It was about noon—when the morning rush at TM Ward’s Coffee Co. in Newark began to die down—that employee Vera Barbosa noticed a man entering the small shop. He ambled through trying to look inconspicuous before taking a handful of candy and peanuts. Then he left.
This scene took place roughly three years ago in the small coffee shop, but now it is part of the past. “I remember,” says Barbosa, who has been working at TM Ward’s for approximately 13 years, “it used to happen all the time. But I remember it because at the time there was talk about the Prudential Center, and I wondered if we’d still get these people asking for change and stealing candies. We really don’t see them much anymore.”
TM Ward’s is a “small business” in every sense of the term. It is located on Broad Street, about a block away from the rear of the Prudential Center. The space the store occupies is so small it does a poor job of containing the strong aroma of coffee beans and roasting peanuts. You’re hit by the smell even before you get the door open. Once in, the sensory experience becomes even more overwhelming. When you finally clear your head of the hazelnut haze, you realize the entire back wall, just behind where Barbosa stands scooping nuts, is made of clear cubbies filled with coffee beans. This little shop was established in 1869, and for 139 years it has remained a family-owned business.
It would be easy to assume that the opening of the center hasn’t had a significant impact on the shop. For one, it is behind the arena, not in a place where people familiar with Newark only by its reputation are likely to venture. Secondly, it is a coffeehouse that closes at 5 o’clock, too early to benefit from hockey-fan business. But the shop has in fact seen improvement in business since the Prudential Center’s conception. Barbosa sees the improvement in business as “a good sign for Newark,” and with this remark she opens my eyes to the connection between the growth in business of her small shop and the growth of the city.
The Prudential Center brings more than 13,000 people into Newark each game night, according to the website Ballparks.com. Of these, the Star-Ledger reports, about 4,500 use mass transit to enter and exit the city. This means that the impact of the Prudential Center is felt up and down the block surrounding not only the center itself but also the area around Penn Station. Its affects are evidently more far-reaching than initially perceived. Could older small businesses act as mirrors to reflect Newark’s progress as a developing city?
Barbosa’s initial reaction to news of the opening of the Prudential Center was that it would be “great” for Newark. Now, about six months after opening night, she still feels that the center has made a positive impact. But on what basis? Barbosa says, “It’s difficult to say, we don’t see much of the hockey fans because we close. The people who work there come. Because of the jobs the area is busier, and you don’t see the people asking for change anymore.”
TM Ward’s attracts people who work in downtown Newark rather than residents of the area. As a result, Barbosa points out, it is difficult to say if the positive changes may lead to a higher cost of living and eventually force some people to leave. She says, “We see everyone, from lower class to higher class, judges, construction workers, police. I don’t know—the people who come are all the regular people.”
Farther away from the Prudential Center than TM Ward’s Coffee Co. is a small sushi restaurant connected to Penn Station where Arooj Siraj works as a waitress. She too notices the impact of the arena. “There’s a lot more security and police around during times when they have the games. And a lot more people around during times when this place,” she says waving her hand toward the station, “used to be dead.” Through this business it is possible to see the center’s impact on Newark’s Penn Station. The area is busier, and because of this the number of visible law enforcement has also increased. In a sarcastic tone, Siraj, a Newark resident, points out that “they can’t have more police around normally though, only when there’s a game.”
At the opening of the Prudential Center, Mayor Cory Booker said, “I have faith we can begin to make the downtown an engine of prosperity for residents all over the city.” Is Prudential Center in fact working as that engine? Bobby, of Bobby’s Deli, thinks it is. He notices that the center brings in “a whole different group of people who are gonna see Newark for what it really is—a great town, a great city and great people as well.” He adds, “Newark doesn’t have to close at five anymore.”
The Prudential Center has had an impact on Newark. Small businesses near it have seen changes for the better that reverberate through the entire downtown. Jobs have been brought into Newark. New people are being drawn into the city to see for themselves what it has to offer. Streets are becoming livelier and safer during the day, and a healthy nightlife seems to be emerging.
Zaib Ahmed is a journalism student at Rutgers-Newark. Posted September 2008.
