Woman arrested with more than 500 bundles of heroin in New York, according to police.

Lisa Hawk, 54 (Photo: Onondaga County Sheriff's Office) 

SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Authorities in upstate New York said Friday they are searching for a Newark woman who was accused in a drug trafficking scheme that moved heroin from New Jersey to Syracuse.

Lisa Hawk, 54, was previously arrested with more than 500 bundles of heroin at the Regional Transportation Center, a bus and train station in Syracuse, according to the Onondaga County Sheriff's Office.

Hawk faces new charges of conspiracy, the sheriff's office said. She is described as a black woman, 5-foot-10, 330 pounds with black hair and brown eyes.

Anyone with information about her whereabouts was asked to call the Onondaga County Sheriff's Fugitive Task Force at 315-473-7625. Authorities did release details about the charges.

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

Man treated and released from hospital after early-morning shooting.

Police released security camera images of an Audi that fled a shooting in Newark Feb. 18, 2017 (Photo: Dept. of Public Safety) 

NEWARK -- Detectives are seeking to identify the occupants of a car that fled a shooting and crash scene in Newark early Saturday, authorities said.

City police were called to a report of gunfire shortly before 4 a.m. near Clinton and Elizabeth Avenues, where the shooting victim had crashed his vehicle into a fence at an Exxon gas station, according to Newark Public Safety Director Anthony Ambrose.

The injured man was treated for his wounds and released from University Hospital, authorities said.

'Selfless' cop thanked by suspect after frigid river rescue (VIDEO)

Surveillance camera footage captured a black Audi used by the suspects, according to the public safety director. Police released a photo of the car Saturday. 

Ambrose urged anyone with information about the occupants of the Audi to call the police division's 24-hour Crime Stopper tipline at 1-877-NWK-TIPS (1-877-695-8477) or 1-877-NWK-GUNS (1-877-695-4867). Authorities said all anonymous tips are kept confidential and could lead to a reward.

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

In the New York region's crowded airspace, Newark Liberty International Airport ranks last in the country in getting its flights off on time, and is not much better in its arrival numbers, according to a report on the nation's busiest airports.

Newark Liberty International Airport last year handled 431,595 landings and takeoffs.

Not all of them got to where they were going on time.

Newark Liberty had more departure delays than anywhere in the country last year, with only about 3 out of 4 flights leaving the gate on time, according to a new government report ranking the busiest airports in the U.S.

In fact, all three New York metropolitan area airports ranked near the bottom of the nation's 29 busiest airports for arrivals and departures, the analysis showed.

"The issue is that it's unquestionably the world's busiest airspace," said Robin Sobotta of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Prescott, Ariz., and a former duty manager at Sky Harbor International in Phoenix. "Any one delay or change or weather incident really sends those airports into a disadvantage for on-time performance."

Travel expert George Hobica, founder of Airfarewatchdog.com, said Newark Liberty in particular is affected by the performance of United Airlines, the largest carrier serving the airport, which has had its own on-time performance issues.

"All New York City airports are operating at capacities larger than they were built for," he said.

A 15-minute window

On-time departure performance is based on departure from the gate within 15 minutes of scheduled departure time. On-time arrivals are based on arrival at the gate within 15 minutes of scheduled arrival time.  That means if the flight arrives at the gate 14 minutes, 59 seconds after scheduled arrival time, it is considered on-time. As soon as the clock turns to 15 minutes, it's late, explained BTS officials.

Salt Lake City International in Utah was the top-ranked large airport in the country for performance. More than 87 percent of its departures and arrivals were reported on time.

Nationally, the cause of most flight delays last year were outright flight cancellations, or issues considered within the airline's control. Those issues included maintenance or crew problems, baggage loading or fueling, or planes arriving late from another airport, according to the BTS report. Air traffic control issues represented about 24 percent of all delays.

But experts say the New York region may be one of the most complex air corridors in the world, where air traffic controllers who handle Newark Liberty, LaGuardia and Kennedy International airports are confronted daily with overlapping approach and arrival patterns.

The Federal Aviation Administration declined comment abut the issues affecting the New York region. However, Sobotta said the agency, which controls the nation's airspace, may have exacerbated the problems itself when it eased limits last year on the number of hourly flights at Newark Liberty. Those takeoff and landing authorizations, known as slots, were originally put in place in 2008 to reduce congestion and delays and restricted flight operations during peak times to 81 per hour.

Many airlines had pushed for the lifting of the restrictions, seeking to better compete in a market dominated by United. While it resulted in lower fares for consumers, airport officials said traffic at EWR went up by by 4.3 percent over the previous year.

ExpressJet, which reported significant delays involving several of its scheduled flights out of Newark in December, blamed those problems in part on the lifting of slot restrictions. "With no restrictions on how many flights are operated per hour, delays can occur more frequently due to additional air traffic congestion," the company said in a statement. ExpressJet, a regional carrier, operates United Express routes for United Airlines.

A slight improvement

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates all three major metropolitan area airports--as well as the smaller Teterboro and Atlantic City International airports in New Jersey, and Stewart International Airport in Orange County--said despite the low rankings in the latest on-time performance report, the percentage of on-time arrivals at both New York airports saw a slight increase last year.

Still, LaGuardia remained the worst in the country for arrivals for both years, despite moving up a percentage point to 71.9 percent of arrivals on-time last year. Outdated and worn, LaGuardia Airport is also often ranked at the bottom in customer satisfaction surveys.

According to Port Authority officials, Newark Liberty was affected by long stretches of heavy winds that often forced landings to a single runway. (John Munson | Star-Ledger file photo)

Newark Liberty improved its own departure performance by a percentage point to 75.6 percent of outgoing flights leaving the gate on time last year. However, that still left it worst in the country.

According to Port Authority officials, Newark was affected by long stretches of heavy winds that often forced landings to a single runway.

"Additionally, there was an unusually high incidence of 2016 summer thunderstorms," said a spokeswoman in a statement.

A severe storm that delays incoming planes creates a domino effect, slowing down outgoing flights and delaying connections that can compound quickly in short period of time.

"The Port Authority has made significant efforts to improve movement of planes on the ground, such as installing high-speed taxiways to help move planes faster on and off runways and a traffic metering system at JFK that keeps planes at gates longer to reduce waits on the airfield. Investments by the agency to reduce delays have totaled nearly $200 million," the agency said in its statement. 

