, 22, of Newark, was accused of a host of drug and weapons offenses, including possession with the intent to distribute drugs within 1,000 feet of the Sussex Avenue School, unlawful possession of a handgun and other charges.

Essex County Sheriff Armando Fontoura said the Tuesday afternoon arrest came as a result of a plainclothes operation launched in response to "numerous" neighborhood complaints about an open-air drug market near Central Avenue and 4th Street.

Detectives recognized Telfair from prior investigations and spotted him loitering in the area, according to Fontoura. Investigators saw a woman approach Telfair and, after a brief conversation, he retrieved items from a plastic bag on his car's center console, the sheriff said. 

Reward offered as colleagues 'heartbroken' over killing

Detectives moved in when they saw Telfair exchange the items for cash with the woman, Fontoura added. During questioning, Telfair voluntarily handed over eight glassine envelopes of heroin stamped with "'GORILLA" on the packets.

Telfair also consented to a search of his car, which turned up 90 more heroin packets with similar markings and a 9mm Beretta pistol semi-automatic handgun loaded with illegal hollow point bullets, Fontoura said.

Officers did not location the woman, according to authorities. Telfair was ordered held at the Essex County Correctional Facility in lieu of $100,000 cash bail.  

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

Officials opened the Oliver Street School Tuesday.

Students at the school's official opening. (Courtesy Newark Public Schools) 

NEWARK -- For the first time in 104 years, there is a new school building in the city's East Ward.

School and city officials gathered Tuesday to open the new Oliver Street School, the second new school building the district opened this year.

"The new Oliver Street School building represents a new chapter for the East Ward community's families, one in which our future workforce will be educated in a modern, state-of-the-art facility," Newark Mayor Ras Baraka said in a statement.

"There are signs that we are making progress toward a brighter future here in Newark every day. Welcoming Oliver Street families to the first new school in the East Ward in 104 years is just another example of that important progress."

The 137,000 square foot building boasts 40 classrooms, a cafeteria, media center, gym, and 21st Century learning equipment, officials said. About 850 students in Kindergarten through 8th grade will attend.

The Schools Development Authority paid for Oliver Street's $73.6 million construction, officials said.

District Superintendent Chris Cerf said the new building will "not only be a positive a place for students to learn, but will also be a benefit to the community."

The district opened the new Elliott Street School in March, and is planning construction at South Street School, which should be completed for the fall of 2018, officials said.

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

NEWARK —Weequahic High School students arrive at Nanina's In the Park in style for their 2016 prom held  Dressed in gowns and tuxedos, the prom-goers were ready for a night of dancing, socializing and fun. 
 Prom season is in full swing and NJ.com is capturing the moments for many New Jersey high schools. Gallery 2: Weequahic High School...

NEWARK --Weequahic High School students arrive at Nanina's In the Park in style for their 2016 prom held 

Dressed in gowns and tuxedos, the prom-goers were ready for a night of dancing, socializing and fun.

Prom season is in full swing and NJ.com is capturing the moments for many New Jersey high schools.

Gallery 2: Weequahic High School prom 2016

Check back at nj.com/essex for other local high school prom coverage in the coming weeks. And be sure to check out our complete prom coverage at nj.com/prom.

BUY THESE PHOTOS

Are you one of the people pictured at this prom? Want to buy the photo and keep it forever? Look for a link in the photo caption or click here to purchase the picture. You'll have the ability to order prints in a variety of sizes, or products like magnets, keychains, coffee mugs and more.

SHARE YOUR PROM PHOTOS ON SOCIAL MEDIA

Let's see your prom photos. Post your pictures on Twitter and Instragram with #njprom. We'll retweet and repost our favorites on Twitter @njdotcom and Instagram @njdotcompix

Police say there are inconsistencies in the victim's account.

NUTLEY -- Police ordered schools to hold students in place Wednesday afternoon after a local man said someone tried to rob him at gunpoint.

The man called police around 2:50 p.m. and said another man armed with a silver handgun demanded his cell phone. The incident occurred on Union Avenue near Park Avenue, the man told police.   

Police immediately issued the lock down order, which was lifted shortly afterwards after they determined there was no imminent threat.

The alleged victim said his assailant is a very tall black male with dreadlocks who was wearing a white tee shirt. The suspect fled towards Park Avenue after a passing motorist yelled, the victim also said.

But after reviewing surveillance video and speaking with neighbors, police discovered inconsistencies in the alleged victim's account and are now trying to determine its validity, the department said in a statement Wednesday night.

"We take every call very seriously until we have reason not to. In this case we were unable to corroborate the victim's account. However we will continue to investigate, to either identify a suspect, or uncover more inconsistencies," Chief Thomas Strumolo said.

