More people are identifying as nonbinary, or a gender other than strictly male or female. Experts in the LGBTQ community say nonbinary people are the next frontier in gender ID, presenting challenges unique even from transgender people. Watch video

Are you a boy or a girl?

Eily Mixson, 18, answers neither.

"I have a firm sense that I'm definitely not a girl," says Mixson, a recent high school graduate. "Having been questioned, 'Am I boy then?' I can pretty definitively say, 'No, I'm pretty sure that's not the case.'"

Z Murphy, 17, wakes up some days and binds her breasts, puts on a man's suit and adds a fake, flaccid penis in her pants. Other days, she wears a dress and make-up.

Soren Barnett, 18, gets unsettled when people use the words boy or girl. So Soren will escape to the bedroom, blast orchestra music and study French to drown out the swirling thoughts. 

All three identify as nonbinary, or a gender other than strictly male or female. And all three might change how they identify from day to day, or even moment to moment.

More commonly, they might be called "genderqueer," "agender" or "gender fluid." Whereas transgender people typically identify differently than their assigned gender at birth, nonbinary people often are not concrete.

That also makes identifying them tricky. Some prefer gender neutral pronouns such as "they, them" or "ze, zir." Others are okay with "he, she."

To experts in the lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and queer community, nonbinary people are the next frontier in human gender identification -- so new that some struggle to fully understand what's happening.

"This is challenging our ideas of biological sex and issues of gender," says Michael LaSala, an associate professor at Rutgers University who specializes in LGBTQ research. "Everything (for so long has been) divided by pink and blue. We don't quite know what to do as a society with the idea that not everybody falls into those categories."

The emergence of this group comes at an interesting time. As the nation wrestles over transgender bathroom rights and overall acceptance of the group, how will the debate over nonbinary people play out? How might it impact the nation's long-held notions of gender identity? And will it complicate strides being made for gay and transgender rights because the nonbinary movement can be so confounding?

"We've become comfortable with our idea that, 'This person's a man, this person's a woman,'" LaSala says. "When you start talking about people who desire to straddle those differences, it starts to blow people's minds."

Now, those long-held gender notions are being challenged in potentially groundbreaking ways.

"I do feel that I have a gender," Eily says. "I just have not found a word to articulate it yet."

Soren Barnett, 18, gets dressed at home in Montgomery. (Andre Malok | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

'I GO BY ALL PRONOUNS'

Z Murphy tries describing her gender on a recent Saturday during a stop at a deli in Highland Park. But her girlfriend at the time, Kristen Medina, keeps playfully interrupting.

"I am ..." Z begins.

"A trainwreck," Kristen cuts in, grinning.

The table erupts in laughter. Then Rob DiGioia, a friend sharing lunch, tries to steer the conversation back on track.

"Stop it!" he says. "Let him talk."

The pronoun "him" doesn't bother Z, who was assigned female at birth but now identifies as gender fluid. That means she floats between genders depending on how she feels that morning, that day or that moment.

"I go by all pronouns," Z says. "He, she, they, them, your majesty."

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On this afternoon, Z, who just finished her junior year at Highland Park High, has her hair blown out in a Diana Ross afro. A silver hoop hangs from the bottom of her nose, and she's wearing a frayed Bob Marley tank top and black tights. She seems to be presenting female, even though it's not necessarily her intention.

"I don't really know how to explain when I feel like doing so-and-so; it just happens," Z says. "I'll wake up and I'll want to wear a dress. I'll wake up and I'll want to wear a men's jersey. Like, there aren't really any rules and I'm comfortable with that."

Her journey has carved a jagged path.

As a child, Z loved dresses and asked to be called "princess." But then she would take the role of husband when playing house. By age 10, she says she stopped wearing dresses, instead favoring oversized jeans, T-shirts and hoodies. Soon, she was telling her mom she felt masculine. Z then started binding and packing and asking her mom to call her "child" or "kid," not "daughter."

At one point, Z thought maybe she was a transgender boy.

"Personally, I was having a lot of difficulty with the idea that she might be a trans boy," says Z's mom, Pandora Scooter.

"But my main message to her was that no matter where she landed on the gender spectrum, I loved her no matter what."

When she was 14, Z says she went to Buck's Rock Performing and Creative Arts Camp in Connecticut and met two biological females who wore their hair short with shorts one day, then dresses and makeup the next.

"I asked them, 'Why are you wearing dresses?'" Z remembers. "And they said, 'Because we're gender fluid and we can wear whatever we want.'"

Something clicked.

Z came home and began presenting both masculine and feminine, and she now identifies sexually as "pansexual," which means she's attracted to people of any sex or gender. The labels may sound confusing, but friends say they mean nothing when they're hanging out.

"I'm dating a person," says Kristen, Z's girlfriend at the time. "I say 'girlfriend' to simplify it for others more than anything. But when I think of Z, I don't think, 'Oh, my girlfriend' and I don't think, 'Oh, my boyfriend.' I just think, 'Z.'"

Z Murphy, 17, prepares for her girlfriend's prom. (Andre Malok | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

'IS THERE SUCH THING AS THAT?'

The gender binary begins at birth when a baby is immediately assigned as male or female. Often, it happens even earlier with an ultrasound and then gender reveal parties.

But the emergence of nonbinary and similarly identifying people has gained enough momentum in the past several years to challenge those norms, says Corrine O'Hara, a long-time LGBTQ youth advocate in New Jersey.

About 13 percent of transgender and gender nonconforming people surveyed in 2012 said they didn't identify as either male/man or female/woman, according to the National LGBTQ Task Force and the National Center for Transgender Equality. And 20 percent of the 6,434 participants said they identified part time as one gender, part time as another.

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Similarly, a 2013 national survey of LGBTQ students ages 13 to 21 found 11 percent identify as genderqueer, while 4 percent selected "another gender," such as agender or gender fluid. The study, conducted by GLSEN, one of the nation's leading LGBTQ organizations, was the first by the group to include genderqueer as an option.

More people are identifying under the nonbinary umbrella because of the growing acceptance and understanding of LGBTQ issues, says Jill Marcellus, director of communications for the Transgender Law Center in Oakland, Calif. The sheer fame of Olympic champion and reality television star Caitlyn Jenner, who came out as a trans woman in 2015, has helped educate.

"We're in a place where more people are feeling able to come out and talk about how their identities don't fit in the typical boxes that folks associate with gender," Marcellus says. "We've seen an increase in people feeling they're able to live as their authentic selves."

That poses a challenge for everyone from governments and private employers to schools and hospitals. For years, transgender people have been pushing for rights to more easily change their genders on licenses and birth certificates and have equal bathroom access. But what about people who don't want to identify as either male or female? Or people who want to identify as both?

