DUI Lawyers in Paterson, NJ

PATERSON — The empty sports bar at Paterson's Center City Mall went out of business about a decade ago, and it has symbolized the ongoing struggles besetting the downtown shopping complex.

But this weekend, a new partnership will be reopening the mall’s sports bar space under the name Fast Break Cafe Sports Lounge, a bring-your-own-bottle eatery featuring two 225-square-inch projector screens, 15 flat-screen TVs and a gaming area for children.

“This is a big deal for us,” said Ruben Gomez, who oversees Center City’s management for its owners, Queens-based Alma Realty. “We want to attract new restaurants to create a destination at the mall.”

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Mayor Andre Sayegh said he expects the sports lounge to bring life to Center City Mall. “I hope that Fast Break will be a slam dunk,” the mayor said.

At present, about 75% of the mall’s space is occupied, Gomez said. That occupancy rate marks an improvement over past years, when sometimes it seemed almost half the mall was empty.

Among the remaining vacant areas is the mall’s third-floor movie theater, which closed at the end of March 2024. Gomez said he is negotiating a lease with a new group that wants to reopen the mall’s theater, along with a dining and bar area. Gomez said he hopes to have the new lease resolved in four weeks, with the return of the movies within six months.

Third ribbon-cutting

The movie theater is one of the reasons Fast Break doesn’t have a liquor license. After the previous sports bar closed, the mall’s owners transferred the liquor license to the movie space, Gomez said. But then the theater shut down before it began selling alcohol. The new theater investors are including liquor sales in their business plan, he said.

Sayegh noted that this represents his third ribbon-cutting for Fast Break, following previous ceremonies when the owner, Shane Gerald, opened a restaurant on Vreeland Avenue in Paterson and then started a food truck. Sayegh said he is supporting Fast Break by including the lounge in Paterson’s restaurant week celebration in June.

Gerald also runs New Jersey Sparks girls basketball and a girls flag football program in Paterson.

“I want to do this for my hometown,” Gerald said of the mall business. “I want to see our city succeed and become great again.”

Gerald said he wasn’t daunted by the mall’s struggles: “I saw the empty stores and I said, ‘What can we do to get some life in here?'”

Gerald’s partner is Justin Wimberly, son of state Sen. Benjie Wimberly and founder of the Zone6ix sports marketing company that has become ubiquitous at Paterson high school games and youth programs.

Wimberly and Gerald shrugged off the lack of a liquor license, saying they embraced the idea that families won’t have to go to a bar for entertainment.

PATERSON, NJ - The Paterson City Council has taken the first step toward creating a senior housing district in the city’s Fifth Ward, approving a resolution last week that authorizes the Planning Board to investigate a potential amendment to the area’s redevelopment plan.

The amendment proposes establishing a “Senior Living Overlay District” on nearly 47,000 square feet of land along Cedar and Martin streets, covering properties at 32–36 Martin St. and 129–149 Cedar St.

City officials say the proposal would address a growing demand for senior housing and medical services in Paterson. The plan envisions a mixed-use development featuring 100 one-bedroom independent living units, upper-floor nursing home accommodations, and on-site medical offices. Amenities would include a cafeteria, hair salon, and community health facilities.

“The area between School 15 and the Governor Towers has been sitting vacant for years — it’s about five acres of empty land,” Fifth Ward Councilman Luis Velez said. “There’s been squatting, dumping, and it’s even been used as a garbage site. This is good news for Paterson. A 100-unit housing project for seniors is finally moving forward. That’s why I’m supporting it — to bring some positive news to the city and move beyond the negativity that can overshadow real progress.”

The land in question has long been considered underutilized, with blighted lots and deteriorating structures. The resolution authorizes the Planning Board to conduct a preliminary investigation to determine if the site qualifies as “an area in need of redevelopment” under New Jersey’s Local Redevelopment and Housing Law.

If the Planning Board finds the site eligible, the city can adopt a formal redevelopment plan. That would allow for zoning changes—such as taller building heights and increased residential density—as well as potential financial incentives for developers.

City officials said the proposed overlay district could revitalize not only the parcels in question but also the surrounding infrastructure, including improved streetscapes, lighting, and pedestrian access.

The Planning Board’s findings will be presented to the council in the coming months, paving the way for potential redevelopment and new housing options for the city’s aging population.

Three siblings ranging in age from 27 to 42 graduated this week from William Paterson University, which is spotlighting their achievement as an adult learners success story.

The close-knit trio — Kevin Anthony Jones, Ebony Campbell and Monique Jones, all from Newark — were among more than 2,000 students receiving degrees at the Prudential Center last week.

It was a feat made possible in part by online learning, school officials said.

The three siblings each attained undergraduate sociology degrees via the university’s five-year-old WP Online program, which offers more flexibility than traditional classroom classes and has proven especially popular with adult learners, according to the university.

More than one-third of students in William Paterson’s Class of 2025 were adult learners, who are defined by the university as students older than 24 when they enrolled to pursue a degree.

Kevin Jones, 42, said he dropped out of college two decades ago but found success running an organization that provides community-based support and mentorship for children and teens with behavioral issues.