Anyone with information is being asked to call Nutley police at  973-284-4940

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

Woodland Park - Newark Arts High School held its 2016 prom on June 15th at The Westmount Country Club in Woodland Park with students dancing to the music of DJ Brian Rodrigues.  Be sure to check out our complete prom coverage at nj.com/prom. Newark Arts High School senior prom 2015 (PHOTOS) Newark Arts High School senior prom 2014 (PHOTOS) BUY THESE PHOTOS Are you...

Woodland Park - Newark Arts High School held its 2016 prom on June 15th at The Westmount Country Club in Woodland Park with students dancing to the music of DJ Brian Rodrigues. 

Be sure to check out our complete prom coverage at nj.com/prom.

Newark Arts High School senior prom 2015 (PHOTOS)

Newark Arts High School senior prom 2014 (PHOTOS)

BUY THESE PHOTOS

Are you one of the people pictured at this prom? Want to buy the photo and keep it forever? Look for a link in the photo caption to purchase the picture: Click on it, and you'll have the ability to order prints in a variety of sizes, or products like magnets, keychains, coffee mugs and more.

SHARE YOUR PROM PHOTOS ON SOCIAL MEDIA

Follow us on Facebook, on Twitter @njdotcom and on Instagram @njdotcom. Then tag your photos #njprom. We'll retweet and repost the best pics! 

Aristide Economopoulos can be reached at aeconomopoulos@njadvancemedia.com and you can follow him on Twitter at @AristideNJAM and Instagram at @aeconomopoulos  Find NJ.com on Facebook

In the pre-internet days, a research project was way more involved than Googling a subject.

According to my kids, school is much harder now than it was when I was a student.

My son and daughter might say, "Yeah, we know, you walked five miles to school - uphill both ways; you had to get up an hour before you went to bed."

Don't even get me started on what we had to go through to get a smart phone ... (ba-dum-BUM)Courtesy of postrad.blogspot.com 

I can mute them, if only for a moment, with two words: the internet.

Don't get me wrong - I'm not proselytizing for a return to the (ahem) "Good ol' days of readin', writin' and 'rithmatic." I'm simply pointing out how they have more time for learning because it takes less time to gather information.

In the pre-internet days when a student was assigned a research project, the process was way more involved than Googling a subject. Here's how it worked in the 'good' old days:

Many families had encyclopedias, so research projects typically would include the words "According to the World Book Encyclopedia or Encyclopedia Britannica...." But teachers would not tolerate what amounted to the ancient version of copy-and-paste. Students were expected to visit the library, collect lots of sources and cite them.

MORE: Vintage photos around New Jersey

Students would find a spot in the library, spread out source books, take notes on index cards and make copies of important pages on the copy machine, which would cost a kid a dime a sheet. Oh, we also had to learn the Dewey Decimal System because libraries weren't like bookstores with huge signs hanging over the shelves.

Our papers often started with a handwritten draft, which would later be typed on a manual typewriter. For us, the electric typewriter and Whiteout were gifts from God.

These are just a few of the things that made learning a little more challenging in the pre-search engine days.

Here's a gallery featuring vintage photos of schoolchildren and their activities around New Jersey. Be sure captions are enabled for all the information about each photo. And if you'd like to see more, you can click this link and this one.

Greg Hatala may be reached at ghatala@starledger.com. Follow him on Twitter @GregHatala. Find The Star-Ledger on Facebook.

Who are the best of the best in New Jersey track and field? NJ.com tries to answer that question this season with the brand new Fab 50 individual male rankings. Check back each week for five new additions to the Fab 50.

A student's rainbow-hued art project hung on a high school has not been controversial within the South Orange-Maplewood community, though it has raised at least that one question. Watch video

MAPLEWOOD -- A high school sophomore's deliberately provocative gay pride banner, hung from the front of the building on Monday, has not stirred much controversy -- at least not within the district -- but it has raised at least one queston: What does it mean?

The banner, draped vertically from the 7-story Gothic tower of Columbia High School in Maplewood, states simply "Too Gay," in colorful block letters set against the rainbow hues of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning, or LGBTQ, movement.
 

Columbia High School senior Shanice Peralte had just seen the banner for the first time on Wednesday morning, when she was asked what she thought it meant.

"I'm not really sure," said Peralte, 18, reflecting a combination of uncertainty about the banner's meaning and support for it generally that was expressed by fellow students and others.

The banner was approved by the school's second-year principal, Elizabeth Aaron, who said students were not certain precisely what the banner was intended to convey, but they sensed, perhaps by its colors, that it was generally supportive of the LGBTQ community. Therefore, Aaron said, students supported the banner itself.

"I had a great conversation with students yesterday," Aaron said outside the school Wednesday morning, fist-pumping students as they headed inside for class. "And they asked me, 'What does it mean?' Students like to be told what things mean instead of asking what things mean." 