"It's new -- that's why people are confused and it's not discussed as normal compared to transgender," says Jackie Baras, co-facilitator of a transgender family support group at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in Somerset. "Even us, even in the community, we're kind of like, 'Really? Is there such thing as that?'"

The bathroom issue is popping up in school districts across New Jersey, and nonbinary people are presenting their own unique challenges since some may be comfortable using both the "girls" or "boys" room. Sue Henderson, a guidance counselor at Ocean Township High, said her school offers bathrooms in the nurses office and another single stall as gender neutral options for transgender or nonbinary students.

Meanwhile, Eily most often uses the "girls" bathroom at school or in public because that's the gender others often perceive her to be, and Z also uses the "girls" room most often mainly out of convenience. Soren tries to use single stall bathrooms at school that are considered more gender neutral, and said using the "girls" room can be particularly difficult.

"Using the women's rooms is pretty awful because those who don't know me give me strange looks and think they're in the wrong bathroom," Soren says. "(It) just makes me uncomfortable and again aware of gender."

Z Murphy,17, identifies as nonbinary, a gender other than strictly male or female. (Andre Malok | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

'A MESS IN MY HEAD'

Soren, who prefers gender neutral pronouns such as "they, them," tends to be analytical, so exploring gender identity can be mentally exhausting.

"The not knowing is sometimes very uncomfortable," Soren says. "It's just such a mess in my head."

Assigned female at birth and given the name "Sarah," Soren does a double take when someone refers to Soren and other students together as "girls." Catching a glimpse of breasts before stepping into the shower is confusing "because I just forget they're there," Soren says.

Soren then will consider identifying as male, "but my brain immediately goes to the arch-type, the macho male, and I'm like, 'No, I'm not that.'"

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Soren recently graduated as an A student at Montgomery High in Somerset County and calls homework a "coping mechanism." It's complicated enough being a teenager, and wrestling with gender only adds to Soren's angst.

"I don't really know what it means to be male or female," says Soren, who will attend Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. this fall.

Eily can relate.

Also an A student, Eily came across the notion that gender is not binary while visiting an online forum for young novel writers six years ago.

The threads were divided into posts for boys and girls, and Eily questioned why there needed to be a distinction. That's when another poster wrote that there are people who don't identify as either boys or girls.

"That was a defining moment because I knew then," says Eily, who was assigned female at birth. "I was like, 'That's what I am.' Everything made sense."

Eily, who says ze wants to study neuroscience or "something to do with thinking and the brain" next year at Williams College in Massachusetts, often analyzes the idea of gender. When it comes to feeling masculine or feminine, Eily says ze doesn't feel like either.

Teens and experts say the nonbinary movement is not a fad, and that it could be one step in a journey toward ultimately identifying as one gender or the other. Others will go their entire lives under the nonbinary umbrella.

"I still don't have an exact word for what I feel," Eily says. "I've sort of used the umbrella term mostly because I know I fit into that umbrella, but it's hard to pinpoint where.

 

Matthew Stanmyre may be reached at mstanmyre@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MattStanmyre. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

An East Orange police officer who was suspended after being indicted on drug charges was found not guilty of the charges

Suspended East Orange Police Officer Rajheher Messenburg was found not guilty of drug and official misconduct charges, and is seeking to return to the police force. (Essex County Prosecutor's Office)
 

NEWARK -- An East Orange police officer who was suspended without pay in 2014 after being indicted on charges of running a drug dealing operation out of her home has been cleared of all charges.

A Superior Court jury last Thursday found Rajheher Massenburg not guilty of conspiracy to distribute drugs and official misconduct.

Massberg's lawyer Charles Sciarra said his client will now seek to get her job back.

"Throughout this ordeal, Rajheher Massenberg maintained her innocence, rejecting plea negotiations and electing to go to trial, facing (the possibility of) five year mandatory imprisonment without parole on these charges," Sciarra said.

He contends that Massenberg was the target of retaliation after she filed a lawsuit against the East Orange police department. 

Massenberg was indicted in October 2014 on charges of running a drug dealing operation out of her home. Two other people were also indicted in the case, including Andrew Jones, 40, who lived with Massenberg and is the father of her children, and Wendy Rhea, 50, of East Orange.

Authorities said Jones stored drugs in Massenberg's North Maple Avenue home and ran a drug operation out of that house.

Authorities said that undercover detectives purchased narcotics from Jones eight separate times in from October to December 2013, and that when police raided the home, they found crack cocaine packaged for distribution, and paraphernalia that indicated cocaine was being packaged on the property.

Charges against Jones and Rhea are still pending, according to court records.

Massenberg, 37, joined the East Orange force in 2003.

"We are going to fight to get her job back, starting today," Sciarra said on Tuesday.

East Orange spokeswoman Connie Jackson said the city would not comment on Massenberg's job because it is a personnel matter. However, Jackson said, "we respect the judicial process."

Essex County Prosecutor's Office spokeswoman Katherine Carter, when asked about the verdict, said, "We're disappointed, but we respect the decision of the jury."

Sciarra said Massenberg testified in her own defense during the trial before Superior Court Judge Marysol Rosero. The lawyer praised his client for testifying about her life in East Orange where she bought a house and "planted roots."

While saying the Essex County Prosecutor is "generally fair and professional," Sciarra said, "in this case they should have scoured the full record of my client's employment with East Orange.

Sciarra said prosecutors were unaware of Massenberg's prior suit against East Orange police, and unaware that a detective allegedly retaliated against his client with unsubstantiated allegations.

"Had the East Orange Police Department been forthright with the prosecutor from the beginning, this matter may not have been prosecuted in the first place," Sciarra said.

He said Massenberg was grateful for the support she received from the state and local chapters of the Policemen's Benevolent Association.

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

Store robbed Tuesday morning

A man police say robbed a Newark business July 5, 2016 

The robbery occurred around 9 a.m. on the 600 block of Broadway, according to police. It was not immediately clear how much money was stolen in the holdup.

The robber was last seen running south on Broadway, toward Romaine Place, authorities said.

A man police say robbed a Newark business July 5, 2016 

Police released photos of the suspect, and said he should be considered armed and dangerous. Authorities did not publicly name the business.

Anyone with information was asked to call Newark's 24-hour Crime Stoppers tip line at 877-NWK-TIPS (877-695-8477) or NWK-GUNS (877-695-4867). Anonymous tips would be kept confidential and could lead to a reward, police added.

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

Event set for Wednesday

NEWARK -- Officials on Wednesday are set to welcome 138 new city police recruits and swear in seven officers at a public ceremony in city's Central Ward.