The Port Authority said it continues to work with the FAA to expedite the implementation of so-called Next Generation Air Transportation System technologies, part of a new national airspace system that will move the nation's air traffic control system from a radar-based system to a satellite-based system. Currently, all Port Authority airports utilize air traffic control technology that was developed in the 1960s.

Sobotta said the NextGen technology, which is designed to make flight paths more direct, saving time and fuel efficient, may address the crowded airspace issues, but not the weather or the "tarmac rules" that have made pilots reluctant to leave a gate unless there is a clear route to takeoff.

Under the tarmac delay rules, the U.S. Department of Transportation has the authority to fine airlines when passengers on domestic flights are stranded on an airport tarmac for more than three hours.

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

The Newark non-profit group that ran Head Start for a half-century lost that grant, so has filed for bankruptcy.

Federal auditors want the Newark non-profit that ran the city's Head Start program for a half century to refund $10 million in taxpayer money, claiming the agency "inflated" its enrollment numbers.

But officials with the now-defunct Newark Preschool Council Inc. say the group is bankrupt and has no way to return money already paid to teachers and other staff for work done several years ago.

They also insist their enrollment reports were accurate, and they had met their obligation to serve nearly 2,500 preschoolers at more than 30 locations in the city.

Head Start sites in Newark are now operated by other non-profit groups, particularly La Casa de Don Pedro and The Leaguers.

An audit by the Office of Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services looked at 17 months of Newark Preschool Council's Head Start program from 2013 through 2014.

In a report issued last week, auditors said the Council misrepresented the number of children it reached, falling about 35 percent below the "inflated" number listed in its reports.

Since its federal grant was based on the number of children served, the audit concluded the agency should refund nearly $10 million in grant money.

Newark Preschool was one of the original Head Start sites, opening in 1965 when the landmark education program burst on the scene. Its federal contract was automatically renewed every year until 2014, when it was denied a renewal.

That stemmed from a dispute about the proper oversight of one of the daycare centers they partnered with.

Newark briefly sued the federal government over the funding withdrawal, but withdrew its lawsuit a few months later to focus on closing out the program and transitioning its operations to other community groups.

"We had to begin to look at cutting our losses for the betterment of the kids," said Patrick Council, president of the community board affiliated with the organization. "Once you lose the federal grant, it really vanquishes your economic power to sustain and run an organization."

That had a cascading effect: Once the agency lost its big federal Head Start grant, it no longer had access to the outside vendor's enrollment software it had used when it was up and running, Council said.

That meant it couldn't provide auditors with proof its true enrollment. Instead, it had to rely on lower figures compiled through the school system's records for children attending so-called "Abbott" preschools.

The federal auditors were told about the agency's inability to access its old enrollment data, but chose to ignore that, he said.

"They were trying to say we owe them all that money. But that's not true," Council said.

Newark Preschool was hoping it could get its grant back as late as 2015, but then heard through the grapevine that other local agencies were in the running to become the main providers of Head Start.

Faced with a bleak future, the agency filed for bankruptcy last October. It listed about $300,000 in assets beyond the properties it had purchased. Its liabilities were mortgage payments for those properties, pension payments, and unused sick pay owed to many of its 600-plus workers.

Calls to the group's bankruptcy attorneys were not returned Friday.

Kathleen O'Brien may be reached at kobrien@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @OBrienLedger. Find NJ.com on Facebook.  

It is estimated that 80 percent of American households collected Green Stamps during their heyday.

How cool was this: After you paid for groceries or gasoline you didn't just get change, you received stamps that could be redeemed for things you wanted!

This is not a tall tale told by parents or grandparents -- like walking two miles to school in waist-deep snow (up hill, both ways) -- it's exactly how S&H Green Stamps worked.

Thomas Sperry of Cranford and Shelley Byron Hutchinson of Ypsilanti, Mich., founded the Sperry and Hutchison Co. in 1896. They made their money by selling the stamps and redemption books to retailers, then accepting the stamps in exchange for products from S&H catalogs at their redemption centers, which numbered 600 nationwide by the mid-1960s.

photos by Donna Gialanella 

Kelly Kazek, writing on al.com, points out that "by the 1960s, collecting stamps was so popular that S&H claimed it issued three times more stamps than the U.S. Postal Service and its reward catalog was the largest publication in the country." Want to talk market penetration? It is estimated that 80 percent of American households collected Green Stamps during their heyday.

 

The range of products that Green Stamps could be redeemed for was broad. By the 1960s, the S&H "Ideabook" catalog contained 178 pages of items from dishtowels and ash trays to fishing poles, bicycles, furniture, appliances and a complete set of the Encyclopedia Brittanica.

Economists say the recession of the 1970s impacted heavily on S&H Green Stamps; consumers weren't buying as much, and retailers had to cut back on incentive programs. The stamps lasted into the late 1990s, but didn't have the "sticking" power they once held.

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

 

Mayor Ras Baraka refuted that the city was becoming the next Brooklyn amid rising developments.

NEWARK -- No, Mayor Ras Baraka insisted, Newark is not the next Brooklyn. 

In a video message posted on YouTube, Baraka said that despite the city's sprouting development, Newark was not displacing its longtime residents. 

"It's not accurate to say that we are gentrifying those neighborhoods. Those neighborhoods were neglected for 50 years," Baraka said. "You can't just be against development and not for the bettering of conditions."

The city is experiencing a building boom with new projects like the 22-acre Mulberry Commons expected to bring new visitors, recreation and foot traffic to Newark by 2018.

Other long-vacant properties like the Hahne & Co. department store building are getting second lives. The newly-remodeled building includes the city's first Whole Foods and 160 apartments, about 65 of which are affordable units. 

"Most of the places we are developing are abandoned or have been abandoned for 30, 40, 50 years. So we're not displacing people," Baraka said. 

He said he's also pushing the City Council to approve an inclusionary zoning ordinance mandating certain future developments include low- and moderate-income units. 

The council deferred approving the ordinance last week after members of the community asked that it be strengthened. The ordinance requires new housing developers with 30 or more units that appear before the zoning board to provide 20 percent affordable housing. Such measures would apply to different sections of the city over time. 

Housing advocates want the ordinance to take effect citywide immediately, give Newark residents priority for affordable housing and more broadly apply to other projects. 