The website of the School District of South Orange and Maplewood, which includes the 1,860-student Columbia High School, offers an interpretive statement by the banner's young creator, 16-year-old sophomore John Bell, who conceived of and glue-gunned together the banner as a term project for his advanced placement art history class.

"On the surface, society claims to accept gay people. But if we are flamboyant or very open about our gayness, are we 'too gay'?" states Bell, 16. "So, as an artist, I am basically challenging how people may view gay people, and also celebrating Pride month."

While the timing of the banner's unfurling on Monday was intended to coincide with June as LGBT Pride Month, Sunday's shooting massacre that killed 49 people in a gay nightclub in Orlando gave it a whole new meaning: one of condolence and support for the LGBTQ community against violent attacks seeking to deprive them of their very right to live.

It was that message Peralte and others took away from banner.

"I think the shooting was a little bit scary for the LGBT community, and this is showing that they're not afraid to be who they are," Peralte said. "This is a statement that we stand behind who they are and we support the rights of all."

A Columbia High School parent, Dan Sukel, said he thought the banner was "great," and that he thought it was meant to show the school community's support for the LGBTQ community. But it wasn't the text that conveyed that meaning, he said.

"It's the colors, I guess," said Sukel, who had just dropped his son off at the school."

The banner did generate some controversy online, with readers posting anonymous comments on a story on nj.com, objecting to the use of a school property for what some asserted was a political statement.

"I'm offended! This display should not be allowed on Public property.  Taxpayers should be outraged!" read one comment.

"Would the school hang a 'Too Christian' banner?" read another.

But the combined Maplewood-South Orange community, comprised of two West Essex towns that were once part of the same municipality, prides itself on its tolerance and progressive ideals. For example, Maplewood hosts an annual North Jersey Pride Festival at Memorial Park, and in July it flew a rainbow flag in front of Town Hall following the U.S. Supreme Court decision mandating marriage equality.

So it's not entirely surprising that the pride banner would be embraced locally, even if it has been questioned outside the district.

"I have not received any comments one way or another on it," said Maplewood Mayor Victor DeLuca. "Personally, I thnk it's fine. I think it's good."

DeLuca noted that last Sunday's annual pride festival was more somber than usual, and he the tragedy was addressed by him, U.S. Sen. Cory Booker, and other attendees. DeLuca said the two communities, like so many others across the state, held a joint vigil for the shooting victims on Tuesday night at the South Orange Train Station.

Likewise, there was no backlash against the banner directed at school officials,  said a district spokeswoman, Suzanne Turner.

"We had a couple of questions, like, '"Too Gay," what does that mean?' and then they'd be like, 'Oh, okay,'" Turner said. "But we didn't get any negative feedback."   

The Columbia principal, Aaron, said the attention garnered by the banner from news media had not even prompted a call from her boss, Superintendent John Ramos, or members of the Board of Education, whose next meeting is Monday at 7:30 p.m.

The banner was not the only project from the the art history class displayed at the school. Another involved black paper silhouettes of rats fixed the hallway walls inside the school's main entrance. 

The teacher, Kate Dodd, said many of the class projects were influenced by 21st Century art, which tends to be provocative. She said Bell's banner in particular was influenced by Felix Gonzalez-Torres, a Cuban-American visual artist who died of AIDS in 1996 at age 38. 

Dodd, a working artist with an MFA from Columbia University, said student projects in the past have dealt with controversial themes, though few have drawn the kind of attention that Bell's has.

"What stands out about this one was the timing," she said, referring to Sunday's shooting, and the fact that the banner is in such a visible location. "Most students don't have the wherewithal to get all the fabric and put it together like he did."

Dodd described Bell as an unusually mature young man, very serious and diligent about his work. She acknowledged that a question mark following "Too Gay" might have made the banner less confusing to observers, directly conveying its intention to raise the question, in Bell's words, "If we are flamboyant or very open about our gayness, are we 'too gay'?"

But ultimately, she said, the absence of punctuation made for better art, with the ambiguity of the two-word text forcing the work's audience to ruminate more deeply on its possible meanings, or take away their own. And that part was accident.

"We asked him about that," Dodd said. "And he said, 'I ran out of fabric.'"    

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

Fentanyl, which is 25 to 50 times more powerful than heroin, has become popular in New Jersey and is killing at an alarming rate.

Fentanyl, an opioid up to 50 times more powerful than heroin, is killing New Jersey residents at a skyrocketing rate, representing a deadly new wrinkle to the state's opioid crisis, data obtained by NJ Advance Media shows.

