The Newark fire department rescued the man from the hole.

NEWARK -- An electrical company employee suffered serious injuries Tuesday after falling about 30 feet into a vault while working in Newark, Public Safety Director Anthony Ambrose said in a release.

Firefighters conducted a high angle rescue to get the injured worker out of the hole. (Courtesy Newark Public Safety)
 

The worker, an employee of Lighton Industries, fell into an underground electrical vault at about 8 a.m. Tuesday while working at the Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences campus on Bergen Street.

EMS crews treated the man in the hole, and about 30 firefighters conducted a high-angle rescue to remove the injured man from the hole, Ambrose said.

The rescue involved a belay system and a rescue basket to remove the worker from the vault, he said.

Once out, the man was taken to the hospital.

Lighton and Rutgers spokespeople did not immediately respond to requests for comment Wednesday morning on what work the company was doing on campus, and the circumstances of the man's fall.

Rutgers police and officials from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration also responded to the scene to assist in the rescue, officials said.

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

The gorgeous costumes and pointed social commentary of Astrid Hadad's latest show make their U.S. premiere at Monclair State University

It's a history of Mexico that's told at a university, but Astrid Hadad's "Tierra Misteriosa" is definitely no textbook rendition.

In the show -- which will play at Montclair State University on May 5 and 6 -- the Mexican performance artist and singer tells her country's story from the reign of the Aztecs right through to the present day. In each song, she performs in spectacularly elaborate costumes that add their own dimension -- and humorous touch -- to the satirical commentary.

As in all her shows, "Tierra Misteriosa" (or "Mysterious Land") has social and political commentary leavened with absurdist humor. It's a show that both lampoons and celebrates the multi-layered history and culture of Mexico.

And though Hadad says that the songs examine history, they also "reflect on today."

Hadad created the show after Mexico celebrated its independence bicentennial in 2010, first performing it in 2011 in Mexico City and memorializing it with a studio album of its songs. Though Hadad has performed in the United States, the Montclair show is the U.S. debut of "Tierra Misteriosa." The songs are in Spanish, but the English translations of the lyrics will be projected in supertitles during the performances.

Hadad was born and raised in a very small town, Quintana Roo, in the Yucatan Peninsula along with her 11 siblings. Though her family is of Lebanese ancestry, Hadad said the Middle Eastern country had little influence on her life. "Except for the food," she notes.)

Growing up in a very religious household and one without modern touches like a television, she developed a vivid imagination. Eventually, as a self-described "naive" teenager, she went to university in Mexico City, pursuing journalism and political science. Not surprisingly, her studies were diverted to theater.

After starring in a long-running all-female version of the opera "Don Giovanni," Hadad struck out on her own. As she began to express herself through songs, she began to use costumes to add meaning.

"It was not enough to just sing," she explains.

Hadad's Rube Goldberg-esque costumes have been a signature of her performances since the 1990s, when she began to combine the German Weimar-era cabaret with the popular Mexican music hall version called teatro de revista.

Her shows are kitschy, colorful and punctuated with satirical barbs aimed across the landscape of Mexico: corrupt government officials to narcotraficantes to badly behaved men and the women who love them.

While her iconoclastic performances initially got a mixed and puzzled reception in Mexico, she began to tour to acclaim across Europe, the U.S., and South America and then gained acceptance in her homeland. Winding around her cabaret shows and albums, Hadad also performed in telenovela soap operas and in movies.

The history of Mexico is one of empire, war, oppression, revolution, but Hadad manages to make her show a celebration of the beauty, diversity and artistry of the country. She takes what have become the stereotypes, songs like "La Bamba" and plays up their absurdity and makes something new. In "La Cucaracha," Hadad imagines the Mexican President Benito Juarez returning to mete out rough justice to pedophile priests.

In the title song, she sings: "Five hundred years have elapsed and the only thing that has changed is that those who pillage and plunder are now called politicians."

For her version of Chavela Vargas's classic "La Llorana" -- based on the tragic Mexican myth of a woman who kills her children and herself over a man -- Hadad rewrites the lyrics, telling the crying woman "to start to work, to fight."