The new recruits were selected to enter various police academies, where they will receive 26 weeks of training to become officers, according to officials.

Newark Mayor Ras J. Baraka, Public Safety Director Anthony Ambrose, and new Police Chief Darnell Henry are set to preside over the ceremony at Metropolitan Baptist Church on Springfield Avenue.

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"The new recruits and officers maintain Mayor Baraka's commitment to enhancing public safety in the city and to increasing the presence of police officers on the streets," the mayor's office said in an announcement.

Last month, dozens of police officers and firefighters were sworn in after completing training programs.

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

Three Newark cops credited with making quick arrest

(File photo) 

The 53-year-old city man ran to the police division's 1st Precinct and told officers two assailants carjacked him and crashed the vehicle, according to authorities. The suspects were reportedly last seen running west on Hunterdon Street.

Lt. Christopher Brown, Sgt. Victor Manata and Sgt. Keith Jones rushed to Hunterdon Street, where they captured the suspected carjackers after a brief foot chase, authorities said. The pair also dropped a knapsack holding several credit cards and cell phones that did not belong to them, police added.

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"These two suspects were removed from our streets by the quick actions of these three officers. Far too often, their efforts go unrecognized," Public Safety Director Anthony Ambrose said in a statement. "The arrests of these suspects will keep others from being victimized, while providing detectives an opportunity determine their involvement in other crimes."

Authorities identified the alleged carjackers as 18-year-old Damon Barrett, of Newark, and a 17-year-old. An investigation into the credit cards and cell phone was ongoing, according to police.

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

The City of Brotherly Love and The Big Apple aren't known for being cordial, according to one survey.

The Big Apple no longer holds the title of rudest city in the land.

That distinction was this year bestowed on Miami, according to the America's Favorite Places survey from the magazine Travel + Leisure.

New York City, however, still ranked among the top 5 surliest cities in the nation, as did Philadelphia (which also holds the title of the angriest city in the country, per Thrillist).

The travel magazine's survey asked respondents to submit their favorite place and rank that place in more than 65 categories, including topics like entertainment and nightlife as well as issues like walkability and safety.

The survey was open to everyone and ran next to a sweepstakes.

The magazine also acknowledges that "rudeness in cities on the list can be in the eye of the beholder."

Miami topped the list for the first time this year, after ranking as the second rudest city in the country last year.

Phoenix was the runner-up this year, followed by New York City, which somehow improved its reputation (Travel + Leisure speculates the mild winter may have played a role in knocking The Big Apple from its perch as the rudest city around.)

Los Angeles ranked as the fourth rudest city in the U.S. and Philadelphia rounded out the top five. 

"It's known as the City of Brotherly Love, but it's not all hugs and tenderness in Philadelphia," according to Travel + Leisure.

Also among the top 10 rudest cities in the country are Salt Lake City, Boston, Dallas, Colorado Springs, Colo., and Ann Arbor, Mich., according to the magazine's survey.

The survey was open from Oct. 8, 2015 to April 15, 2016. 

Erin O'Neill may be reached at eoneill@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @LedgerErin. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Joseph Ramaikas owned the Cedar Ridge Café and Bakery in Maplewood.

MAPLEWOOD -- A New Jersey cafe owner died shortly after snorkeling in Hawaii, according to multiple reports.

Joseph Ramaikas, owner of the Cedar Ridge Cafe and Bakery in Maplewood, died Tuesday while vacationing in West Maui with his wife and son, The Village Green reported.

According to the Honolulu Star Advertiser, police said Ramaikas "became distressed" while snorkeling off West Maui, and was pulled to shore by good Samaritans who attempted to administer CPR until paramedics arrived. He died at the scene, the report said.

The cafe posted a message on its Facebook page acknowledging Ramaikas's death.

"It is with saddened souls and heavy heavy hearts that we need to inform you of the sudden passing of our beloved Joe Ramaikas," the post reads.

"Please take a moment to reflect on the memories you have of Joe, and to be thankful for having known him, and been a part of his life in our community. He will truly be missed by all of his Cedar Ridge Family."

The cafe will be closed for the next few days, the post said.

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

The free 4th of July concert included the presentation of a key to the city.

EAST ORANGE -- It was a homecoming fit for a 25th anniversary.

Hip hop group Naughty by Nature celebrated Independence Day by throwing a free show in their hometown, East Orange.

According to city officials, one of the Grammy-Award winning rap trio's first ever performances was during a 4th of July celebration at what was then known as Martens Stadium.

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Anthony Criss, Vincent Brown, and Kier Gist -- better known as Treach, Vin Rock, and DJ Kay Gee -- returned to the venue, now called the Paul Robeson Stadium, Monday for a show celebrating the group's roots. Despite rain during the concert, officials say the show hit all the group's high notes, and featured special surprise guests Next, Miss NaNa, Mr. Cheeks from the Lost Boyz, Fam of the Rottin Razkals, Zhane, BBOD and Shareefa.

The trio is currently on tour to celebrate the 25th anniversary of their debut self-titled album.

As part of the homecoming celebration, East Orange Mayor Lester Taylor presented the three with a key to the city.

"This was a phenomenal event, from start to finish, and Naughty By Nature's performance was epic!" Taylor said in a statement.

"In spite of the heavy and steady downpour, this concert is sure to be remembered as one of the most exciting 4th of July celebrations in our city's history. It was an honor to give Vinnie, Kay Gee and Treach a key to the city to recognize their 25 years as Hip Hop pioneers who have always remained committed and true to their roots in East Orange."

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

A recent FRONTLINE episode examined the police department and changes happening under the federal consent decree.

NEWARK -- What will reform in the Newark police department really look like?

In an hour-long FRONTLINE documentary that premiered on PBS on June 28, "Policing the Police," reporter Jelani Cobb follows the NPD for a year. In the aftermath of a Department of Justice report finding that officers frequently violated citizens' rights, Cobb accompanies police units on the streets of Newark, and talks with city officials about changes happening in the department.

Cobb, a reporter at the New Yorker and former college classmate and friend of Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, has been following police-citizen relations in cities across the country since 2014 riots in Ferguson, Mo. after the fatal police shooting of Michael Brown.

For the documentary, he was in and out of Newark for about a year. Initially, he said in an interview with NJ Advance Media Wednesday, he thought he'd be following the implementation of the DOJ reforms.

But, it took nearly two years for the federal department and the city to reach a consent decree outlining the changes. It wasn't until earlier this year that the two chose a federal monitor to oversee the implementation of the plan. The city council also only approved the creation of a civilian review board to review police conduct in March.

In the meantime, Baraka also overhauled the organizational structure of the city's police and fire crews, combining their leadership into a single "Department of Public Safety," lead by former Essex County Prosecutor's Office Chief of Detectives Anthony Ambrose.