Baraka said for now the city was individually negotiating with developers to try to secure affordable housing. 

"We're going to be a model of how to create development, how to develop housing, how to do things in the city in a way that's progressive that keeps the residents here and doesn't push them out," Baraka said. 

"When you hear people say Newark is the next Brooklyn, I want you to check them, I want you to stop them and say, 'no, Newark is the next Newark," he added. 

Karen Yi may be reached at kyi@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter at @karen_yi or on Facebook. 

Enjoy the warm weather while it lasts.

New Jersey residents will enjoy another spring-like day Sunday before temperatures take a plunge on Presidents Day, forecasters say.

Temperatures on Sunday will be 15 to 20 degrees above normal and hover around record highs, according to the National Weather Service.

Forecasters say temperatures will be in the 60s in most parts of the state with mostly sunny skies. There could be some clouds with a slight breeze.

In Newark, the high could reach 67, which would be a notch above the city's record high of 66 for Feb. 19.

Sunday's record high in Atlantic City is 73 degrees, set in 1961. The National Weather Service is calling for a high of 70. 

The lows for the state will be in the high 50s in the northwest. 

In the evening, temperatures will take a nose-dive. While still above normal, temperatures will be in mid-to-high 30s in most parts of the state.

Another spring-like day is in store for our region. I keep forgetting it's February! #njwx #nywx #pawx pic.twitter.com/9ELNDo8OGR

-- Len Melisurgo (@LensReality) February 19, 2017

Saturday saw a nice start to the holiday weekend, but no records were broken, forecasters say. The closest in New Jersey was Atlantic City, which hit a high of 68 on Saturday, just below its high of 72 reached in 2011.

Monday's temperatures will still be above normal but will pale in comparison to the weekend. Temperatures will be about 10 to 15 degrees cooler than they were on Sunday, the National Weather Service says.

Highs in the 40s and 50s will set in but could feel cooler from the breeze off the Atlantic Ocean, according to Accuweather.com.

There's a chance of showers on Wednesday, but temperatures will begin to climb back to the low 60s on Thursday and Friday. 

NJ Advance Media staff writer Len Melisurgo contributed to this report. Alex Napoliello may be reached at anapoliello@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @alexnapoNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Whatever you desire -- some music, drama, laughter or contemplation -- it's probably on offer in the Garden State this season.

Jazz it up

Jazz lovers will enjoy the 48th annual Pee Wee Russell Memorial Stomp March 26 at the Birchwood Manor. The event, presented by the New Jersey Jazz Society, is named for clarinetist Charles Ellsworth "Pee Wee" Russell, had a distinct style and approach that some considered ahead of its time. He died in 1969. Scheduled performers include the Midiri Brothers Quintet, the Peter and Will Anderson Quintet, Professor Cunningham and his Old School and Dan Levinson's Russell of Spring Band. 

$10-45, March 26, 12 p.m. Birchwood Manor, 111 N.Jefferson Rd., Whippany. 800-838-3006.

Feeling tense? You're not alone. Let Dr. Chopra help

Author/doctor/spiritual guru Deepak Chopra, stops at Bergen Performing Arts Center March 24 to talk about his new book "You Are The Universe" and offer tips on reaching higher consciousness and healing.  Practitioners of chair massage, acupuncture, yoga, Reiki and aromatherapy will offer free services 90 minutes prior to the show. Chopra will sign books after the show. The evening is sponsored by The Graf Center for Integrative Medicine at Englewood Hospital & Medical Center.  

$49-99, March 24, 8 p.m. Bergen PAC, 30 N. Van Brunt St., Englewood. 201-227-1030. 

Eight woman stronger together than apart

"The Women of Padilla" focuses on eight women keeping the home fires burning while their husbands are away fighting an unnamed war. It runs at Red Bank's Two River Theater April 8-30. Inspired by poet Federico Garcia Lorca, the play looks at how the women's strength and connections grow through every day life. Bi-lingual playwright Tony Meneses saw his "Guadalupe in the Guest Room" premiere at Two River last season.

$20-55, April 8 -30, times vary. Two River Theater, 21 Bridge Ave., Red Bank. 732-345-1400.

NJSO's principal tuba player takes center stage

The New Jersey Symphony Orchestra takes the stage at State Theatre New Jersey in April 8 with a ilght-hearted program that include Ravel's Bolero and Saint-Saens' Carnival of Animals and features NJSO principal tuba player Derek Fenstermacher.  The event is also a food drive and ticket buyers are asked to bring a non-perishable item to contribute.

$20-90, April 8 at 8 p.m. State Theatre New Jersey, 15 Livingston Ave, New Brunswick. 732-246-7469.

Louis and Ella: Together again

Musicians Byron Stripling and Marva Hicks recreate the magic of Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald on the stage of Count Basie Theatre April 21, tackling songs like "Love is Here to Stay," "Just One of those Things," as well as highlights from Gershwin's "Porgy and Bess." The New Jersey Symphony Orchestra accompanies the pair. This event is also a food drive and ticket buyers are asked to bring a non-perishable item to contribute. 

$23-73, April 21, 8 p.m., Count Basie Theatre, 99 Monmouth St., Red Bank. 732-842-9000. 

Yadda yadda yadda at Borgata, Borgata, Borgata

Comedian Jerry Seinfeld brings his stand-up routine to Atlantic City's  Borgata Hotel, Casino & Spa April 22. More than 20 years after his eponymous television show ended its run, the the Staten Island-born star continues to take the stand-up stage, most recently completing a residency at New York's Beacon Theater. 

$99-169, April 22, 8 p.m. Borgata Hotel, Casino & Spa, 1 Borgata Way, Atlantic City. 609-317-1000.

Dating after 50 featured in musical comedy "Curvy Widow" 

Based on a book by businesswoman Barbara "Bobby" Goldman, "Curvy Widow" follows Goldman's adventures in the on-line dating scene after the death of her husband. (She was married to playwright James Goldman, ho wrote "The Lion in Winter" and "Follies." He died in 1998.) The funny, high-energy show, May 2 -21 at George Street Playhouse, will be the last one before the theater is torn down and rebuilt. Broadway veteran/Tony nominee Nancy Opel, who stole the show in GSP's "The Toxic Avenger," stars as the feisty widow.