Similarly her costumes often take Mexican icons and play with them. Here she is a saint covered with fake rubber boobs, there she wears a giant sombrero with a rubber hand that slowly raises and lowers out of the top.

"Each costume has a little story," she says, noting that she designs them and then has a team that figures out how to build them so they can be used repeatedly and disassembled for tours.

Pointed-humor feminism also sends up the already over-the-top rancheras, popular songs that traditionally glorify relationships that subordinate women and dominant macho men.

And though the songs of the show don't change, Hadad says, "I am always changing what I am saying."

Astrid Hadad: "Tierra Misteriosa"

When: May 5, 7:30 p.m. and May 6, 8 p.m.

Where: The Alexander Kasser Theater at Montclair State University, 1 Normal Ave., Montclair

Tickets: Available online at www.peakperfs.org or 973-655-5112.

Marty Lipp may be reached at martylipp@hotmail.com. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Top players, surprise teams and budding dynasties are some of the story lines that have played out so far

The Montclair man accused of vehicular homicide in a 91-mile-per-hour crash in the Lincoln Tunnel accelerated from 68 to 91 mph just seconds before the fatal crash, a State Police sergeant testified this morning.

The Montclair man accused of vehicular homicide in a 91-mile-per-hour crash in the Lincoln Tunnel accelerated from 68 to 91 mph just seconds before the fatal crash, a State Police sergeant testified this morning.

Louis S. Pine, 41, was driving about 55 mph over the Lincoln Tunnel's 35 mph speed limit when he his BMW slammed into the minivan and propelled it into another vehicle at about 8:30 a.m. on Sept. 2, 2014, authorities said at the time.

New Jersey State Police Det. Sgt. Daniel Oliveira also testified that, based on the vehicle's computer recording, in the five seconds proceeding impact, there were two small steering wheel adjustments to the right before the vehicle was again going straight ahead at impact.

A passenger in the minivan, Steven M. Benevento, 49, of Summit, went into cardiac arrest and was taken to a New York City hospital, where he died a few hours later.

Under cross examination, Oliveira said the seat buckle was clasped at the time of impact. When asked if the steering wheel had moved very little during the five seconds leading up to the impact, Oliveira said "Relatively, yes."

In opening statements yesterday, the defense claimed Pine was suffering the effects of a medical condition, precipitating the crash that day.

Essex County College's fired president and legal counsel are suing the school, claiming they were terminated in retaliation for investigating financial issues

NEWARK -- Essex County College's fired president and top attorney have filed a lawsuit saying they were wrongfully terminated in retaliation for investigating financial improprieties at the school.

The lawsuit, filed last month in Essex County Superior Court, alleges the Board of Trustees and high-ranking administrators conspired to oust former president Gale Gibson and former general counsel Rashidah Hasan after they raised issues of incompetence and possible criminal misconduct regarding the college's finances. 

The lawsuit names the school, key administrators and County Executive Joseph N. DiVincenzo as defendants.

Gibson and Hasan recommended disciplinary action against certain administrators but they were the ones ultimately fired in April 2016, the suit said. 

Essex County College President Dr. Gale Gibson, shown here at the school's 2013 graduation ceremony. (Courtesy of Essex County College)
 

"The college and/or the Board had a duty not to retaliate against plaintiffs for disclosing to college officials conduct by college employees that was fraudulent, criminal or otherwise in violation of the law," the lawsuit states. 

The college's general counsel could not be reached for comment. A call to the school's outside legal counsel was not immediately returned.

Many of the allegations in the 11-count complaint stem from an internal investigation led by Hasan after officials found debit cards issued to two members of the athletic department had exceeded their budgets. 

Michael Smart, the former head track and field coach at Essex County College, pleaded guilty to pilfering $150,000 by taking advances for various travel and event expenses, and depositing the money in his personal bank account. 

Gibson and Hasan recommended Joyce Harley, vice president of administration and finance, who is also named in the suit, be suspended and no longer oversee the college's finances for allegedly failing to properly monitor it.

Harley, however, remained in her position, overseeing school finances. 