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"It took a really long time for the Department of Justice and Newark to (agree to) terms," Cobb said Wednesday.

"This (documentary) is really just the front end of the (story)."

Whether or not the reform efforts have an impact in the Brick City remains to be seen, Cobb said.

"Reforming the police in Newark is clearly going to be a long haul, and the problems go beyond the police alone," Cobb concludes near the end of the documentary. "But Ras has no choice but to believe that change is possible."

While the department is still in the midst of its transition, the investigation highlighted several lingering questions about the future of the NPD, and the fate of the city it serves:

1. What is the status of the PD's communications department? The film highlights a mayoral visit to the communications center in which he finds non-working computers and an abundance of under-informed officers staffing it. Part of a 45-day plan Ambrose released in February outlined plans to rework the department and decrease emergency response times. The documentary begs the question, has there been progress?
2. How are officers organized? The gang unit followed for most of the documentary was reassigned as part of the 45-day plan. How has the new configuration changed things?
3. Where is the line? Repeatedly through the piece, Cobb asks if police officers can realistically get guns and drugs off of Newark streets without violating citizens' rights. He never settles on a concrete answer.
4. Has the public safety department switch worked? At the end of last year, Baraka overhauled the police and fire departments, naming Ambrose director. In the documentary, Cobb questions the decision, calling Ambrose part of the "old guard." Since the appointment, the department has touted reductions in certain crimes. But, the film pushes for a greater analysis of the switch.
5. What's an acceptable timeline? Cobb concludes that change in the Newark police department will take a long time. It's been about two years since the DOJ report, and reform agreements have just recently been reached. How long will reform actually take?

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

It was not immediately clear if the third child was in the same room when the 5-year-old boy used his mother's illegal gun to fatally shoot his 4-year-old brother by accident.

EAST ORANGE -- A 1-year-old child was also in the apartment when a 5-year-old boy accidentally shot and killed his 4-year-old brother in the city two weeks ago, the prosecutor's office said Wednesday.

It was not immediately clear if the 1-year-old boy, who was not injured, witnessed the 5-year-old shoot his younger brother, Christopher Lassiter III, on June 25, said Katherine Carter, a spokeswoman for the Essex County Prosecutor's Office.

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The 1-year-old is not the child of Itiyanah Spruill, the mother of Christopher and the 5-year-old, but rather the step brother of one of her children, Carter said. She did not know which child was his relation.

Spruill, 22, pleaded not guilty June 28 to charges of endangering the welfare of the  children and a weapons violation in connection with the death. The mother did not have a permit to possess the gun used in the shooting, court records show.

No details have been released about how Spruill obtained the gun.

While she is being held on $310,000 bail, she was permitted to attend a viewing of her slain child before his funeral services late last week.

At the services, family remembered Christopher as an active 4-year-old, who loved the film "The Avengers" and aspired to be a doctor. 

"He thought he was his own superhero," the boy's aunt, Rev. Arvetta Woody, said. 

Carter said she does not know if Spruill had custody of Christopher or the 5-year-old.

The state Department of Children and Families, parent agency for the Division of Child Protection and Permanency, declined to say if the family had ever been investigated by state authorities.

"We are still collecting information," a spokesman, Ernest Landante, said.

The division, the state's child welfare agency, is required to release information in  cases when a child dies from maltreatment of a child's death from maltreatment, according to the state and federal Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act.

The laws require the disclosure of the child's name, date of birth and death, the dates of contact with the family, whether other children were living in the home and where they are now, the outcome of any investigation and whether any services were recommended or provided to the family.

Staff writer Susan K. Livio contributed reporting.

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

More than 130 recruits to enter police training in hopes of becoming Newark officers

NEWARK -- City leaders on Wednesday welcomed 135 police recruits as they begin training to become officers in what officials say is Newark's largest class of future officers in more than a decade.

Public Safety Director Anthony Ambrose and Mayor Ras Baraka addressed the recruits as part of a ceremony at the Metropolitan Baptist Church, where seven recent police academy graduates were also sworn in as officers.

Ambrose noted that many residents and police brass at the event likely remembered the days when Newark had 1,500 to 1,600 officers. The newest 135 recruits are set to bring the police division's ranks up to 1,127 officers from its current 992 members.

"Today is an extraordinary today," Ambrose said. "This department is the best in the nation, but it was depleted."

The new recruits will undergo 26 weeks of police training at academies in Essex, Bergen, Passaic and Morris counties before five weeks of additional training within Newark, according to officials. New officers are initially sent to walk beats around the city before moving to assignments in police precincts. The group will be among the first to use body cameras and Tasers.

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After graduation, the new crop of recruits will help boost police response time for the short staffed department, prevent crime and allow for a beefed up criminal investigations unit, Ambrose added.

"The benefactors of this are the citizens," the public safety director said in an interview.

Ambrose and Baraka both spoke of reforming the police department after a Department of Justice review found repeated civil rights violations and the force was placed under a federal monitor.

"There's a transformation that's occurring," said Ambrose, a former chief of investigations at the Essex County Prosecutor's Office who Baraka hired as public safety director. "This is a department that is changing for the better."

Recruits must meet high standards as city police officers, the mayor and public safety director said.

"The citizens can have a bad day. You can't. Remember that," Ambrose told the class.

Officials this year have sworn in 80 police officers and Baraka said his administration has hired more cops in the past two years than over the earlier eight years.

"We are working to build our police department, not decimate it," Baraka added. "We are working to strengthen the department, not destroy it."

The ceremony brought proud family members and top law enforcement officials, including Acting Attorney General Christopher Porrino, Acting Essex County Prosecutor Carolyn Murray and the special agent in charge of Newark's FBI division. 

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

City resident injured in shooting

(File photo) 

Quddus Widener was charged with aggravated assault, unlawful possession of a gun and other weapons offenses in connection with the shooting Monday, according to spokesman Keith Royster.

The victim, identified as a 27-year-old man, suffered a non life-threatening gunshot wound to his buttocks in the attack around 10:30 p.m. near Washington and High streets, the city spokesman said. The injured man was treated at University Hospital in Newark.

Authorities would not immediately release further details.

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

The FDA launched an investigation after more than a dozen patients at a Michigan hospital came down with bacterial infections.

A Newark-based pharmaceutical company pleaded guilty to criminal charges Wednesday in connection with the sale of ultrasound gel contaminated with bacteria that infected at least 16 patients.

Pharmaceutical Innovations Inc. also agreed to settle a civil lawsuit tied to its distribution of the gel. The firm was ordered to pay a criminal fine of $50,000 and to forfeit an additional $50,000 --the approximate value of the products in question.

