The following were some of the top stories in Irvington in 2024:
$100 Million Sankofa Enclave project begins
A groundbreaking ceremony was held in October for The Sankofa Enclave at Twenty First Street, a Black woman-led development that will offer homeownership, affordable housing, retail, and green space, representing a nearly $100 million investment in the township.
The project aims to revitalize a blighted section of Standard Place off of 21st street. Fifteen two-family houses will be built for homeownership and 240 units of high-quality affordable rental housing – including five units of supportive housing for young women aging out of foster care – will also be built.
The development will feature significant green space, retail, a weekly farmers market and a 30,000 square-foot community development center intentionally designed to deliver important tools for community development and economic growth, according to a press release about the project.
Boxing career taking off
Irvington’s own Jean Pierre Valencia scored a knock out in the first round of his fight in New Jersey’s biggest venue on Saturday, Oct. 12. The 24-year-old boxer had dreamed of fighting at the Prudential Center after watching world champions like Shakur Stevenson compete at the venue.
Valencia finally made that dream come true, knocking out Cody Jenkins of Culpeper, Va. at the 1:49 mark of round one to improve his record to 2-0 (2 knockouts) in his professional career. Valencia competes in the 154-pound division.
Standoff with police department ends peacefully
A 34-year-old township resident was peacefully taken into custody after a nearly day-long standoff with police on Nesbit Terrace. At approximately 4 p.m. on Sept. 4, Irvington police officers were dispatched to the 300 block of Nesbit Terrace on reports of an armed subject.
Arriving officers encountered Karim M. Brunson, 34, of Irvington, who then barricaded himself in a residence on Nesbit Terrace. Officers from Irvington and the sheriff’s office were able to successfully evacuate residents from the immediate area while trained negotiators from the sheriff’s office negotiated with Brunson throughout the night.
The incident was successfully concluded at approximately 2:10 p.m. the next day when Brunson was taken into custody.
Vauss Jr. elected to council
Anthony A. Vauss Jr. defeated Yasmina C. King in the race for an at-large seat on Irvington Township Council in the November general election.
It was the only seat up for election in this cycle. Vauss pulled in 8,685 votes to King’s 3,076 to win the seat in the non partisan election. Vauss is the son and current chief of staff to Mayor Tony Vauss, who is married to April Vauss, who is the superintendent of schools for the Irvington School District.
Four council members are reelected in May
Four members of the Irvington Township Council were reelected in May. The oath of office was administered July 1 to Council President Jamillah Z. Beasley from the South Ward; October Hudley, council first president, from the East Ward; Vern Cox from the West Ward; and Orlander Glen Vick of the North Ward. They were all re-elected on May 14.
Council President Beasley is reelected
Jamillah Z. Beasley was reelected council president. Beasley said she plans on continuing to move redevelopment forward in Irvington. “Aside from buildings, we want to focus on single family homes as well,” she said. A mother of four and a grandmother of six, Beasley currently works at the Department of Policy, Planning, and Redevelopment in East Orange. She attended Katherine Gibbs Business School and Essex County College where she majored in criminal justice. She is the daughter of D. Bilal Beasley and A. Baseemah Beasley, who were both involved in local government.
Kid Problem is recognized
Genration1st, a non-profit organization that champions the aspirations of first-generation college students in the United States, awarded Najee Jihad, aka Kid Problem, for his commitment to making a positive impact on young people.
Kid Problem is a social media influencer operating out of Irvington and Newark. He is a self-made big brother to local youth and is on a mission to address issues impacting generational problems such as drug use, gang violence, illegal activity, poor mental and behavioral health. Kid Problem posts videos that draw attention to issues in the communities. He has more than 58,000 followers on Instagram.
Township accused of sloppy book keeping
The Office of the State Comptroller accused the Township of Irvington of keeping sloppy accounting records, ignoring auditor’s recommendations and tolerating obvious conflicts of interest. Township Business Administrator Musa A. Malik said the state report is based on information they found in 2009 and 2011, which was three years before he was appointed to his position, and the state didn’t follow up for more than a decade.
Acting State Comptroller Kevin Walsh noted that the state comptroller’s 2009 and 2011 reports identified serious deficiencies in financial controls and made recommendations for remediation. More than a decade later, OSC said that it found that the township hadn’t implemented many of its key recommendations, government finances were in disarray and taxpayer funds were at risk as a result.
Malik said there has been complete turnover in the township’s tax and finance departments since 2011. “It didn’t come from the state report because we didn’t know about the report,” Malik said. “I knew we had inherited some deficiencies.”
IHS Athletic Director John Taylor moves on
Irvington High School Athletic Director John Taylor resigned in February to take a job in Burlington Township. Taylor, who arrived at IHS in July 2017, presided over growth in his department that included adding freshman teams for girls volleyball and boys soccer. During his tenure, football coach Ashley “Smoke” Pierre led the Blue Knights to their first-ever state sectional championship in 2021.
The athletic department added new programs, such as girls wrestling in the winter; and boys volleyball, girls lacrosse and girls flag football in the spring. He also revived the golf program, which had been dormant for years. The girls flag football program, under head coach Kyle Steele, has evolved into one of the best in the state, having won the state championship in 2022, beating Hawthorne at the New York Jets training facility in Florham Park. Taylor also revived the IHS Athletic Hall of Fame, which had been dormant for decades.
IHS football graduates compete on the big stage
The Irvington High School football program was well-represented when the University of Nebraska hosted Rutgers University at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Neb., in front of a crowd of 87,464. Junior linebacker Mikai Gbayor and sophomore offensive left guard Justin Evans, both IHS alumni, were among the Nebraska captains and starters for the game. Meanwhile, Rutgers features two other IHS alumni in senior defensive lineman Zaire Angoy and sophomore wide receiver Famah Toure.
Other IHS graduates playing major college football include Cam Ron Richardson at Stanford University; Jahide Lasaine and Maraad Watson at Syracuse University; Vaboue Toure at Penn State; and DJ Mangan at the University of
Buffalo.
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