The ultra-potent drug, which was revealed to have killed Prince in April, has become increasingly common in the Garden State during the last few years. New data from the New Jersey Medical Examiner's Office shows that through the first six months of 2015, it killed people at eight times the monthly rate compared to 2013.

Through June 2015, the most recent data available, fentanyl killed 150 people, more than in all of 2014. And this after deaths tripled from 2013 to 2014 in New Jersey.

"Fentanyl is deadly," said Carl J. Kotowski, special agent in charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration's Newark office. "With heroin, an addict can possibly survive an overdose. But with fentanyl there are often no do-overs or second chances. All you need is a very small amount and it can be fatal." 

Until recently, fentanyl was a prescription medication typically only given to the most severe chronic-pain victims, such as end stage cancer patients. But, according to the DEA, the drug is now shipped into the United States illegally from China or manufactured by Mexican drug cartels, who smuggle it across the U.S.-Mexico border. 

Inside Herointown, NJ's 4th biggest city

The drug adds a confounding wrinkle to law enforcement fighting the heroin epidemic in New Jersey, which has enslaved at least 128,000 and killed more than 700 in 2014. Data shows that the heroin monthly death rate also rose significantly in the first half of 2015, and is likely to rise again for the 6th straight year. 

Fentanyl is especially troubling for law enforcement for a number of reasons. 

Consider: 

• Its power -- between 25 and 50 times that of street-level heroin -- renders opioid reversal drugs such as Narcan much less effective, increasing the likelihood that an overdose will lead to a death.
• It is often used as a lacing agent in heroin, making it both harder to track, and in many cases, more deadly to opioid users who purchase it unknowingly.
• It can be ingested, smoked, snorted or absorbed through the skin, allowing it to be distributed in multiple forms like pills and powder.
• Its potency allows it to be trafficked in much smaller amounts, making smuggling from Mexico or overseas easier for potential sellers.

"It's a tough situation," Kotowski said. "A lot of times when we go into cases and make seizures, we don't know what we're getting. We think it's heroin and then the lab results come back and it turns out its fentanyl."

Atlantic County Investigator Dan Kallen and Detective Eric Price were confronted by fentanyl's potency firsthand during a recent investigation.

In a video produced by the DEA, Kallen said he was in the process of sealing a bag of fentanyl following a narcotics investigation when a small puff of powder blew into his face, as well as Price's.

Almost immediately, both officers said it felt like their bodies began to shut down.

"People around me said I looked really white. I lost color," Price said. "It really just felt like ... I thought that was it. I thought I was dying. That's what my body felt like."

Kallen said he was taken aback by how little it took for both of them to be incapacitated by the drug.

"It wasn't like the whole bag had dumped out or anything like that," he said. "It was so quick and it was such a small amount."

Kotowski said fentanyl is unlike any drug he has dealt with in his career.

"I've been an agent for 32 years. I've never had a situation where you have to be that concerned that if you don't handle a particular drug properly as a law enforcement official that it can be fatal to you." 

Fentanyl Deaths By County

Click or tap on a county for more information.

Cause of death remains unclear

NEWARK -- The Essex County Prosecutor's Office on Thursday identified the man who was pronounced dead after he was found lying unconscious on a city street.

Richard Marrero Jr., 22, of Garfield, was discovered on Lincoln Avenue early Saturday, authorities previously said. He died several hours later at University Hospital in Newark. 

Detectives probe death of person found lying in street

The cause and manner of death were not yet available, according to Essex County Prosecutor's Office spokeswoman Katherine Carter.

On Saturday, Chief Assistant Prosecutor Thomas Fennelly said Marrero appeared to have suffered a head injury. The prosecutor's Major Crimes Task Force, including Newark police, were investigating.

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

Jahleel McLendon pleaded guilty in 2014 to committing five carjackings in Newark in June of 2012.

NEWARK -- Four years ago this month, Jahleel McLendon went on a rampage, traumatizing the people of Newark. 

In the space of a few weeks in June 2012, McLendon committed five armed carjackings and twice led police on high-speed chases that ended up in crashes, prosecutors said. 

But after the fifth -- when McLendon seized a vehicle being driven by a 70-year-old woman out to pick up Chinese food -- he was apprehended and sent to jail.

He pleaded guilty in 2014 to five counts of carjacking and one count of brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence.

Thursday, he learned the price he will pay for the month-long spree: 20 years in federal prison.

McLendon, now 22, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Kevin McNulty, who also ordered McLendon to serve five years of supervised release following his prison term and make restitution to his victims.

"The message has to go out to the community: You do this, you're going to suffer severe consequences," the judge said. 

N.J. man sentenced for 'wave' of carjackings

McLendon apologized to the victims of the carjackings and his family. 

"I did do wrong," he said.