"Pharmaceutical Innovations shipped defective products that exposed hospital patients to dangerous bacterial contamination," said U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman, adding that the plea agreement and civil settlement required the company to accept responsibility for the contamination and take steps to prevent it from happening again.

In settling the civil case, the company also agreed to the destruction of particular gel products that tested high for infectious bacteria. It agreed to an injunction as well, requiring independent experts and auditors to conduct regular inspections and certifications at the company's expense.

In a statement, Charles Buchalter, president of the company, said the day marked "a major milestone in Pharmaceutical Innovations' ongoing efforts to enhance its manufacturing processes in support of a new start for our company and our next generation of products. We are pleased to have addressed the concerns of the FDA and to demonstrate our continuing commitment to manufacturing high-quality products for our customers in compliance with all applicable regulations."

Ultrasound gel is used conduct scans, sonograms, EKGs and similar procedures.

The company became the focus of an Food and Drug Administration inquiry in 2012 after a Michigan hospital reported that 16 surgical patients had been infected with Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a bacterial pathogen. Believing the infections had been associated with a particular lot of Pharmaceutical Innovations ultrasound gel, the hospital had it tested and confirmed the contamination.

Prosecutors said a second lot shipped in April 2012 was found to be contaminated with two types of bacteria--Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Klebsiella oxytoca.

According to authorities, the patients had all undergone transesophageal ultrasounds--internal procedures performed as an alternative to traditional echocardiograms --during heart valve replacement surgeries. None of them died.

The company and its president were charged with violating the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. In court filings, prosecutors charged that FDA inspections at Pharmaceutical Innovations' Newark facility identified numerous and repeated deviations from good manufacturing practices. The FDA also said the company failed to solve the problem, despite repeated warnings.

Pharmaceutical Innovations pleaded guilty before U.S. District Court Judge Esther Salas in Newark to an information charging it with two misdemeanor counts of introducing adulterated medical devices into interstate commerce. In addition to the fines, the company was placed on two years of probation.

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

A look at noteworthy dates that have shaped the state.

On the first Thursday of each month we will post "This month in N.J. History."

Courtesy of theguardian.com 

This gallery will supplement our Glimpse of History feature as well as our regular vintage photo galleries, offering a snapshot of significant events in Garden State history.

We will highlight N.J. politics, music, literature, sports, crime, entertainment and disasters - both natural and manmade. We will share N.J.-timestamped events, from earth-shaking to simply amusing.

MORE: Vintage photos around New Jersey

If there are dates you don't see on our timeline but believe should be remembered, let us know in the comments section.

And, be sure to enable captions for the gallery so you can read all the information associated with each day in New Jersey history.

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

Get ready for another steamy day across the Garden State, with intense heat and scattered storms in the afternoon.

Think it felt hot outside on Wednesday? It could be even hotter in many areas of New Jersey on Thursday before scattered storms soak the state.

A steamy air mass remains planted over our region, which will push the mercury up to the 90s throughout the Garden State. The summer heat paired with the humidity levels will make it feel like it's 100 degrees or higher at points during the day.

Nation Weather Serivce 

An excessive heat warning remains in effect for the suburban Philadelphia region of New Jersey -- Camden, Gloucester and Mercer counties, as well as northwestern Burlington County -- all day Thursday and through 6 p.m. Friday.

Daytime temperatures in those counties are expected to soar into the mid-90s on Thursday and Friday, and the high humidity will make it feel dangerously hot, around 100 to 102 degrees, the National Weather Service said. Even at night, there won't be much relief, with temperatures dropping no lower than the mid-70s.

For city commuters, The Big Apple is still under a heat advisory, which isn't expect to expire until 7 p.m. Friday.

Throughout the rest of the state, temperatures will top out in the lower 90s, as sunny skies give way to strong scattered storms in the early afternoon.

The likely showers and thunderstorms in North Jersey have triggered a flash flood watch for most of Morris, Somerset, Middlesex, Monmouth, Essex, Bergen, Passaic and Union counties. The watch is in effect from noon through 6 p.m. The afternoon thunderstorms could produce up to 2 inches of rain in a short period of time, the NWS said.   

Storms are also expected throughout the rest of state before 3 p.m. Heavy rain is possible. The rain should cool off the state a bit, with temperatures dropping down into the 80s, according to forecasts.

And for the second straight day, ground ozone levels will be high, prompting the state Department of Environmental Protection to issue another code orange air quality alert for each of New Jersey's 21 counties. The alert is effective all day Thursday and continues through 6 p.m. Friday, but for Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Passaic and Union counties, the alert is active from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Thursday.

The bad air quality could cause breathing problems for children, elderly people and anyone suffering from asthma, heart disease and other lung ailments, officials said.

The threat of thunderstorms will linger overnight. Temperatures will drop into the lower 70s in most of New Jersey.

Friday's forecast calls for a hot, sunny day to close out the week, with highs in the 90s again. Scattered storms may develop in parts of the state during the day again. At night, rain is likely. Lows will be around 72 degrees.

Hottest places on Wednesday

On Wednesday, the hottest location in New Jersey was Hawthorne in Passaic County, where the mercury hit 96 degrees. Not far behind were Cream Ridge in Monmouth, Hamilton in Mercer, Newark in Essex, and Mansfield and Oswego Lake in Burlington, all of which hit 95 degrees.

At one point during the day, Toms River had a temperature of 92 degrees, but the humidity of 53 percent made it feel like 100 degrees. New Brunswick's temperature hit 94, but the "real-feel" temperature -- known as the heat index -- also was a steamy 100 degrees.

For more information on ground-level ozone and fine particles in the air, check www.airnow.gov. Tips on how to avoid heat-related strokes and other heat-induced ailments can be found on this page of the New Jersey Office of Emergency Management: www.ready.gov/heat. 

More New York weather

More Philadelphia weather

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

Willie Banks was the No. 3 overall selection in the 1987 MLB draft, but after his pro career ended his life fell on hard times and he tried to drink himself to death. Just as he lost his family, he found a new one in a pair of strangers. Watch video

Willie Banks guzzled the final drops of tequila, tossing the empty bottle aside.

Once again he was drunk and alone.

A lifetime before, Banks had been the highest New Jersey player ever chosen in the Major League Baseball draft, selected No. 3 overall by the Twins in 1987, two slots behind Ken Griffey Jr. He made nearly $1.5 million over nine Big League seasons, which included a memorable September run with the Yankees in 1997.

But now he was broke and squatting in a house he no longer owned, the lights, heat and hot water shut off. He had become a recluse, hiding from friends and family who banged on the door, ever since his mother, Ethel Banks, died suddenly three years earlier. His mother's death, coupled with his retirement from baseball, left him hollow and considering suicide.