$43-69, May 2-21, various times. George Street Playhouse, 9 Livingston Ave., New Brunswick. 732-246-7717.

Find love and herself, one stitch at a time

Lynn Nottage's 2003 drama "Intimate Apparel" tells the story of a young African-American seamstress in 1905 New York who embarks on a journey that leads her to love and much more. The moving story plays at the McCarter Theatre stage May 5 - June 4. Nottage won a Pulitzer Prize for 2009's "Ruined," which was set in Congo

$25-74, May 5 - June 4, times vary. McCarter Theatre Center, 91 University Place, Princeton. 609-258-2787.

Making and breaking the news: Anderson Cooper at MPAC

CNN News anchor Anderson Cooper has interviewed presidents, super stars and ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances. The host of "Anderson Cooper 360" takes the stage at Mayo Performing Arts Center May 19 to talk about his life and career and the future of the republic.  A moderated Q & A will follow.

$59-150, May 19, 8 p.m., Mayo Performing Arts Center, 100 South St., Morristown. 973-539-8008.

Dance, the great unifier 

The electrifying Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater , one of the nation's premier modern dance companies, comes to New Jersey Performing Arts Center for three shows May 12-14. The show will include some of the company's most popular dances as well as new pieces inspired by the writing of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. 

$25 - 89, May 12 and 13, 8 p.m. and May 14, 3 p.m. NJPAC,  1 Center St., Newark. 800-GO-NJPAC.

Natalie Pompilio is a freelance writer based in Philadelphia. She can be reached at nataliepompilio@yahoo.com. Find her on Twitter @nataliepompilio. Find NJ.com/Entertainment on Facebook. 

The Town Hall Deli in South Orange brought the sandwich to New Jersey from Cuba in 1927. Watch video

SOUTH ORANGE -- As deli legend has it, New Jersey's version of the Sloppy Joe started in Havana, Cuba.

According to local folklore, in 1935, then mayor of Maplewood Thomas Sweeney returned from a trip to Cuba with stories of a delicious deli sandwich he had at a Cuban restaurant, Sloppy Joe's Bar and Eatery. Sweeney persuaded the then-owners of the Town Hall Deli in neighboring South Orange to recreate it, and it caught on.

This month, the Town Hall Deli is celebrating its 90th anniversary. In that time, ownership has changed hands, and the deli has moved four times. But, Matt Wonski, who owns and runs the store with his father, Tony, says the "important things" at the deli, have remained the same.

"It's still a family business. It always has been, and it always will be," said Wonski, whose family bought it in 2001 from Ron Joost and Jack Burdoff - the men who had taken over from their fathers, who started the Town Hall Deli in 1927. Jack Burdoff, who is now 78-years-old, still works in the deli.

"Our ingredients are fresh, and good quality. We make everything here ... (and) we cut everything fresh in the deli. We are starting from scratch on every sandwich," Wonski said.

That includes the Sloppy Joe, which has become the eatery's most well-known product.

Made much the same way it was in 1935, the sandwich is on rye bread baked in a white bread mold that is cut long ways. In Cuba, the sandwich was made with cow tongue and ham. The Town Hall deli version includes turkey, roast beef, Swiss cheese, Russian dressing, and dry cole slaw. Not including cooking the turkey (the deli doesn't use Boar's Head - "we make two forty-pound birds every morning," Wonski says), or the three-day prep time to make the cole slaw, the Sloppy Joe takes about 20 to 30 minutes to assemble. One sandwich, which usually sells for $22.99, can feed two to three people.

"As someone who has participated in two Sloppy Joe eating competitions, I can personally vouch for how delicious they are," South Orange Village President Sheena Collum told NJ Advance Media.

Wonski said the sandwiches are "definitely what we're known for." For the deli's busiest day of the year, Super Bowl Sunday, it makes about 700 Sloppy Joe's, he said. It also ships sandwiches all over the world.

Why South Orange is now a sanctuary city

This winter, in honor of the eatery's landmark anniversary, Wonski took the sandwiches somewhere special - to the Sloppy Joe's in Havana. With them, Wonski brought the story of how the Joe's came to South Orange. He ate them with the current managers of the bar in Cuba.

"It was really one of the most amazing things I've ever done," he said.

To celebrate the deli's birth year, Sloppy Joe's this week are being sold for $19.27.

"Town Hall Deli is an institution in our community," Collum said. "We congratulate Tony and Matt and all the staff and look forward to the next 90 years."

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

A stolen Infiniti occupied by 3 adults and a juvenile slammed into an unmarked patrol car, before a police helicopter that had tracked the car led officers to the fleeing suspects

Authorities said a Newark Police helicopter tracked a stolen Infiniti then helped nab four suspects who fled when the car hit an unmarked police vehicle. (Photo by Chris Hunkeler) 

NEWARK -- Two police officers were hurt and three adults and a juvenile were arrested overnight when a stolen Infiniti tracked by a police helicopter crashed head on into a patrol car and burst into flames, authorities said Sunday.

It was 11:55 p.m. Saturday, when State Police in the Vailsburg section of Newark spotted an Infiniti Q50 sedan that had been reported stolen in Fairfield and was sought in connection with a recent shooting several robberies and carjackings in Essex County, Newark Public Safety Director Anthony Ambrose said.

The troopers tried to pull the Infiniti over, when a chase began, prompting the troopers to request assistance from the Newark Police helicopter, Ambrose said.

The helicopter followed the car as it wove through Newark and several neighboring cities, before crashing head-on into an unmarked Newark police car, occupied by two officers at the intersection of Morris and South Orange avenues in Newark, Ambrose said.

The two men and two teenage girls inside the Infiniti fled before the car caught fire, Ambrose said.

Hovering overhead, the helicopter crew flooded the area with search lights, and directed officers on the ground to the fleeing suspects, who were quickly caught, Ambros said.

Richard D. Williams, 39, and Terrell Norris, 28, of Newark, and Nakiah Burr, 19, of East Orange, were arrested along with a 16-year-old girl from Newark, Ambrose said.

Williams, who was carrying a loaded .38 handgun, was charged with multiple counts of aggravated assault on a police officer and weapons possession, while Norris, Burr and the juvenile were charged with receiving stolen property and resisting arrest.

The injured officers, as well as Williams, were taken to University Hospital for treatment of non-life threatening injuries, Ambrose said.