McNulty and attorneys for the prosecution and defense all agreed about the distressing course of McLendon's "chaotic and unstable" upbringing, marked by family separations and criminal behavior beginning at age 13. "I emphasize that it's tragic when it gets to this point," McNulty said.

But the tragedy extends to the victims too, said Asst. U.S. Attorney Cari Fais. One victim told court officials that being carjacked was "the worst experience of her life," Fais said.

The 70-year-old woman no longer goes out at night, she said.

"He didn't just rob her of her car," she said, "he robbed her of her independence." 

Other victims were traumatized by being ordered at gunpoint to lie down on the ground before McLendon took their automobiles, Fais said.

Speeding along in stolen cars, McLendon threatened Newark police, other drivers and pedestrians, she added. One crash damaged several parked cars and toppled two utility poles, with wires falling onto the police vehicle.

Just before he was arrested, McLendon ditched a loaded handgun that could have gotten into the wrong hands had police not been able to recover it, Fais said.

Crimes such as carjackings, McNulty said, have "created fear in this city.

"The public needs to be protected," he said, "and a long sentence will do that."

Even with McLendon incarcerated, the risk remains high, Fais said. In just the first quarter of 2016, Essex County reported 120 carjackings. 

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

Business is still going well at Richard's Shoes, Nick Olivia said, but as he and his partner, Robert Gimon, got older, they decided it was time to close the store

WAYNE -- After 44 years of fitting children in just the right footwear at Richard's Shoes, co-owner Nick Olivia and his partner, Robert Gimon, are shutting down the establishment in Wayne.

It's not that business has fallen at the Hamburg Turnpike store, Olivia says, as the children of the children he fitted years back keep coming into the establishment.

And it's not a question of rent payments, he added, crediting his landlord, Larry Berman, with "being very good to me" over the years.

"My partner is 71 and I'm 65," Olivia said. "It's just time."

Selling the business wasn't an option, he said, because "if it doesn't go well, you have to come back" and help the buyer.

"I wanted a clean break," Olivia said.

So the establishment has announced it is closing at the end of the month and will be having a retirement sale until then.

"The owners invite customers in for a final shoe fitting before they hang up their shoe horns," the store said in its announcement of its closing.

Olivia admitted he has mixed feelings about the closing.

"It's really bittersweet," he said. "The customers feel bad, you feel bad. But everything comes to a conclusion."

Olivia says he will miss the many friends he's made in the store.

"The children who came before bring in their children now," he noted. "It is satisfying."

His wife, Donna, another key figure at the store, said she's "happy and sad at the same time" about the closing.

"It's hard to say goodbye to all the kids," she said. 

She added that she will especially miss the special-needs children, who "require a little more attention" and are appreciative when they get it.

"We'll miss our neighbors. It's like a small family here," Donna Olivia said.

But, Nick and Donna Olivia pointed out, the work has gotten harder over the years and they're looking forward to a break.

"It's changed, because a lot of the mothers work today," Nick Olivia pointed out, and can only shop on weekends.

"You used to be open six days a week, now you're open for seven," he said. "We used to be closed on Sunday, now it's a very important business day and you have to work."

"It's going to be nice to have weekends off," his wife agreed.

But other than working longer hours, Nick Olivia said, the children's shoe business has stayed remarkably the same over 44 years. Growing youngsters constantly need new shoes and still like being fitted in person. And the brands have even stayed the same, with Nike, Stride Rite and others remaining big sellers for many years.

The business has had "some ups, some downs," Nick Olivia said. "Basically it's been the same for the last 20 years."

As for future plans, Donna Olivia says that for now, they'll stay at their home in Clifton. "We'll just relax, then we'll probably go down the Shore," she said.

Other key figures at the family-run store in Wedgewood Plaza include Gimon's wife, Linda, who is Nick Olivia's sister; and general manager John Mills.

Ben Horowitz may be reached at bhorowitz@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @HorowitzBen. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

The deadline is Friday, June 17, at 5 p.m.

TRENTON -- In what affordable housing advocates are calling a "huge opportunity" for lower-income New Jerseyans, the state is accepting applications for about 10,000 federally funded rental vouchers this week.

The applications must be submitted online no later than 5 p.m. Friday, according to the Department of Community Affairs website. A lottery will be held after applicants are screened to determine income eligibility. 

People may submit multiple applications if they meet income guidelines for specific counties, the state website says. For example, a family of four earning no more than $51,900 would qualify to live in Middlesex, Hunterdon and Somerset counties.

People who live in the county for which they've applied will get preference, the website said.

"This is a huge opportunity for people," said Laura Ramos, co-founder of the nonprofit housing advocacy group, Everyone For Accessible Community Housing Rolls. "They often open the waiting list for a brief period of time and then it's closed for years."

