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Make no mistake about it the ills of urban life are very real. The lack of opportunity, the necessity for recreational facilities, and quality of life concerns are enormous.
Especially now more than ever, with the current state of Public Health there are small steps that can be taken and should be given more immediate concern.
Jersey City’s Martin Luther King Drive is 26 blocks of urban blight in need of immediate attention, enforcement of social distancing requirements, and the overall upkeep of the cleanliness of the corridor should be the first step
If you drive MLK Drive daily or periodically, you will witness generations of children being impacted mentally and socially, deprived of what some view as normal childhood.
There is no conscionable or philosophical reason why enforcement of BASIC quality of life rights should not be overall enforced.
The acceptance of individuals smoking, drinking and drugging, not only on corners, but in front of storefronts is unacceptable and should not be the view families are subjected to out their windows.
Residents complain about the ongoing gentrification, but it remains stagnant in addressing issues that Stevie Wonder can see. Gangs are occupying the corridor visibly and the only way to rid the area of this possibility is to have Zero Tolerance enforcement when policing the Drive for COVID19 social distance restrictions.
How is it possible that drug dealing is conducted openly in front of the NAACP office?
Police driving by in patrol cars without any issuing warnings of proper social distancing or enforcement of loitering laws is not Community Policing.
The predominantly African American community has to act now before the summer of 2020 and demand the cleanup of MLK Drive.
City Council Representatives Denise Ridley and Jermaine Robinson must lead this charge, this type of social discourse is not allowed in any other wards of the City.
The time is now Martin Luther King Jr Drive is ground zero of the urban violence in Jersey City. And can we, the community, allow another generation of children be raised in trauma?