"The helicopter helped ensure everyone's safety by reducing the risks associated with high speed chases," Ambrose said in a statement.

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

Police said one rider escaped by kicking out the window of a patrol car

NEWARK -- Several riders were arrested and their off-road vehicles confiscated after police said a large group of dirt bikes and ATVs rallied in Newark on Sunday.

Newark Public Safety Director Anthony Ambrose said the riders wreaked havoc on Newark's South Ward Sunday afternoon, disrupting traffic and damaging police vehicles in collisions.

"This will not be tolerated," Abrose said in a statement issued Sunday night.

Ambrose said some of vehicles were from out of town, apparently drawn to a rally in Newark. The exact number of arrests was not immediately available from police Sunday night.

Despite a crackdown by Newark Police, dirt bikes and all-terrain vehicles have become a common if illegal presence on city streets as central elements of a subculture popularized by footage of wheelies and other trick riding posted on YouTube.

With their nubby tires and nimble handling, police say the off-road vehicles can flee patrol cars via sidewalks, outdoor stairways, through parks or down narrow alleys. So in some cases, Newark police have taken to using a department helicopter to track the vehicles.

Ambrose said police made 7 arrests, towed 19 transport vehicles and or trailers and 10 ATV's, after several quads and off-road motorcycles were riding in groups at various locations throughout the city.

Jovan Jenkins, 33, of New York City, was charged with eluding and resisting arrest, and Jerry Hayes, 20, of Newark, was charged with receiving a stolen auto, Ambrose said.

Marcus Hanford, 32, of Passaic, Darius Jackson, 25, of New York City, Daqua Dredden, 21, of Baltimore, Md., Davis Jackson, of Philadelphia, Pa., and Isiah Jordan, 20, of Chester, Pa., were charged with eluding, Ambrose said.

Ambrose said two patrol cars were damaged during an encounter at Irvine Turner Boulevard and West Peddie Streets.

He said riders vandalized the cars when officers exited them to arrest one of their accomplices. While the two officers were struggling to keep the suspect from fleeing, other riders kicked the two police cars and broke the car's windows and mirrors.

Ambrose said one motorcyclist collided with a New Jersey Transit bus at Pennsylvania Avenue and Lincoln Park, and was issued summonses and hospitalized for his injuries.

Detectives from the department's special enforcement bureau located several trucks and trailers used to transport the vehicles into Newark from out of town, Ambrose said.

Many of them were U-Haul rental vehicles or were registered in neighboring states, including New York, Pennsylvania and Maryland, and from as far away as Florida, Ambrose said.

In total 10 quads and 19 transport vehicles were towed, pending an investigation to determine their origin, Ambrose said.

Mayor Ras Baraka issued a statement saying, "The menace that is caused by the operation of these illegal vehicles in the City of Newark will not be tolerated."

Ambrose urged anyone with information about the transport of illegal vehicles or their whereabouts to call the Department's 24-hour Crime Stopper tip line at 1-877-NWK-TIPS (1-877-695-8477) or 1-877-NWK-GUNS (1-877-695-4867). Tips are kept confidential and could result in a reward.

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

Dogs and cats throughout New Jersey await adoption.

If you're interested in helping homeless animals but aren't able to adopt one, there are a number of other ways you can be of assistance.

Realistically, not everyone can adopt. People who live in apartments or developments that have no-pets policies fall into that category, as do people with allergies or disabilities that will not allow them to care for pets of their own. Adoptapet.com offers these suggestions for ways people who want to help can participate in caring for homeless animals.

* Help out at a local shelter. It's not glamorous work by any means, but it's vital and will be very much appreciated. You can do anything from help walk dogs to bottle feed kittens, help clean kennels or cat's cages or even help with bathing and grooming. Contact your local shelter to find out their policies regarding volunteers.

* If you're handy, you can lend a hand in many ways. Shelters usually need repairs of many kinds, so fixer-uppers can help out like that. If you sew, quilt or crochet, you can make blankets for your local shelter.

* Help out at an adoption event. Many shelters and rescue groups participate in local events by hosting a table with pets available for adoption. They also hold these program at malls, pet supply stores and banks, and can always use a helping hand.

* For galleries like this one and for online adoptions sites, often a shelter or rescue group doesn't have the time or equipment to shoot good photos of their adoptable pets, Something as simple as making yourself available to shoot and provide digital files of pet photos can be a big help.

* Donate. It doesn't have to be money; shelters need cleaning supplies, pet food, toys for the animals and often even things we don't think twice about getting rid of like old towels and newspapers. Every little bit helps.

If you don't know where your local animal shelter or rescue group is, a quick online search will reveal a number of results. It doesn't take a lot of time or effort to get involved but it provides immeasurable assistance.

Here's a gallery of dogs and cats in New Jersey in need of adoption. More adoptable pets can be viewed by clicking here and here.

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

The mine-resistant ambush protected vehicles, or MRAPs, were so controversial in N.J. three years ago, a sheriff's office withdrew its request for the 13-ton truck

Police departments across New Jersey received thousands of military hand-me-downs -- including 13 heavily-armored vehicles -- over the past two years valued at nearly $40 million. 

Despite concerns about militarizing local departments, in the second half of last year alone, 13 mine-resistant ambush protected vehicles, or MRAPs, were shipped to a dozen municipal police departments and a sheriff's office, data obtained by NJ Advance Media shows.

The equipment has been distributed as part of a federal program that started in the mid-1990s and allows local agencies to order the surplus items for free, paying only shipping and maintenance costs.

Local agencies reported they planned to use the MRAPs in water rescues, terrorist attacks or any situation where SWAT would respond, which can include transporting law enforcement to and from protests.

But acquiring the vehicles has not been without controversy in New Jersey. Three years ago, the Bergen County Sheriff's Office withdrew its request for the 13-ton truck, saying "it was no longer worth the effort."

See what your local law enforcement has received from the military surplus program. Look through our searchable database.  

Eleven of the MRAPs delivered last year had to be shipped from California or Texas. The shipping costs ranged between $3,500 and $7,500. Most also needed some minor repairs -- replacing of windshields, tune-ups and a paint job -- but none of the vehicles cost the municipalities more than $26,000 in total. 