He decided he wanted a degree “for himself, his children, and the youth he mentors” and convinced his two sisters to join him at William Paterson, the university wrote in a graduation day recap that also included interviews with his two sisters.

While three siblings getting degrees on the same day is unusual, the rise in recent years of adult learners — often referred to as nontraditional students — is a well-documented trend at William Paterson and elsewhere.

In New York, Gov. Kathy Hochul signed into law last week the Opportunity Promise Scholarship program enabling students between the ages of 25 and 55 to attend community colleges for free, provided they are pursuing degrees in teaching, nursing, engineering or other in-demand fields.

At William Paterson, campus officials said WP Online is a key element in the school’s strategy. The university has more than doubled its campus percentage of adult learners since launching WP Online for graduate and undergraduate students in the spring of 2020.

Programs are completely online, with seven-week accelerated sessions and multiple start dates throughout the year, the university said. Traditional classes are usually 15 weeks.

Students may transfer all earned credits but must meet the requirement of at least 30 credits earned at William Paterson, which requires 120 credits for undergraduate degrees, the university said.

Sociology, the field in which the three siblings obtained their degrees, is among the 19 undergraduate degrees available through WP Online.

The tuition rate for the 2025-26 academic year is $372 per credit.

“We’ve been very intentional about our work in this area, and we’ve created an online structure that’s adult-friendly, family-friendly, and career-friendly,” said Joshua Powers, William Paterson’s provost and senior vice president for academic affairs.

Of the 3,218 adult learners enrolled at William Paterson as of the spring semester, 1,877 or 58%, were attending classes via WP Online. About 1,610 of the adult learners, or about half, identified as Black or Hispanic, while 19% had dependents.

The three siblings who graduated from William Paterson are parents. Jones is the father of four. Ebony Campbell, 39, has two children. Monique Jones, 27, has an infant son.

All three had some college experience prior to enrolling at William Paterson, which is not unusual. The university launched its College of Adult and Professional Studies in July 2024 with the aim of reaching some of the 750,000 New Jersey residents who have some college credits but no degree.

Ebony Campbell received an associate’s degree in paralegal studies years ago and works with the Morris County Superior Court in the family division.

“I was contemplating going back to school, but the time management with work, and family,” she said in the university’s graduation recap. “I needed to get it done.”

Monique Jones enrolled at William Paterson in 2016 after receiving an associate’s degree, but left without graduating and took a job with the IRS. Her goal is to work for the FBI, a job that requires at least a bachelor’s degree, the university said.

“I love the study of social behavior and of different cultures, and I thought it was important to study that,” Monique Jones told the university.

For the three siblings, the family’s academic celebration this spring is not limited to the three graduations. One of Kevin Jones’ four children, and one of Ebony Campbell’s two children, are graduating from high school in June, the university said.

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PATERSON, N.J. (OSV News) — Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney echoed the joy and hope of the faithful of the Diocese of Paterson, proclaiming “Viva il Papa!” — “Long Live the Pope!” — at the end of a Mass of thanksgiving he celebrated on May 14 for Pope Leo XVI’s election at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Paterson.

The bishop said this Chicago-born “missionary pope” — and the first North American pontiff — could inspire all Catholics to become “missionary disciples” of Christ.

The afternoon Mass of thanksgiving came six days after Pope Leo XIV was elected the 267th head of the universal church — in Rome May 8. Bishop Sweeney was the main celebrant. Many priests concelebrated the English and Spanish liturgy, with deacons assisting.

Church’s Spiritual Father

Local religious, laity and public officials were among those at the liturgy. Attendees prayed for the pope in his new role as the church’s spiritual father. Masses for Pope Leo have been celebrated around the diocese and world.

“We celebrate and give thanks to Almighty God, especially for the Holy Spirit inspiring our cardinal electors to give us our new Pope, Pope Leo XIV,” Bishop Sweeney said in his opening remarks at the Mass.

The altar of St. John’s, the diocese’s mother church, displayed an image of Pope Leo, the former Cardinal Robert F. Prevost, with flags including those of the United States and Peru, where he served as a diocesan bishop. The new pope holds dual citizenship as an American and a Peruvian.

The multicultural cathedral is home to a Peruvian group, Señor de los Milagros (Lord of Miracles). Paterson has the largest community of Peruvians outside their homeland in the world. Little Lima is a Peruvian community located very near the cathedral in downtown Paterson.

Christ’s Great Commissioning

In his homily, Bishop Sweeney said that Pope Leo, who spent decades missioning in Latin America, could remind Catholics of Christ’s great commissioning of his followers “to go and make disciples of all the nations” at the end of Matthew’s Gospel.

“We must be missionary disciples. We each have a responsibility to hear, learn, and share the good news of Jesus Christ — that work of evangelization to which we are called. The vocation that all of us share from our baptism is that call to holiness, that call to be saints,” said Bishop Sweeney, reminding the faithful to live out Jesus’ commandment, “Love one another.”

Diocesan faithful joined the church worldwide in expressing joy and surprise over the news of Pope Leo’s historic election. He was also the head of the Vatican dicastery that chooses those named bishops. Catholics said they liked his warm personality and hoped his vast experience would help him lead the church in these challenging times.