Ramos said she learned of the voucher lottery because she received a notice as a resident of a special needs housing complex. She called the community affairs office to learn how people may get assistance if they can't apply online or need help doing so.

N.J.'s rents among most expensive in U.S.

"it's a mess. It's exceedingly difficult to get through," Ramos said. "There's been a  huge response -- 100,000 have applied." Because people may apply in more than one county, the actual number of individuals seeking applications is probably much lower, she added.

Rental vouchers, which typically pay two-thirds of a recipient's rent, are hard to come by in an expensive state like New Jersey. People can wait for years before a new round of "section 8" or other rental assistance programs become available.

Last year, the Christie administration declined to renew two housing assistance programs, affecting 3,000 people. After a public outcry, the assistance was extended temporarily while county social service and nonprofit agencies were told to find them housing alternatives.

Gov. Chris Christie's proposed budget includes $5 million to fund 500 additional vouchers for the state's Rental Assistance Program. The vouchers would go to chronically homeless or people that rely on public assistance, although not to the 3,000 people whose assistance program expired last year. 

Submitting an application "is the first step in the process to apply for the Housing Choice Voucher rental assistance program," according to the website. "The pre-application you submit will be entered into the Lottery. If you are selected through the lottery, you will be notified via email of your selection then you will be placed on the waiting list and continue through the application process." 

Applicants can check www.waitlistcheck.com on June 24 to learn if they were selected through the computer-generated lottery, department spokeswoman Tammori Petty said.

"It is our expectation that many applicants will not have to wait long to get a voucher, and that we expect to turn over the entire list in no longer than three years," Petty said,

Details are available at the Department of Community Affairs website, at www.nj.gov/dca/divisions/dhcr/hc_vouchers.html

People with disabilities who need assistance with submitting applications may call at 609-292-4080 and select Option 1 or 8 from the menu, according to the website. if Seniors seeking assistance may contact one of the organizations listed on the Division of Aging County List. 

Susan K. Livio may be reached at slivio@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @SusanKLivio. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.

Honduran national was appealing immigration case

The Essex County Correctional Facility in Newark (File photo) 

Luis Alonso Fino Martinez, 54, was pronounced dead at University Hospital in Newark after he was transported to the hospital by ambulance from the detention center Monday, according to a statement released by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The death stemmed from a natural health condition, ICE spokesman Alvin Phillips said Wednesday. Citing privacy concerns, Phillips said he could not disclose further details about the medical issue that prompted officials to call an ambulance for Fino Martinez.

An autopsy would be conducted to determine the cause of death, according to the ICE statement.

Fino Martinez was transferred to federal custody June 12, 2015 from Northern State Prison in Newark after convictions for weapons possession and attempted murder, ICE officials said. He was being housed at the county's correctional facility while appealing his federal immigration case.

Officials ID man who died after being found on street

A state records search could not immediately reveal further details on Fino Martinez's criminal conviction.

In a statement, ICE said it followed agency protocol and alerted the Department of Homeland Security Inspector General's Office and the ICE Office of Professional Responsibility. State health officials and local law enforcement were also notified, according to officials.

Because Fino Martinez was an immigration detainee, an Essex County spokesman referred questions to the federal agency.

ICE said it would also work with Honduran consular officials to inform Fino Martinez's family in the country. Fino Martinez is the eighth ICE detainee to die in fiscal year 2016, according to the agency.

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

The retailer warned that 137 employees could be laid off when it closes its Short Hills Mall store to open a branch at the American Dream mall in East Rutherford

MILLBURN -- Saks 5th Avenue's move from the tony but aging Short Hills Mall to the retooled American Dream complex planning to open next year in East Rutherford could be a nightmare for 137 employees, after Saks warned they could be laid off in September.

In a notice posted this month by the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development, Saks notified the state that the employees faced possible layoff as of Sept. 10.

Saks, which is owned by the Canadian retail conglomerate, Hudson's Bay Company of Brampton, Ontario, announced last month that it would close its Short Hills store, which for more than two decades has been an anchor of the mall, which is located in Short Hills section of Millburn Township.

A spokeswoman for Saks, Tiffany Bourre, issued a statement reiterating its insistence last month that, despite the Short Hills closing, the company was, "committed to our shoppers in the New Jersey market with our investment in a brand new Saks Fifth Avenue store at American Dream in East Rutherford, NJ."

The company also said it would try to soften the blow for employees disrupted or out of a job because of the move.

"All associates affected by the closing will either be offered transfer opportunities or will receive appropriate employment separation packages," the statement read. "As always, we will make every effort to provide needed assistance to these Associates during this period."
 
Besides the new Saks Fifth Avenue, Hudson's Bay also plans to open a Saks Off 5th discount outlet store at American Dream, in addition to an existing Off 5th at
the Mills at Jersey Gardens mall in Elizabeth.