Craig McCarthy | NJ Advance Media 

"If there's any type of active shooter -- lone-wolf type incidents -- it's the vehicle that can be used, especially something like a Pulse (Orlando attack)," Perth Amboy Police Department's head of SWAT Lt. Joseph Sulikowski said at a council meeting.

Police in Florida responded to the shooting at a nightclub in June with a similar, but smaller armored vehicle -- a Ballistic Engineered Armored Response Counter Attack Truck or Bearcat, which costs between $200,000 and $500,000.

"Hopefully it never happens here, but unfortunately, I can't guarantee that," Sulikowski said.

That's been the thinking in local police departments since lawmakers set federal and state standards two years ago, regulating how these pieces of equipment are obtained through the DoD's Law Enforcement Support Office. 

Many of the of the 2,400 line-items detailed in the data obtained by NJ Advance Media are for construction and maintenance such as tools, medical kits, forklifts, dump trucks, mop heads and sandbags.

Others are tactical, military-grade devices and weapons accessories that are being shipped to police agencies.

Statewide, the military provided 608 gun sights -- including night vision, holographic, thermal and red-dot sights -- nearly 100 pairs of night-vision goggles and dozens of pieces of riot gear in 2015 and 2016.

Local agencies also received 196 Humvees and military cargo trucks over the same two-year span. No weapons or helicopters were acquired by Garden State agencies over that time. 

Milltown, a 1.6-square-mile borough, tucked between Route 1 and the Turnpike, received a Humvee and 2.5-ton troop carrier. The two vehicles have enough seats to transport the entire police force of 16. 

The federal 1033 program for surplus equipment moved to the forefront of political discourse in 2014 in the wake of the protests for the fatal shooting of an unarmed black teen by a white officer in Ferguson, Mo. The images from the demonstrations showed a police response that resembled more of a battle-ready army than local law enforcement.

Milltown's Humvee and military cargo truck parked in the borough police department's parking lot.Craig McCarthy | NJ Advance Media 

"What I don't want to see is what we saw in Missouri, where a military vehicle and on top of the vehicle we have an M-50 pointed at protesters," Perth Amboy Councilman Fernando Irizarry said in the January meeting. "Is that vehicle ever going to be used in a situation like that?"

Sulikowski told the council there would be no gun mounted on the the vehicle.

"Will it be used during protests as a transport vehicle? I'm not going to lie to you, it may," Sulikowski said. "We don't have the resources here to put a gun on top."

The city said it will use the MRAP as a rescue vehicle and as a portable barrier or shield to provide cover from gunfire.

Perth Amboy police received more than $2 million worth of military vehicles over the last two years, as well as another half million in other surplus gear, including searchlights, sandbags, an iPad and ordinary day-to-day supplies.

The city also received a persistent security surveillance system, valued at nearly a quarter-million dollars, the highest valued item after the MRAP.

Its national stock number description says the system provides a "high resolution, day or night surveillance capability for enhanced target recognition and situational awareness."

"The camera systems are deployed at various city events and festivals with high foot traffic to enhance the safety of the public," city officials said in a statement. 

The American Civil Liberties Union has continued to raise concerns about the former military equipment landing at local police departments.

"The general issue with the militarization of police is it really suggests that the only way for these municipalities to handle their day-to-day policing is to obtain these pieces of equipment," said Dianna Houenou, policy counsel at the ACLU of New Jersey. "It's troubling. It can destroy the trust in government."

In 2015, Gov. Chris Christie signed legislation adding levels of transparency to the program, which before was often unchecked. New Jersey police agencies had received 894 assault rifles, two helicopters and a grenade launcher since the 1990s.

The state law required agencies to file paperwork with the State Police and Office of Emergency Management to register for the federal program and obtain permission for the acquisition of surplus items. Both of which have to be approved by the majority of the full local governing body in a resolution. 

"This law is intended to give the public a voice in the process, allowing residents to weigh in on whether their local department should have equipment such as riot shotguns or assault weapons," said state Senator Nia Gill (D-Essex), a sponsor of the bill.

Gill said in a statement that the governing body should pass a resolution each time the municipality considers requesting military items. 

"Prior to the passage of this law, the public was not aware of the kind of military equipment their town, city or county had received from the federal government, and in most cases that it had acquired the equipment at all," she said. 

Because of how the law has been interpreted, however, most of the military surplus discussions go on between local police, local elected officials and State Police, which oversees the distribution of items.

Only high-profile items -- such as MRAPs or aircraft -- are required to be approved in a resolution by the local governing bodies within 30 days of receiving the pieces of equipment, according to State Police Lt. Robert Aponte, the state's 1033 program coordinator.

Agency coordinators are required to justify the use of the equipment in the paperwork filed with the State Police and local elected officials, Aponte said. The required resolution enrolling a municipality in the program often contains language allowing departments to order smaller ticket items without additional resolutions, according to Aponte.  

Federal restrictions were lifted on the distribution of MRAPs as a result of the 2015 San Bernardino attack that killed 14 people and seriously injured 22 others.

Perth Amboy put in for its MRAP, valued at $658,000, on Dec. 12, and received the vehicle at the end of December. It cost the city $6,365 to cover the transport from Texas.

"The only reason there is a resolution is to have it on the record the city has taken in the vehicle," said Perth Amboy's Business Administrator Adam Cruz in the city's Jan. 11 council meeting.

Howell Police Chief Andrew Kudrick says the department plans to paint its MRAP similar to other cruisers.Craig McCarthy | NJ Advance Media 

In Howell Township, which received the most valuable MRAP in the state worth $865,000, Police Chief Andrew Kudrick sees the program as a boon for local law enforcement agencies and their budgets.

The Howell Police Department is unique in that it has never needed a vehicle for a flooding rescue, the primary justification listed on all of New Jersey agencies' applications for the armored vehicles.

"We've never had a high-water rescue or an active shooter," said Kudrick stressing the need to be prepared for a worst-case scenario. "With the increasing number of violence incidents in suburban areas, not just small cities ... this gives me peace of mind. If I couldn't extract a citizen from a threat it would weigh heavily on me."

Howell pays for all the costs associated with the program including the painting and repairs through its forfeiture funds, Kudrick said. The department conducts its required training for free through a reciprocal agreement with Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst. 

"Right here, I have a vehicle that's immediately available to head out with cruisers," Kudrick said. The county-wide SWAT has a Bearcat, but Kudrick said the smaller armored vehicle would take nearly 45 minutes to put into action from storage.