With no more alcohol on that cold night in January of 2009, Banks closed his eyes and drifted to sleep.

He saw his mother, wearing her favorite white-and-red T-shirt.

Then, she spoke.

"Get your ass off the couch," Ethel Banks told her son. "Start living your life again."

Willie Banks woke the next morning, shaken and sobbing.

"I've never had a dream that was so real," he said.

His mother's message snapped Banks from his haze, and it led to a decision that would save his life.

Four months later, Banks, at age 40, joined the Newark Bears minor league team and gave baseball one last shot. It was there he met Jim and JoAnn Domino, a married couple from Monroe who worked for the club.

Banks' stint with the Bears ended in less than two forgettable seasons, but his relationship with the Dominos would prove to be more valuable than any contract he ever signed.

Today, if you need to find the highest draft pick the state ever produced, the guy who became a legend in Jersey City before a winding pro career, just ring the Dominos.

Banks has been living in their basement the past seven years.

'URBAN VERSION OF THE NATURAL'

Growing up in Jersey City, Banks encountered wave after wave of tragedy. When he was four, he said, his mother's cousin was shot and killed with Banks just a few feet away.

He's been haunted ever since.

"I'll tell you the truth," Banks said, "I haven't slept good since I was 4 years old."

When he was 10, seven friends and family members, including four children and two teenagers, were killed in a fire that destroyed his family's apartment building at 54 Bright Street.

Then at 14, his family moved into the notorious Curries Woods housing projects, a high rise where shootings, stabbings and drug dealing never seemed to stop. Banks called the projects "a nightmare."

Powerful and fast, Banks found a safe haven with sports. He went to St. Anthony High, playing for legendary basketball coach Bob Hurley and baseball coach Mike Hogan. Also, one of Jersey City's most colorful characters and a pro baseball scout, Ed "The Faa" Ford, trained Banks and kept him busy.

Jersey City legend Ed 'The Faa' Ford dies at 65

"Mr. Ford would say, 'All right kid, hop out my car,'" Banks remembered. "So I'm running like I'm a boxer all around these neighborhoods and he's like, 'Come on! Catch up!'"

The steady guidance of Ford, Hogan and Hurley helped Banks get the most out of his athletic gifts. But it was his mother's influence that mattered most. His father was rarely around, and Hogan described Banks' two older brothers as "knuckleheads." But when Ethel Banks spoke, Willie snapped to attention.

"She did everything for him," Hogan remembered. "They didn't have anything, but she gave him what she could."

Banks went on to capture three state titles with the Friars basketball team, and he did even better in baseball. As a 6-foot, 185-pound senior in 1987, Banks said he went 17-1 and was touching 95 mph with his fastball. He also employed a nasty curveball and a solid changeup on his way to being named Gatorade State Player of the Year.

"He was the urban version of 'The Natural,'" Hurley said.

For the MLB draft, Banks was rumored to go as high as No. 1 to the Mariners. Instead, they chose Griffey Jr., who would drill 630 homers over 22 seasons. This month, he will be inducted into the MLB Hall of Fame.

Banks' own pro career charted a significantly different course.

'THOUGHTS OF ENDING IT'

Banks made his MLB debut in 1991 with the Twins, becoming a starter from the beginning. But after three up-and-down seasons in which he went 15-16 with a 4.61 earned-run average, Minnesota traded him to the Cubs.

It marked the beginning of a nomadic existence for Banks, who played for seven teams over nine seasons, in addition to a stint in Japan. Banks always had the stuff to strike out top hitters, but he was plagued by wildness and inconsistency.

Top prospect Jason Groome picked by Red Sox

"He had three pitches -- it wasn't like he just threw hard and relied on a fastball," Hogan said. "But it's just a different level."

Banks played his final MLB season with the Red Sox in 2002, then joined the Newark Bears for his first go-around with the club in 2004. The following year he seemed done with baseball and drifted aimlessly.

"I thought I could play forever," Banks said. "That was one of the hardest things for me to deal with."

Baseball had been Banks' identity since he was a teenager, and without the game he was lost. He also didn't know how to properly manage his finances because during his career, he said, agents and team personnel always had handled the details for him. In 2006, the bank opened a foreclosure case against him, seeking to seize his five-bedroom home in Jamesburg, according to housing records.

Then tragedy struck later that year, when Ethel Banks died unexpectedly following complications from hysterectomy surgery, according to Willie Banks. Ethel Banks was 61.

Her death sent Willie Banks spiraling.

"He really detached himself from a lot of people," said Rubin Rodriguez, one of his closest friends. "He wasn't playing baseball. He didn't have his mother. That's when I was really concerned."

Banks would lock the door to his home, close the curtains and down tequila and whiskey until passing out. He would hide in silence when friends banged on the door.

The foreclosure case was dropped and the house was sold in February of 2007, but Banks said he didn't make any money from the deal because he was swindled by a middle-man. He said he refused to leave, staying for months in the house even after the heat and hot water were shut off.

"I was having thoughts of ending it," Banks said. "I didn't realize what I was doing, didn't care what I was doing because my mother was such an influential part of my life. She was my best friend. When she passed away I felt like I had nobody left."

Before Banks could hurt himself, he drained a bottle of tequila and had a dream.

Soon, he would meet the couple that filled the void in his life.

'AN ADOPTED SON'

Banks needed a ride to work. He was squatting in the Jamesburg house, and the Dominos lived a town over in Monroe. So when he lost his license after a traffic violation in 2009, the Dominos' son, James, who worked as a batboy with the Bears, began driving Banks to games.

Soon, Jim and JoAnn Domino learned Banks, who was 40 at the time, was living in a nearby house with no heat or hot water.

"I said, 'Well, tell him to come here,'" JoAnn Domino remembered. "There was no hesitation."

Ranking N.J.'s top 25 high school dynasties

The Dominos invited Banks to live in their basement walkout and he quickly agreed. The space has a bathroom, kitchenette and living quarters, but the Dominos have never charged him a dollar in rent.

How could they? The Dominos now consider Banks family.

"He's almost become an adopted son," Jim Domino said. "It's just keeping him going like a mother or father would their own kid."

When Banks needed to buy a car and didn't have the credit to satisfy the dealership, the Dominos co-signed for his loan. Then, they set up his monthly automatic withdrawal payments. They encourage him to save his money and stay on top of what he does day to day.

"Sometimes he can still be like a little kid," JoAnn Domino said. "But he was never taught. He went to the Major Leagues, made a lot of money, shipped his money off and was never taught anything else. To me, he was taken advantage of by everybody."