Gibson and Hasan said in their lawsuit that Harley received favorable treatment because of her relationship with DiVincenzo, who openly supported her to be named president prior to Gibson's arrival.

Harley told NJ Advance Media Tuesday that Gibson and Hasan "were terminated by the board of trustees in unanimous vote and they were fired for cause."

"The board knows who they are and saw what they did," she said. Harley declined to comment further, pending a thorough review of the complaint.

Letters sent to Gibson and Hasan from the college outlining the reasons for their termination include efforts to restrict the board from receiving emails, according to the complaint.

But the suit says there is no evidence to prove the allegations. 

Gibson and Hasan also filed a complaint in Superior Court over the summer, seeking a reinstatement of their employment. That case is still pending. 

The April 19 lawsuit also alleges DiVincenzo made defamatory comments against Gibson, interfered with college matters and helped decide who would serve on the board. 

A spokesperson for DiVincenzo's office said declined to comment on the pending litigation. 

The lawsuit claims Harley exerted "improper influence" at the college by allowing the county to use the campus print shop, racking up $400,000 worth of unpaid invoices. The arrangement is "improper" and was made at DiVincenzo's request, the suit says. 

The legal troubles come as the college seeks a new president and pushes to increase enrollment and re-establish morale in the institution. Three candidates were named finalists last month. 

The Middle States Commission on Higher Education - the group that accredits area colleges - has also requested additional documents from Essex County College regarding enrollment, resources and leadership. So far, the school remains accredited. 

In the suit, the plaintiffs allege the defendants have reversed many of Gibson's accomplishments. 

"This reality reflects defendants' desire to place their own personal gain above that of the college as a whole and especially its students," it said. 

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

Arrest came after yearlong investigation, police said.

FAIRFIELD -- A 36-year-old North Bergen man was charged with child endangerment after authorities found child pornography on his work computer, police said Wednesday.

Tejas Patel (Photo: Essex County jail)

Tejas Patel surrendered to authorities Tuesday and was being held at the Essex County Correctional Facility, according to Fairfield Police Chief Anthony Manna.

The arrest came after colleagues at Patel's then-employer, a Fairfield-based dietary supplements maker, discovered "suspicious icons" on his computer in April 2016, authorities said. Company officials alerted the Essex County Prosecutor's Office and township police.

"The computer was seized and eventually a search warrant was obtained to allow its files to be analyzed by technicians from the New Jersey State Police Regional Computer Forensic Laboratory," Manna said in a statement. "As a result of this analysis, it is alleged that a variety of images involving minors engaged in pornographic activity were discovered and linked to Patel."

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

Louis S. Pine was allegedly driving 91 mph, about 55 mph over the Lincoln Tunnel's speed limit.

JERSEY CITY -- The 49-year-old man who was killed in a 2014 Lincoln Tunnel crash suffered seldom survivable brain and spinal cord damage, a New York medical examiner said while testifying in a Montclair man's vehicular homicide trial today. 

Louis S. Pine, 41, was driving 91 mph -- about 55 mph over the Lincoln Tunnel's speed limit -- when he his BMW slammed into a minivan and propelled it into another vehicle at about 8:30 a.m. on Sept. 2, 2014, authorities said at the time.

A passenger in the minivan, Steven M. Benevento, 49, of Summit, went into cardiac arrest and was taken to a New York City hospital, where he died a few hours later, Port Authority officials said that day.

Dr. Zhanna Georgievskryn testified this morning that Benevento suffered vertebral fractures in his back and damage to neck ligaments, which pulled the spinal cord away from his brain, damaging his ability to control a number of vital, unconscious bodily functions. 

After suffering such an injury, a "person will be unable to control their blood pressure, heart rate and their ability to breath will be highly compromised," Georgievskryn said, adding that "Their brain is basically separated from the rest of their body."

The medical examiner said Benevento also suffered skull fractures above his eyes, bruising to his upper body and abdomen, and fractured ribs sometimes seen in patients who have received chest compression during CPR.

Also on the stand this morning was a New York Fire Department Emergency Medical Technician Philomena Deleon who treated Pine at the scene. In her report, she noted that he said he began feeling ill when he entered the tunnel and did not remember the crash but did remember the impact and his air bag deploying.