The police department has also ordered backpacks, medical kits and stretchers with preparations to retrofit its MRAP to transport injured if necessary.

"We're not just going to get stuff to get stuff," said Lt. Bernie Fowler, the department's head of training.

Kudrick said it would be "irresponsible" for him as chief to not acquire equipment, such as an MRAP, at minimal or no cost to the taxpayers that could help save lives in an emergency response situation.

Craig McCarthy may be reached at CMcCarthy@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @createcraig and on Facebook here. Find NJ.com on Facebook. 

Temperatures stay above normal this week with highs in the 70s expected Thursday

A day after record-setting warmth across much of New Jersey, another pleasant day is in store for Presidents Day. 

The last full week of February is expected to feature warmer than usual temperatures, according to forecasters. (AccuWeather.com 

While it'll be quite a bit cooler than Sunday, temperatures will stay well-above normal on Monday.

The pattern of mild weather continues all week and could peak Thursday with temperatures as high as the mid 70s, the National Weather Service says.

We'll have sunny, but somewhat breezy conditions Monday with highs expected to range from the upper 40s to mid 50s this afternoon. Winds out of the northwest will gusty to 15 mph and at times, 20 mph.

It'll be dry and clear overnight with temps falling into the upper 20s and low 30s.

Tuesday will be similar, with sunny skies and temps mainly in the upper 40s and low 50s. There's a chance of a shower at night.

Remember these big Presidents Day storms?

The state warms up again Wednesday with more sun and temps peaking in the low 60s. Overnight lows Tuesday and Wednesday should be in the 40 -- the typical high temperatures this time of year.

Thursday could be another for the record books as forecasters say temps will make it into the 70s under a mix of sun and clouds. 

On Sunday, Newark and Trenton set records for Feb. 19, while Atlantic City fell just short.

The mercury in Trenton peaked at 69, one degree warmer than the previous high mark set in 1948. Newark also reached 69, beating its 1997 record temperature by three degrees. Atlantic City was milder than both, topping out at 71, two degrees shy of the city's 1961 record for Feb. 19.

Philadelphia topped its daily record high of 68 degrees when the mercury rose to 70 degrees on Sunday, the weather service said. And Allentown, Pa., crushed its old record high of 63 degrees when the temperature hit 68 degrees on Sunday.

In New York City's Central Park, Sunday's high reached 65, one degree shy of tying its daily record high of 66 degrees.  

More New York City area weather

More Philadelphia area weather

Jeff Goldman may be reached at jeff_goldman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JeffSGoldman. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Mother Nature seems to have a habit of delivering nasty weather to the New Jersey region on Presidents Day weekend - including major snowstorms. Although that won't be happening this year, here's a look at some of the memorable winter storms that hit the New York metro region during the February holiday.

Where is your favorite team in NJ.com's latest Top 20?

Rich Greco | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com  

Roseland Councilmen Tom Tsilionis and David Jacobs left their posts, effective immediately.

Tsilionis. (Submitted photo)

ROSELAND -- Two councilmen whose racially-charged text conversation was made public last week have resigned.

Councilmen Tom Tsilionis and David Jacobs left their elected positions Sunday, a few days after a text conversation between them in which Tsilionis used a racial slur went public, Essex County Republican Chairman Al Barlas, Roseland Mayor John Duthie and borough Republican Chairman Mary Comito announced in a release Sunday.

"The recently revealed text message exchanges between Councilmen David Jacobs and Tom Tsilionis were offensive and indefensible," the three said in the release.

"Regardless of circumstance, racial and ethnic based comments have no place in our accepted discourse. We condemn any disparaging comments in any form against any group or individual based on race, religion, sexual orientation, gender, age or disability."

The exchange was part of a group text message string between all six council members and the mayor. Tsilionis asks Jacobs, "David how do I become Jewish? I want to be half Jewish (cheap) and half African American (endowed)."

"First the Rabbi needs to take a bigger cut," Jacobs replied, apparently referring to a Jewish bris ceremony.

"I am legally changing my name to ShwartzNigga," Tsilionis replied.

Tsilionis then goes on to discuss the penis sizes of council members and candidates.

The texts surfaced last week in a report in The Progress, a local Roseland newspaper.

The others included in the group chat did not take part in the exchange.

Both councilmen apologized for the exchange last week. Tsilionis said the messages were a "silly, stupid, senseless joke," and said he regretted making them.

The two also questioned the motives of fellow Councilman Richard Leonard, who released the private conversation to The Progress after a reporter requested it. The text exchange happened in May 2016, and it was made public this month, only after Tsilionis and Jacobs refused to support Leonard's bid for council president, they said.

Leonard denied the release was an act of political retribution, and said he didn't remember if he had seen the messages when they were sent. He brought them to the attention of friends and colleagues when he realized they were there last month, he said.

The resignations come after a host of politicians across the state called for them to step down. Democratic Sen. Richard Codey, and Republican Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno, Senate Minority Leader Tom Kean, Jr. and Assembly Minority Leader Jon Bramnick, all called for the resignations.

Tsilionis and Jacobs could not immediately be reached Monday for comment.

In Sunday's statement, Barlas, Duthie, and Comito said the resignations were effective immediately.

"Roseland residents deserve all of our attention and our efforts without distractions or political fighting," they said of the small Essex County community of about 6,000 residents.

"It is our hope that those who have used this regrettable incident to score political points will stop and allow us to get back to the business of people of Roseland."

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

The man was caught more than an hour later thanks to help from a local resident, Fairfield police say.

FAIRFIELD -- A man caught shoplifting a video game system from Target on Sunday managed to escape from police while handcuffed and was captured an hour later when a resident helped officers locate him on Route 46, police said.

Keenan S. Jenkins. (Courtesy Fairfield Police)
 

Keenan S. Jenkins, 28, of Teaneck, swiped a $250 Play Station 4 gaming system from the township Target at 6:37 p.m. Sunday, according to Fairfield Police Chief Anthony Manna.

Officers arrested Jenkins outside the store and handcuffed him, police said.

While an officer was unlocking his patrol car, Jenkins ran through the parking lot and across Route 46, officials said.

As officers from Fairfield and surrounding towns searched for Jenkins, police sent out a Nixle alert at 7:50 p.m. letting residents know the cuffed Jenkins was on the run, authorities said. A resident who received the alert contacted police when he saw Jenkins on route 46 near Dale Drive, authorities said.