JoAnn Domino said she buys Banks whole milk, cheddar cheese and Frosted Flakes from the grocery store. In turn, Banks does everything from drive the family's ill cat to the vet to looking after JoAnn Domino's handicapped sister.

Their relationship became even deeper once the Dominos bought Toms River Sports Academy in 2010 and brought Banks on as an instructor. The Dominos say Banks' name value and MLB experience has been invaluable in driving business. He teaches private lessons, works with various softball and baseball teams and comes to work each day wearing an infectious smile.

Banks makes a living from working at the academy, and he said he also collects a MLB pension.

"They just took care of me," Banks said. "If it wasn't for them, I don't know where I would be. They took me in like I was their own."

His life back on steady ground, Banks has never thought about leaving his place with the Dominos. He found them for a reason, he believes. And the Dominos feel the same.

"It's like, 'Why leave?' They're family," Banks said. "When you grow to love people, it's hard to go. They brought me that stability back because I was a lost cause."

NJ Advance Media librarian Vinessa Erminio contributed to this report.

Matthew Stanmyre may be reached at mstanmyre@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MattStanmyre. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

A jury found a Newark man not guilty in the fatal shooting of a taxi cab driver, but convicted the defendant in two robberies.

NEWARK -- A Superior Court jury found a Newark man not guilty in the 2012 fatal shooting of a taxi cab driver, but convicted him in two robberies that occurred in the hours prior to the shooting.

Alchane Mayes, 22, was acquitted of the June 7, 2012 killing of cabbie Rochenel Guerrier, 49, of Irvington, a veteran taxi driver and father of five, who was shot during a robbery.

In the June 28 verdict, the jury found Mayes not guilty, despite hearing from a co-defendant, Deshon Johnson, 23, who testified during the trial and said that both he and Mayes had fired at Guerrier.

Johnson had previously pleaded guilty to a charge of aggravated manslaughter as part of a plea-agreement in which prosecutors will recommend that he receive a 28-year sentence.

At Mayes' trial, Essex County Assistant Prosecutor Margarita Rivera presented evidence that Guerrier was wounded by bullets fired from two separate guns.

Mayes attorney, Kevin Barry, countered that the prosecution built its case around Johnson, and that Johnson had lied to get his plea-agreement.

Mayes was convicted of three counts of robbery and multiple weapons offenses for two separate robberies.

Authorities said Mayes and Johnson committed two robberies prior getting in Guerrier's taxi cab. Mayes and Johnson robbed two men in Newark on the afternoon of June 6, 2012, and robbed another man before they called for the taxi cab, officials said.

At about 3:30 a.m. on June 7, 2012, Guerrier drove Johnson and Mayes to Mount Prospect and Delavan Avenue where they got out and tried to rob the driver, authorities said.

Guerrier tried to drive away from the robbers, but was shot and crashed into several parked cars.

Both were teenagers when the shooting occurred.

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

The summer jobs program has a waiting list, Newark officials said.

NEWARK -- Taj Atkinson got started in Newark's youth summer program before Mayor Ras Baraka was his mayor. Then, he was Principal Ras Baraka, and Atkinson was one of his students at Central High School.

Now, they have different roles. Baraka is Newark's mayor, and Atkinson is a program monitor. On Wednesday, the two spoke together at Newark City Hall about the importance of the youth summer program -- an initiative aimed at training and employing nearly 2,700 of Newark's youth. 

Baraka, students and sponsors of the program spoke to a crowd of nearly 50 people about the program, which starts Monday and will last until Aug. 20. The program, Baraka said, helps fill a gap while school is out during the summer months. It mostly targets college-aged students, who can apply for the program online.

White House chooses Newark for summer work program

The program has been around for decades, but now includes additional training for youth, and a mentorship program. Students aren't just working at 200 different sites in the public and private sector -- they're being trained and taught financial tools, officials said. About 150 of the students have already opened bank accounts, they said.

Atkinson is one of the 35 program monitors who help mentor the students in the program. This is his first year in that position of leadership, but he's had stints at "My Brother's Keeper" and "Black Lives Matter" at Central High School.

"A lot of times you grow up and you see issues and you don't have the ability to address them, and being given that ability to address is wonderful," said Atkinson, who's now a sophomore at Rowan University. 

There is still a waiting list to participate in the summer program.

"That's why we need more money," Baraka said.

The program is being sponsored by a number of private and public companies, from the Foundation for Newark's Future to Wells Fargo. 

Program Manager Marcia Armstrong remembers her first job. So did almost every attendee in the room. She worked at a daycare. For almost 15 years now, she's worked with kids, and considers that her passion. 

"It didn't matter what kind of students they were. I just wanted to work with students and help them realize that there is opportunity no matter what environment you live in," Armstrong said. "It's a really, really big passion."

Line-of-duty death of Tommaso Popolizio in 2007 makes it personal

Weekend nights on the deserted industrial streets of Newark's Ironbound: The container trucks are gone, heavy equipment sits silently behind padlocked junkyard gates and buses that bring night-shift crews to work run less frequently.

The dim security lights of electric transfer stations, power plants and freight yards, all framed by the Pulaski Skyway, form their own earthbound constellations.

On these nights, the grunt-and-rumble of diesel engines is replaced by four-cylinder hyper-screams of "tuners" - the Hondas, Mitsubishis, Volkswagens and occasional American muscle cars that turn the industrial straightaways of the Newark Bay area into Englishtown North.

And out of the backdrop of dull and stationary factory lights come bling halogens, cobalt beams bouncing along the rough pavement at high speeds, like something out of "Darkness on the Edge of Town."

That was, until a Newark police crackdown. Now, things are quiet. At least for a while.

To city cops, street racing isn't all Jan & Dean fun and games. It's not a Springsteen song or an episode of "Pinks." It can be recklessly deadly, as they well know.

MORE: Recent Mark Di Ionno columns

In the break room of Newark's 3^rd Precinct, a portrait of the late Sgt. Tommaso Popolizio is tacked to a wall. His famous smile is eternalized on a patrol car door. Underneath his picture is a NPD emblem and the words "End of Watch," with the date March 3, 2007, memorialized below.

That was the day Popolizio was broadsided by a street racer, who had stolen a police cruiser.

It was an incomprehensible line-of-duty death. William Rodriquez, then 22, had been  arrested for drag racing on Doremus Avenue, on the farthest eastern point of Newark's Ironbound.

Popolizio had seen him throw a gun out of a car during a chase. Rodriquez was apprehended, cuffed with his hands behind his back and put into the back of a police car. But he managed to ball up and maneuver the cuffs in front of him, then squeeze through the partition separating the back seat from the front seat. He sped off but crashed into Popolizio, who was thrown from his unmarked patrol car.