"He knew where he was, he knew where he was going, he didn't' know what happened," the EMT said. "He was just like, 'What's going on. What's going on.'"

Deleon's report also states that Pine said he was not dizzy or nauseous and was not suffering chest pain. He was stabilized and taken to a New York hospital.  

In opening statements yesterday, the defense asserted that on the day of the crash, Pine was suffering the effects of a medical condition, precipitating the crash. 

The South Orange couple was illegally parked in front of Terminal A

NEWARK -- A South Orange woman was charged with punching a Port Authority police officer Tuesday afternoon after cops arrested her husband at Newark Liberty International Airport.

Eric C. Hayden and Misha B. Hayden, both of South Orange. Port Authority police 

The incident began when an officer saw a blue Cadillac with tinted windows parked in a no standing zone in front of Terminal A, Port Authority police said in a news release. 

The cop arrested the man seated in the driver's set when he refused three requests to provide his driver's license, vehicle registration and insurance card, police said. 

When the officer asked Eric C. Hayden's wife for her license so she could drive the car away, she sprung from the Cadillac and punched another officer in the chest, according to authorities. 

Misha B. Hayden, 42, was charged with aggravated assault on a police officer and obstruction. 

Her husband, 45, was charged with hindering apprehension, obstruction, bail jumping, driving with a suspended license and other motor vehicle offenses. He had a warrant out for his arrest in Union.

Police found a valid registration and insurance card in the car. 

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

The East Orange man allegedly hit a concrete barrier to try to flee before being arrested

FORT LEE -- A toll evader who fled police was arrested after he got caught in traffic during rush hour on Tuesday morning, authorities said. 

Michael Finnery, 52, of East Orange, drove through the toll plaza at the George Washington Bridge at 8:20 a.m., Port Authority police said in a statement. An officer on foot in the area ordered Finnery to pull over. 

Instead, Finnery struck the concrete divider between toll lanes as he tried to speed away, police said.

Police arrested Finnery when the usual morning volume on the bridge forced him to slow down. He was charged with toll evasion, eluding, reckless driving and other traffic violations.

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

A 42-year-old man and his 72-year-old mother were killed on the Parkway in Bloomfield on Christmas Day 2008

The family of a woman and her adult son killed when a tree along the Garden State Parkway fell onto their car in 2008 can't sue the operator of the toll road, an appeals court ruled Monday.

A three-judge panel ruled that the New Jersey Turnpike Authority, which operates the Parkway, couldn't have known that the 80-foot hickory tree might fall.

Joel Baudouin, 42, of Arlington, Mass., and his mother Marie Vernet, 72, were killed when the tree crashed down on his Volkswagen Passat on Christmas morning in 2008. Baudouin's two daughters, then 13 and 8, were seated in the back and injured.

Woman hit by pickup truck reaches $3.6M settlement

The four were traveling south near milepost 151.5 in Bloomfield, minutes from arriving in Belleville to spend the holiday with family, when the tree, which was decayed on the inside, tumbled over during winds of about 24 mph.

The Parkway checks trees by the "windshield inspection" method -- a landscape specialist sits in the passenger seat of a truck as it travels slowly along the shoulder of the highway looking for trees that appear dead, near death and in danger of snapping.

The court called the way the Turnpike Authority checks trees, "a sensible approach to monitoring the parkway," adding, "Courts do not have the authority to require that the Turnpike Authority improve or refine its method of inspection."

The tree was about 16-to-18 feet from the guardrail and crushed the front passenger section of the car, which was in the center lane. 

The girls' mother, Chantal Baudouin, has already settled lawsuits against Bloomfield and a contractor, Elite Tree Service. The terms of those settlements are not known.

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

This will be the largest home-state show the alt-pop songstress has played

NEWARK -- Halsey is coming home.

The alt-pop songstress who exploded onto the mainstream consciousness last fall with the "Closer" -- the Chainsmokers collaboration that was the top song in the U.S. from Labor Day through Thanksgiving -- will headline her first New Jersey arena this fall, playing Prudential Center in Newark Oct. 14.

