Title
Dept/ Agency: Offices of Municipal Council/City Clerk
Action: ( ) Ratifying (X) Authorizing ( ) Amending
Type of Service: Ceremonial Street Designation
Honoree: Blonnie R. Watson
Date(s): Friday, October 31, 2025
Official Street Name(s): Spruce Street and Quitman Streett
Ceremonial Intersection Name: Blonnie R. Watson Plaza
Sponsor: Council President C. Lawrence Crump
Additional Information:
It is requested the signage be place on the southeast corner.
body
WHEREAS, The Honorable Blonnie R. Watson, a longtime political icon and housing advocate, was born and educated in Savannah, Georgia during segregation, where as an African-American woman she experienced firsthand the unfairness and ugliness of racism, this motivated her throughout her lifetime to promote a positive change; and
WHEREAS, as a teenager she became heavily involved in the growing civil rights movement and participated in voter registration efforts in the 1950’s before marrying and moving to Newark in the early 60’s with her late husband Lewis, and their daughters, Deborah and Charon; and
WHEREAS, in 1966 the family moved into the High Park Gardens Housing Cooperative, one of the nation’s first and foremost housing cooperative complexes, and where she began a lifelong advocacy for cooperative and affordable housing issues. Her initial involvement with the High Park Gardens management revealed the discovery of a potential $42,000.00 loan default and other mismanagement issues. She initiated a door-to-door campaign to raise the necessary funds and within 48 hours raised the necessary funds to cure the default. She overwhelmingly earned the trust of the residents and serve on the Board of Directors and then President of the housing complex for many years; and
WHEREAS, her impassioned advocacy propelled her into national prominence as she rose through the ranks serving on the Board of Directors for the National Association of Housing Cooperatives (NAHC), and as a trainer and instructor at the NAHC conferences and meetings; and
WHEREAS, she gained international prominence when she was selected to a delegation to the Soviet Union with the Assistant HUD Secretary, Professionals and the National Cooperative Business Association, and later in 1990 was invited to the White House by President George H. Bush to witness the signing of the sweeping housing legislation which later became known as the HOPE Bill, which was unveiled on the grounds of High Park Gardens by HUD Secretary Jack Kemp in 1991; and
WHEREAS, in 1992, she became a founding member of the New Jersey Federation of Housing Cooperatives that hosted related workshops and meetings for the New Jersey and Mid Atlantic Housing Cooperatives; and
WHEREAS, Mrs. Watson, whose housing activism led her into local politics where she served as a Central Ward a district leader, Vice Chair and Chairwoman of the Central Ward Democratic Party. She was appointed in 1983 to the Newark Commissioner Board of Adjustment and Zoning and was elected as a Essex County Freeholder-At-Large and was returned to office six times, serving 18 years, eight years as President. At the time of her retirement in 2014, she was the only African American woman leading a county legislative board in the State of New Jersey; and
WHEREAS, in 2016, the Democratic Party leadership called her out of retirement to run for the 29th legislative district which she won overwhelmingly and served until 2018; and
WHEREAS, throughout her remarkable career as a public servant, Mrs. Watson was a woman of strong religious faith and served as a member of Hopewell Baptist Church, a Founding Member and Trustee of Solid Rock Baptist Church in Irvington and remains a member of Saint Luke AME Church; and
WHEREAS, naming the corner of Spruce Street and Quitman Street as “Blonnie R. Watson Plaza” will serve as a lasting memorial to a woman whose devotion to God, family, and community provided a shining example of true community servant worthy of recognition.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE MUNICIPAL COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEWARK, NEW JERSEY, THAT:
1. The Municipal Council does hereby authorize the honorary and ceremonial renaming of the intersection of Spruce Street and Quitman Street as “Blonnie R. Watson Plaza”.
2. The official name of said streets shall remain as Spruce Street and Quitman Street in its entirety.
STATEMENT
This Resolution authorizes the naming of the intersection of Spruce Street and Quitman Street as “Blonnie R. Watson Plaza”, for honorary and ceremonial purposes.