"There are no plans to close the Saks OFF 5TH at the Mills," Thursday's statement added.
 
Saks' plan is to open a 132,000-square-foot store with its own facade and outside entrance as an anchor of the American Dream megamall, which for years has stood vacant at the junction of Routes 3 and 120, adjacent to the Meadowlands Sports Complex.

The developer of American Dream, another Ontario-based company, Triple Five, recently announced that 75 percent of its nearly 3 million square feet of retail space had been leased, and that it stood by its planned opening in 2017 despite recent delays over funding. Tiple Five is now having second thoughts about using the Borough of East Rutherford as the bond-issuing public agency to help finance the mall's $1 billion makeover.

Meanwhile, a forest of construction cranes stand mostly idle above the complex, where for years the shell of a halted indoor ski slope and the multi-hued, checkerboard exterior of the mall have been an all-too familiar site to surrounding communities and motorists on Route 3 and the New Jersey Turnpike.

It remains unclear just when the Short Hills Mall store will close, or whether Saks would cease to be a presence in the northern New Jersey retail market between the time it closes one store and opens the other.

Steve Cabbot, a Philadelphia-based labor relations consultant for management, said the Sept. 10 date on Saks' layoff warning only implies the earliest date by which the layoffs can be imposed, and that Saks can keep those employees on the job beyond that point if it needs them. 

Cabbot also said that, generally, employers are under no obligation to relocate workers from a closing location to a new one, although special circumstances such as a labor agreement with a union could require that workers have the option to move with the company.

Right now, he added, "It's all speculation."

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

MC Rahem Brown, better know by his stage name Tame One of the Artifacts, created the project's first mural in East Orange this week as homage to New Jersey hip-hop. Watch video

East Orange -- City officials are hoping new murals will stop people from tagging buildings and instead "bring the walls alive through artwork," the municipality's spokeswoman said. 

Spray painting a wall on Oraton Parkway behind 40 North Munn, MC Rahem Brown, better know by his stage name Tame One of the trio the Artifacts, created the first mural as a tribute to New Jersey hip-hop. Brown, who was born and raised in Newark but lived in East Orange for about five years, said he and several friends illustrated the red-brick surface for five hours Tuesday and Wednesday. 

"I'm used to the illegal aspect [of spray painting,] where you got to get in and out," Brown said Tuesday of spray painting the wall in just two days.

The artwork displays "New Jeru Hip-Hop" surrounded by stars, and an image of a disc-jockey.

Connie Jackson, the city's public information officer, said East Orange put a call out for artists to be a part of the project in May after the wall had constantly been tagged. She said there is research that shows once a mural is painted onto a structure, people generally stop tagging it.

Murals to transform graffiti-ridden trestles

The city plans to have artists paint eight to 10 walls within the next couple of years, she said. Jackson said they're still looking for artists to submit work to be considered for the project, whether it be students or seasoned artists. But the city is satisfied with the first mural. 

"His music has a strong connection to the people here," Jackson said of Brown as he sprayed the wall with blues and purples. "It allows him to show the culture from the '80s and '90s."

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

A 27-year-old Newark man faces charges of hitting a Newark police officer with a car and fleeing from the scene.

Rafael Perez, 27, faces several charges for a car accident in which he allegedly struck and injured a police officer and fled from the scene. (Essex County Prosecutor's Office) 

NEWARK -- A city man faces a string of charges in connection with a car accident in which he was allegedly driving without a license, struck and injured and police officer, and fled from the scene.

Rafael Perez, 27, was charged with aggravated assault on a police officer, leaving the scene of an accident resulting in serious bodily injury, and failing to render aid to an injured victim, acting Essex County Prosecutor Carolyn Murray said Thursday.

She said Perez is also charged with assault by auto, aggressive driving and causing injury while being unlicensed.

Authorities said the accident occurred about 4:13 a.m. Sunday when the police officer was struck by a Mazda Protege in the 100 block of Foundry Street while issuing parking tickets to vehicles parked on the street.

They said the driver in the Mazda then drove away.

The officer, a 14-year veteran of the force, was taken to a hospital where he was admitted for treatment, Murray said.

She did not release the officer's name.

Perez is being held on $150,000 bail in the Essex County Correctional Facility in Newark.

Tom Haydon may be reached at thaydon@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @Tom_HaydonSL. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

See if you can get all seven questions right.

Time to see how well you recall the biggest NJ.com stories of the week gone by. Answer the seven multiple-choice questions below, and then brag on your score comments. Need to study up before you begin? Here are the stories we used to create this week's quiz.