The Jersey show comes with the announcement of the 22-year-old singer's Hopeless Fountain Kingdom world tour, her largest tour to date, which also hits Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia Oct. 7 and Barclays Center in Brooklyn Oct. 13.

this is the biggest tour I've ever done. and I'm gonna bring u the biggest show to go with it. [?][?][?] [?] https://t.co/UXeAJox3IS pic.twitter.com/HQzeJKpFD7

-- h (@halsey) May 3, 2017

Halsey, born Ashley Frangipane and raised in Warren County, will release her highly anticipated sophomore LP "Hopeless Fountain Kingdom" June 2. A smoldering electro-pop single titled "Now or Never" was released in April -- expect to hear it on hit radio in the coming weeks. 

Halsey's full-length debut "Badlands" reached No. 2 on Billboard in summer 2015 and earned the outspoken singer a sizable following. She headlined Madison Square Garden last August -- the show had been sold-out for months.   

Bobby Olivier may be reached at bolivier@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @BobbyOlivier and Facebook. Find NJ.com on Facebook.  

Brookdale Park hosted the qualifying games.

BLOOMFIELD -- Hundreds of Special Olympic athletes descended on Brookdale Park Wednesday to compete in track and field events.

For the 14th year in a row, the county park and County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo hosted the games, which include races, long jumps, softball throws, and other events.

"Our mission is to make sure they have a great time," Frank Petrucci, coordinator of the Essex games, said of what he and the hundreds of volunteers who help carry out the event hope to accomplish each year.

Coaches and athletes typically begin training for the games each October, compete in county-wide contests in the spring, and many move on to a statewide competition in June, he said. About 50 area police officers joined hundreds of volunteers to cheer on and award the 340 athletes who competed Wednesday.

"The kids have such love and courage," Petrucci said. "It's catching."

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

Prosecutors say man wounded by cop is in stable condition.

NEWARK -- A Newark man, who was shot by an off-duty city police officer, is accused of attacking officers in a confrontation that came after officers tried to arrest him for a North Ward robbery, authorities said Wednesday.

Victor Raymonds, of Newark, was listed in stable condition after the shooting Tuesday around 9:30 p.m. near Summer and Sylvan avenues, according to Acting Essex County Prosecutor Carolyn A. Murray.

Raymonds was charged with robbery, resisting arrest and aggravated assault on the police officers, the prosecutor said.

Police encountered Raymonds after he punched a worker at a Sylvan Avenue auto shop in what began as an argument over a bill, according to a law enforcement report obtained by NJ Advance Media. Raymonds allegedly stole several keys from the shop during the clash.

An off-duty Newark police officer was on his way to work and responded to the call of a robbery in progress, the prosecutor's office said.

That officer spotted Raymonds in a nearby construction lot, pursued him over a fence and tried to arrest the accused assailant, the document said. Raymonds struggled with the pursuing officer, who pulled his weapon and fired two shots during a fight with the suspect.

Raymonds was wounded in his shoulder, but managed to scale a fence, according to an account detailed in the document. Other officers arrived and managed to subdue the suspect.

Three officers -- including the one who fired -- were hurt trying to arrest Raymonds, according to authorities.

"One officer sustained a broken arm and the other suffered an injured jaw during this incident," Murray said in a statement.

A woman on Sylvan Avenue, who declined to be named, told NJ Advance Media she saw a man being chased from an auto shop by another man Tuesday night. The man, she added, climbed a fence and made his way to a rooftop before continuing toward Verona Avenue.

The woman said she heard two shots about five to 10 minutes later.

A statement from the prosecutor's office initially said Raymonds was 18, but records identified him as 29 years old.

Following state Attorney General guidelines, the prosecutor's office was leading the probe into the shooting. Anyone with information was asked to call investigators at 862-520-3700.

Last week in the state's largest city, police investigating a shooting shot and killed a man who pulled a gun on a detective and sped toward police, according to law enforcement reports obtained by NJ Advance Media.

Police also fatally shot a shotgun-toting man who fired at officers in Newark on April 6, according to authorities.