Popolizio was 33 when he died, leaving behind  a wife, two little girls and a generation of cops who don't see street racing as a little illegal fun, but as potentially lethal to themselves and the public.

After Popolizio was killed, speed bumps were constructed through the area, over the objections of the truckers who haul Maersk, Hapag-Lloyd and Hyundai shipping containers to and from Port Newark via the Jersey Turnpike and Routes 1 & 9.

But all it did was make the races shorter for the low-riding tuners.

"Sometimes when they see us, they take off and hit those bumps, you can see sparks and parts flying off the cars," said Newark Police Lt. Joseph Pereira.

Nobody said you had to be smart to drive fast.

A few weeks ago, in a reminder of Popolizio's death, Patrolman Gonzalo Ramos was dragged and thrown off a car while writing a drag racing-related summons. Ramos was injured and the racer was arrested.

"The guy wasn't hard to find," Pereira said. "Gonzalo already had the ticket half written out, with his license and address. The guy wasn't too bright."

Pereira is the acting captain of the 3^rd Precinct, which covers the eastern half of the city, and has led a "quality of life" crackdown on street racing over the past few weekends.

Working in small teams of marked and unmarked cars, police patrolled the dead-at-night industrial roads of Foundry Street, Wilson Avenue, Doremus Avenue and Avenue P, running off racers and pulling over cars with expired registrations or whose plates don't match the vehicle to which they're bolted.

In two weekends, police wrote 192 traffic summonses during 73 motor vehicle stops, towed two cars that were uninsured and made one arrest. On the fourth night of the sweeps, it was obvious word was out. 

"They kids know we're out here," said Det. Juan Vasquez, whose been chasing car thieves most of his career. "They monitor our frequencies, so we use cellphones now."

Still, within five minutes of a recent patrol, a guy in a low-riding BMW turned tail as soon as Pereira showed up in the dark corner of a parking lot off Ferry Street. It's where the racers sometimes meet, about 200 feet from the front door of the Acme.

"Let's see what we got here," Pereira said as he hit the overhead lights.

What followed was one of those exchanges only cops have with miscreants. 

"What's going, man?" Pereira said.

"I came out to get some milk."

"Get some milk?  Why are you parked way over here?"

Long story short, Pereira smelled marijuana, the guy's license turned out to be suspended, the inspection sticker was outdated and his tinted windows were illegal. Vasquez came on the scene and started writing the tickets.

In this way, quality-of-life sweeps are basically a war on the trivial lawlessness that leads to a feeling of chaos. For several weeks now, Newark police have targeted drug dealers, panhandlers and illegal street vendors, and broke up impassable crowds of kids in the downtown district.

They've rounded up prostitutes and run off pimps in the industrial corridor of Frelinghuysen Avenue.

"We're going to keep it up," said Anthony Ambrose, the city's public safety director. "We have to do this to change the negative perceptions of the city, and make life better for the people who live here."

And they shut down drag racing in the Ironbound. For now.

"As soon as we go away, they'll come back," Pereira said. "Then, we'll come back. It's a cat-and-mouse game, but eventually we hope they'll see we're not going away."

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

The city slammed a recently-released FRONTLINE documentary.

NEWARK -- As part of an hour-long documentary chronicling how the state's largest city is dealing with a federally-mandated overhaul of its police department, PBS's FRONTLINE reporters and camera crews got an insider look. Reporter Jelani Cobb followed police officers as they made stops and arrests, sat in on strategy meetings, and toured the inner workings of police precincts.

But, according to Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, the show used that insider access to paint an unfair picture of the department's road to change.

"The Frontline producers said that they wanted to show Newark police 'in the early stages of charting new territory'... with 'a host of new reforms' and to show that 'change is already afoot in Newark,'" Baraka said in a statement to NJ Advance Media Wednesday.

"They failed miserably in this mission."

5 unanswered questions in the documentary 

The documentary, "Policing the Police," premiered on PBS on June 28. Creators said they chose to highlight the Brick City in the national program after a July 2014 Department of Justice report found that officers routinely violated citizens' rights, and ordered federal oversight of the department. Over the past two years, city officials have been working with federal authorities to reach a consent decree outlining police reforms, and appoint a federal monitor to oversee the changes.

The film, the city alleges, focuses too much on the "before" in the Newark PD, and leaves out a lot of the changes it has already implemented.

"While the film captures the civil rights abuses, discriminatory policing, excessive use of force and severe lack of accountability that led to intervention by the U.S. Department of Justice, it fails to display the extensive ways in which Newark is working to transform public safety," Baraka said.

Among Baraka's complaints about the documentary -- the "large number of events" that FRONTLINE crews attended and filmed, but chose not to include in the finished piece. Among the shots that didn't make the final cut, Baraka said:

• Walking with the 'Occupy the Block' initiative, weekly neighborhood meetings in which Baraka said he and other community leaders and city officials "walk through a block, meet with residents, gather information to improve quality of life on the block while bringing city, police and community together."
• The Newark Street Team, which targets at-risk youth in the city.
• A meeting in which city Public Safety Director Anthony Ambrose announces a 45-day plan to reorganize and cut crime. "The documentary egregiously mischaracterizes Director Ambrose as 'the old guard,' implying old fashioned and part of the problem," Baraka said in the statement. "(I)n fact, the Director is a reformer who is creating sweeping changes in police culture, and his long experience in the PD gives him extensive knowledge of what changes are needed and who can best implement them."
• An interview with Ambrose that discussed several changes to elements highlighted in the "before" component of the documentary, like those made to the department's communications department, internal affairs unit, and individual police officer accountability.
• A public safety brainstorming retreat with Baraka, Ambrose, and a host of other police directors and members of the Safer Newark Council.

Cobb said in an interview Wednesday that the crew had filmed for about 10 months in the city, and had to cut that footage down to about 52 minutes. And, Cobb said, it was only toward the end of their shooting schedule when the city and federal officials reached the consent decree, which was delayed several times. The shooting schedule and budget, he said, did not allow for extensive footage after the agreement was reached.

Still, Cobb said, "we worked very hard to show both sides of the story," including segment in which he rode along with a community policing sergeant working to get intelligence.

"We tried to convey that this is a difficult job...(and) show all of the nuances of the conversation that is happening (in Newark)."

But, Baraka said, the piece instead gave the nation a false representation of the reforms.

"By ignoring what Newark is doing to transform our police, PBS viewers across America are left with the misimpression (of) our strategy," Baraka said.

"Worse, viewers are left with vivid images of police officers behaving violently without countervailing images of the many residents and police officers who are working together to create a culture of cooperation and collaboration."

Do you think the film paints a fair picture of Newark? Watch it below, and let us know your thoughts in the comments section.

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