After a brief chase, police arrested Jenkins behind the Ashley Furniture store on Route 46, at 8:05 p.m., police said.

"This was a great cooperative effort, not only by the responding police personnel but more importantly, by a member of the community who took the time to get involved by signing up for police advisements and then by acting on it when they received information about a wanted criminal," Manna said in the release.

Jenkins was being held and processed at the Fairfield police headquarters Monday.

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

The university is beginning a shift toward lower cost textbooks across all of its campuses.

NEW BRUNSWICK -- The six-week clerkship for third year psychiatry students at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School usually comes with extra cost: About $150 in textbooks, according to the university. 

But Rutgers thinks it can soon slash that price tag and the cost of dozens of other textbooks so low that the new course materials will cost less than a student's lunch. 

"Instead of $150 worth of textbooks, we can reduce the cost to under $5," said Petros Levounis, professor and chair of the Department of Psychiatry.

The university is in the midst of a pilot program aimed at saving thousands of students a collective $1.6 million in textbooks per year. Faculty and students are working together to replace textbooks for 32 classes with low-cost or no-cost alternatives.

"Not only will these 32 projects save students... but they also show the high level of investment by our faculty in the open and affordable education movement at Rutgers," said Lily Todorinova, the university librarian who specializes in improving textbooks and other resources for students. 

Vintage photos of Rutgers Greek life

The cost of textbooks has long been a complaint at Rutgers and other colleges across the state, especially as tuition and fees continue to rise. Nationally, students at four-year public colleges spend nearly $1,300 a year on textbooks and supplies, according to The College Board, prompting colleges across the country to begin shifting to lower cost alternatives. 

Similar to traditional textbooks, the replacements at Rutgers will be peer-reviewed. However, they are published under copyright licenses that reduce the cost or printing or let students read and download them for free, according to the university. 

The initiative, ordered by President Robert Barchi after students campaigned for it, is called the Open and Affordable Textbook Project. It will impact courses ranging from Introduction to Psychology at Rutgers-Camden to Shakespeare at Rutgers-Newark. The university awarded $32,000 in grants to get the project started.  

For Levounis, that means working with students to develop case studies and multiple choice questions based on real world experience with psychiatric patients.

Those submissions will be reviewed by residents and attending physicians for accuracy and quality offered for peer review and eventually be collected in a selfpublished book that costs future students less than $5.

In addition to cost savings, the process should benefit both current and future students academically, Levounis said. 

"The student authors learn more because they are actively involved, rather than passively reading books or going to lectures," Levounis said. "And the presentation of information from medical student to medical student is a unique strength of this project."

Rutgers hopes the initiative is just the beginning of a larger shift to more affordable textbooks, said Krisellen Maloney, vice president for information services. 

"We look forward to finding additional opportunities to lower textbook costs without sacrificing the rigorous academic standards our students expect of their classroom experience and education at Rutgers," she said. 

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

By a statue of Abraham Lincoln, a coalition of advocates for immigration, civil and women's rights, the environment and religious freedom vowed to resist the policies of Donald Trump Watch video

NEWARK -- Akbar Elston was outnumbered 50-1 outside the Essex County Historic Courthouse on Monday.

Elston, a 45-year-old truck driver who lives in Newark, is a fan of the nation's 45th president, Donald Trump.

"Trump is about America," Elston said. "Trump is America. He's going to put America first."

He had just shouted the same argument at a group of about 50 protestors staging a Presidents' Day rally against the sitting president, at the seated statue of Abraham Lincoln in front of the old courthouse at Springfield Avenue and Market Street.

With Honest Abe sitting in, advocates for immigration, labor, environmental, civil and women's rights sang old and new protest songs accompanied by constitutional lawyer and folkie Bennet Zurofsky on his 50-year-old Gibson guitar. 

"Ain't gonna mourn/Gonna organize," sang Zurofsky and his multicultural chorus. "We're down in the muck/We're gonna reach for the skies." 

The event was part of a resistance movement opposed to various Trump initiatives begun during his first month in office, including his executive order that would have temporarily banned entry into the United States by refugees and by non-U.S. citizens from seven predominantly Muslim countries. While federal courts have blocked the order, Trump has vowed to issue a new one, more narrowly tailored to suit constitutional concerns.

The rally's participants included U.S. Rep. Donald Payne Jr. (D-10th District), a member of the House Homeland Security Committee. While Trump said the order was intended to bolster homeland security, Payne said it was more likely to jeopardize it, as a recruiting tool for ISIS.

"This president has run amuck in 30 days. He is unfit to be commander-in-chief of the United States of America," Payne told the protestors. "He does not understand what it means to be president of the United States. We are going to end up in some type of conflict because of the sloppy manner in which he is handling foreign affairs. We are going to end up in some conflict where our young people are going to be potentially dying for nothing."

"Back at home, we have to stay vigilant," Payne continued. "Those of us who care, those of us who want this nation to stand for what it's always stood for: justice and freedom for all people. Brothers and sisters, the resistance must keep up, the resistance must build."

Groups represented at the rally included the New Jersey Working Families Alliance; the New Jersey Sierra Club; the Communication Workers of America, Amalgamated Transit Union and the Service Employees International Union; the Blue Wave New Jersey voting rights organization; the Alliance for Immigrant Justice; the Imam's Council of Newark; Latinas Unitas En Poder, or LUPE, a Hispanic women's group; the People's Organization for Progress; and New Jersey Citizen Action.

Many of the participants held signs, some of them poking fun at the famously tanned, tweeting president: "Stop Orange Julius Caesar;" "Yuge Mistake;" and "Ignorance is This," with picture of the former real estate mogul and reality television star, whose assertions have sometimes run counter to the factual record.

Several speakers made note of the President Day holiday. Jeff Tittel, director of the New Jersey Sierra Club, noted that in 1864 Lincoln set aside the territory that, eight years later would become the nation's first national park, Yellowstone. Tittel noted that Richard Nixon, remembered for Watergate, had signed the Clean Air Act. 

Meanwhile, Tittel added, Trump had begun reversing his predecessor Barack Obama's initiatives to curb global warming.

"I think he was afraid he would be regulated as the country's biggest source of hot air," Tittel said.

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