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

He'll face between 10 and 30 years in prison if convicted.

JERSEY CITY -- The state rested this afternoon in the homicide trial of a Montclair man charged with driving his BMW 91-miles per hour when it struck a minivan in the Lincoln tunnel in 2014, killing one passenger. 

The defense claims Louis S. Pine, 41, suffered a medical episode which caused his vehicle to accelerate to about 55 mph over the tunnel's 35 mph speed limit when it slammed into the minivan and propelled it into another vehicle at about 8:30 a.m. on Sept. 2, 2014, authorities said at the time.

Steven M. Benevento, 49, of Summit, was in the minivan and went into cardiac arrest following the crash. He was taken to a New York City hospital where he died a few hours later, Port Authority officials said that day.

Pine is charged with aggravated manslaughter, which carries a possible sentence of 10 to 30 years upon conviction. 

The prosecution's final witness was Ruhi Arslanoglu, a biomechanical engineer who testified that if Pine had fainted and gone limp, the weight of his lower leg and foot alone would not have been enough to press the accelerator to full throttle as the car's crash recorder indicated.

New Jersey State Police Det. Sgt. Daniel Oliveira testified this morning that the crash recorder recorded the five seconds leading up to the impact and showed that the BMW accelerated at full throttle from 68 to 91 mph during that period.

Arslanoglu also said that if Pine had gone limp, his arms would have dropped to his sides and been thrown forward by the force of the impact, but he had no injuries to his arms that would suggest that.

Finally, Arslanoglu said that if Pine's body had gone stiff or undergone spasms, it was likely that his foot would have moved toward the car seat or up into the area under the dashboard. He said that in such as scenario, it was unlikely Pine's foot would have maintained 100 percent acceleration on for the five seconds.

New York Medical Examiner Dr. Zhanna Georgievskryn also testified this morning, saying that Benevento suffered vertebral fractures in his neck and damage to spinal ligaments that pulled the spinal cord away from his brain. She said the injuries compromised his ability to control a number of vital, unconscious bodily functions such as heart rate, blood pressure and breathing. 

Hudson County Superior Court Judge Martha Royster said testimony in the Jersey City trial will resume on Tuesday at 9 a.m. Opening statements and testimony began yesterday. 

It's not yet clear if Pine intends to testify in his own defense. 

The people and events that shaped our state and the world.

In our continuing series on "This Month in N.J. History," we move to May for a look at important people and significant events tied to the Garden State and dates in the month.

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.

Here are links to previous "This month in N.J. history" galleries:

April        March        February        January

December        November        October

September        August        July

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

Union City is the latest municipality to offer a city-issued ID to its residents -- regardless of status. More cities are joining the effort amid a promised clampdown by the White House on illegal immigration.

UNION CITY -- The corridors of City Hall were crammed.

It was a recent Tuesday afternoon and a line of residents snaked through the hallways. People held their jackets, alternating between browsing their phones and staring at the cream-colored walls. Minutes passed, then hours -- the line crawled forward.

"We're like ants," said a 52-year-old who identified himself only as Jose. "But this is for our security." 

For some it'd take nine hours, others were lucky enough to wait only two. But the chance to get a city-issued photo identification card, they said, was worth it. 

"We can't miss the opportunity, this is an important document," Sobeida, a 37-year-old undocumented immigrant who declined to give her last name said in Spanish. "I can prove that I live here."

Hundreds of Union City's residents have flocked to the clerk's office since Mayor Brian Stack launched the municipal ID program in March. Union City is one of the latest municipalities across New Jersey and the U.S. that have rolled out such programs. The city said it issued more than 3,000 IDs in the first two weeks.

Proponents say it allows residents -- especially those who are unauthorized immigrants -- to open bank accounts, rent books at public libraries or even get married. 

"It can really take away significant barriers to people's lives," said Sara Cullinane, state director for the immigrant rights group Make the Road New Jersey. "Picking people up at school, attending a court date, health care services -- we're asked for IDs everyday and if you don't have one, or have to carry your passport every day, that's a problem."