Excitement and Shock

In his homily, Bishop Sweeney recalled his excitement and shock on the day the College of Cardinals elected the Chicago-born Pope Leo.

“An American? Wow!” Bishop Sweeney said. “Now we’re praying for Pope Leo at every Mass.”

Bishop Sweeney said he was moved by Pope Leo’s first public words as pontiff looking over St. Peter’s Square: “Peace be with you” in the hearts of everyone worldwide. The words called to mind the Jubilee Year of Hope, the bishop said, which Pope Francis decreed to encourage all people to become “pilgrims of hope” in Christ.

An Augustinian friar, Pope Leo will bring the spirituality of St. Augustine, his order’s founder, to the papacy, such as the value of solidarity — “we’re walking the journey together” — and humble service as a leader, the bishop said.

“To be a leader in the church, we need always to remember that,” Bishop Sweeney said.

Moved by Pope’s Spanish

A Spanish speaker, Bishop Sweeney said he was also moved when Pope Leo spoke in Spanish to believers in the Chiclayo Diocese in Peru, in his first public address. The pontiff was Chiclayo’s bishop from 2015 to 2023. Earlier, he was a parish pastor, diocesan official, seminary teacher and administrator in Peru. Pope Leo has been a Peruvian citizen since 2005.

“A blessing for all of us is to know the blessing of the Latino, Hispanic community here in our diocese, our country, and all parts of the world, and the beauty of our Catholic faith, no matter what language or where you come from. It’s all part of the beautiful flavors that make up our one holy Catholic Apostolic Church,” Bishop Sweeney said.

In a special episode of his podcast, “Beyond The Beacon,” Bishop Sweeney said May 9 he was thankful to God, the Holy Spirit and the cardinal electors for coming to “a consensus pretty quickly.” Then-Cardinal Prevost was elected pope on the fourth ballot, which was “a sign” that the cardinal electors “were very united,” he said.

It’s “just a wonderful time for the church,” Bishop Sweeney said, but also for the Peruvian community in the diocese. “It is certainly a great joy for them” to have a pope who served for years as a Augustinian missionary priest in Peru and later as Chiclayo’s bishop.

This story was originally published by The Beacon at Beaconnj.org, the diocesan news and information outlet for the Diocese of Paterson in northern New Jersey and distributed through a partnership with OSV News. Michael Wojcik is the managing editor of Beaconnj.org.

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Before my taking office as mayor in 2018, “data” was a four-letter word in Paterson. Previous administrations viewed it as a pejorative term, but my team and I have used data not only to improve people’s lives but to save people’s lives, too.

Within weeks after being sworn in as mayor for my first term, I was selected as one of 40 mayors from around the world to participate in the prestigious Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative. Many value-added lessons were learned throughout the yearlong program, but one specific takeaway was how data can help cities make more informed decisions.

After I completed the initiative in 2019, Barbara Lawrence from The Henry and Marilyn Taub Foundation asked how the benevolent organization could help implement an idea I had obtained from Bloomberg Philanthropies. I asked for the foundation to fund two positions: a chief innovation officer and a chief data officer. Little did I know that less than a year later, the CDO would play a pivotal and critical role in my administration.

On March 16, 2020, I announced Paterson’s first COVID-19 cases. I immediately asked our relatively new chief data officer, Harsha Mallajosyula, to quickly create a dashboard that would be updated daily with meaningful metrics: infection rates, hospitalization rates and death rates. The daily dashboard drove my decision-making as to when to close and open our businesses and our public spaces. Data helped us save lives in Paterson during the pandemic.

Last year, Bloomberg Philanthropies invited me and 22 other mayors from North America, South America and the Caribbean to join its City Data Alliance. As a part of the alliance, we are receiving multi-year operational and technical coaching on how to leverage data and artificial intelligence to assess needs, strengthen services and codify policies that enshrine results-based practices across our City Hall organization. The initiative has inspired us to launch a data-driven initiative to go from being paper-based to paperless in Paterson. One example would be our objective to streamline our permitting process by going digital.

Welcome, DataRise Paterson

Our aim is to continue transforming Paterson into a 21^st-century city by ushering in a new era of accountability, transparency and progress powered by data-driven decisions. Therefore, we are proud to announce DataRise Paterson to help us create better outcomes for our residents, improve government efficiency and enhance community engagement.

DataRise Paterson will also guide us on how to use and manage data across all of our departments. Our overall goal is to ensure that data is used responsibly, improve decision-making and eventually build a culture where data is used to support our city’s growth and development.

Bloomberg Philanthropies has also blessed us with a graduate from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government. Ana Rocio Castillo Romero is our senior process improvement leader and is spearheading DataRise Paterson. She has been an indispensable advocate to help us become a stronger and sustainable city.

When Michael Bloomberg was mayor of New York City, he often said, “In God we trust, everyone else bring data.” In Paterson, we subscribe to the same axiom and believe that data is more than just a four-letter word but a red-letter solution.

Andre Sayegh is the mayor of Paterson.