• Miss New Jersey: Meet the 30 contestants
• Minimum wage bill gains Senate committee approval
• Matawan, N.J.'s 100-year struggle with bloody legacy
• A special girl, a special night and Eric LeGrand
• EMT's suspended for ignoring call while live-streaming incident
• Sting from dangerous clinging jellyfish lands N.J. man in hospital
• Rare 'fire rainbow' appears over N.J.

Contact John Shabe via jshabe@njadvancemedia.com. Follow John on Twitter and find NJ.com on Facebook.

Muslims in New Jersey condemn the massacre in Florida as they continue to spread the message that Islam embraces peace and not violence.

The interfaith service for one of the world's most recognizable Muslims was bound in unity and cloaked in understanding and peace.

An imam, two rabbis, a Catholic priest, a Mormon and a Native American leader were among the speakers who celebrated Muhammad Ali's life last week. 

"That's the oneness of humanity,'' said Imam Mateen Aqeel, of Newark's Masjid Ash-Shifaa. "That's what we believe.''

MORE: Recent Barry Carter columns   

Aqeel and other Muslim leaders in Newark do not see that humanity in Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee for president, who continues to sully the name of Islam with divisive bigotry and rhetoric. 

And it's definitely not in Omar Mateen, a Florida man who killed 49 people and injured 53 at a gay nightclub in Orlando before dying in a shootout with police.

These leaders say Trump's logic, that Muslim immigrants should be temporarily banned from the United States, does as much damage to the Islamic community as Mateen's horrific act.

Imam Mustafa El-Amin, of Masjid Ibrahim in Newark, said having to defend your faith time and time again is frustrating on many levels.

"Here we go again,'' he said.

He has a daughter in college. He thinks about her safety, how she and many other Muslim women could be targeted for violence because they wear a hijab (a headscarf).

El-Amin said Islam embraces peace, even though these incidents continue to challenge the reality of their faith.

"It makes our job harder in saying that our religion is about peace and that we condemn those actions,'' El-Amin said. "Every time we do something, you have somebody go and do something like this.''

In the past, El-Amin has aired television commercials explaining what Islam is and what it is not. He's doing it again during Ramadan, the Islamic holy month currently taking place during which Muslims fast and spend time in prayer.

Newark's Muslim leaders said President Obama's blunt criticism of Trump on Tuesday was on point as he called out the GOP frontrunner on his dangerous mindset about Muslims.

In addition to his proposed ban on Muslims, Trump has implied that Obama approves of the terror attacks because he refuses to use the term "radical Islamic terrorism. 'Trump's rationale is rooted in conspiracy theories that Obama is a closeted Muslim or that he is not a real American and was born outside the United States. 

Obama said not using the term "radical Islamic terrorism'' has no bearing on how his administration deals with ISIS and that Trump's views go against the Constitution and contradict religious freedom.

"That's not the America we want,'' he said. "It doesn't reflect our democratic ideals.''

Imam Daud Haqq, of Nia Masjid & Community Center in Newark, said Trump is uninformed and his inflammatory remarks are centered on making people afraid, not united.

"That's been his tone all along, which demonstrates he doesn't have a proper understanding of the issues in this country,'' Haqq said.

"The president is very focused in making sure that the country doesn't lose its focus. We cannot allow (any)body to throw us off as to what is supposed to be the path of our nation.''

More than 80 Muslim organizations in New Jersey this week condemned the killings in Florida through a collaborative statement, in which they extended their condolences to the families who have lost loved ones.  

"Hate, bigotry and violence are our common enemy and we reject the hate and anger that leads to his kind of acts of violence,'' according to the statement they released. 

One of those organizations is the Council on American-Islamic Relations for New Jersey. Its executive director, James Sues, said a lot of things Trump has talked about in the past were nonsense and "it seems he's making less and less sense as the days go by.''

But as the story about the Orlando massacre developed, Haqq, Aqeel and El-Amin said they had hoped the shooter wasn't someone with a Muslim name. They know the routine, what's being said about their community, how critics will use that terrorist act to malign their faith.

They get tired of the double standard of seeing their religion under attack when others who commit similar atrocities are not labeled as terrorists.

MORE CARTER: Newark scoutmaster is 95 and leaves a trail of memories

They also don't buy into the argument that Muslims are not doing enough to diffuse potential situations. 

In the midst of such unfortunate times, Aqeel said the incident spurs questions from people who have preconceived notions about Islam.

"They may go into it with a negative question, but wind up getting a positive answer, because of the misrepresentations of what some people may do in the name of religion," he said. "The best dialogue is to live the religion.''

Ali knew what he was doing when he planned his funeral - showing that people of different faiths and nationalities can live together. It's too bad that this theme is often lost when incidents such as these shootings occur. 

Hopefully, there's a shift toward goodwill in the days ahead.

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