Cullinane said at least 10 New Jersey municipalities issue IDs or are working toward it. Newark, Roselle, Perth Amboy, Elizabeth and Dover already provide the cards.

President Trump's clampdown on illegal immigration has fueled demand for municipal ID programs among undocumented immigrants desperately searching of anything to anchor them to their communities, advocates say. 

But cities that offer the program are encouraging all residents, including citizens, to participate to prevent unintentionally stigmatizing those here illegally. 

"We do not label any particular group, this ID is for all," said Rachel Louis, program administrator for the municipal ID program in Newark.

Newark was the first city to implement the program in the state and since 2015 has issued more than 11,500 IDs. "We cater to seniors, youth, we cater to all. It doesn't matter who you are," Louis said. 

"We encouraged everyone to go and get them," added Stack, who was the first one to get his municipal ID in Union City. "So it wouldn't be where they stand out by themselves, that's why it was important."

A sample of the Union City municipal ID card. (Union City)Karen Yi | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com 

Local power in a national stalemate

The idea for municipal IDs was born out of frustration with immigration reform efforts and a desire to exert local control over a national issue, advocates say.

New Haven, Conn., was the first city to issue a municipal ID in 2007 following the fatal stabbing of a 36-year-old undocumented immigrant while he cashed a check, according to a 2013 report by the Center for Popular Democracy on municipal ID programs.

News reports at that time said undocumented immigrants in New Haven were frequent targets of thieves who knew they carried money on them or in their homes because they could not open bank accounts. 

"When it was becoming clear that immigration reform wasn't going to happen, cities started to look to their own powers to protect and recognize immigrant communities," Cullinane said. "The municipal ID movement came out of that."

It spread to the West Coast and eventually came to New Jersey where nonprofit groups began issuing their own IDs until Newark launched the first city-sponsored card. 

Adriana Abizadeh, executive director at The Latin American Legal Defense and Education Fund (LALDEF) based in Trenton, issues Mercer County IDs but they are not approved by the county. 

LALDEF began issuing IDs in 2009 and has issued 13,000 so far. At least five municipalities have agreed to accept it as a form of identification: Trenton, Princeton, Ewing, Plainsboro and West Windsor, Abizadeh said.

"This is a starting point to be able to identify yourself again ... it really should be for all us," Abizadeh said. "That's the elderly who are unable to drive, individuals coming out of jail, a wide range of different pockets of the population."

"We're making sure that there isn't a scarlet letter, a stigma attached to it," Abizadeh added. 

'We live here'

Critics of municipal ID programs say the cards can lead to fraud and abuse.

New York Republican Assemblywoman Nicole Malliotakis unsuccessfully sued New York City to prevent it from destroying applications from ID holders.  

"This data could be helpful in the future to investigate a crime perpetrated with the use of an IDNYC card," she said in statement at the time. "As elected officials, we have a duty to protect our constituents from unlawful government action that compromises their safety, and we'll fight it every step of the way."

Neither Newark nor Union City keep any record of who has received an ID nor where they live. Both are wary of federal officials accessing sensitive information and have declared themselves sanctuary cities that limit their cooperation with immigration officials.

The cards, however, are not a silver bullet for unauthorized immigrants.

Cities say the cards are still negotiating with major banks to accept the ID as a primary form of identification. Mostly smaller banks accept the IDs to open accounts. County institutions in cities with municipal ID cards also do not accept the cards.

But any little bit helps. 

"It's better that they see there's a record of you" if you are stopped by police, said Diego, 27, an undocumented immigrant from Mexico as he waited in line for his ID in Union City last month. "We're hopeful that the police will see we live here and that we're a part of Union City."

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

The rankings saw their share of movement this week.

The crash took place near the exit for Route 7

BELLEVILLE -- At least one person was injured in a crash on Route 21 in Belleville on Thursday morning that forced multiple lane closures due to a debris spill, authorities said.

All northbound lanes are closed just north of exit 6 for Route 7 while the left and center lanes are closed going south, according to 511nj.com, the state department of transportation's traffic website.

Belleville police said they didn't yet have details of the crash or about the nature of the injuries.

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

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