Mayor Ras J. Baraka, the Newark Municipal Council, and the Newark Department of Health & Community Wellness (NDHCW), and the Office of Emergency Management (OEM) warns residents that as the City of Newark prepares for heavy

The Emergency Shelter will be opened Monday, March 13,

Interim Director, Dr. Denise V. Rodgers encourages residents to stay safe and to visit https://www.cdc.gov/disasters/winter/ , regarding how to deal with power outages and additional storm safety tips.  

The Newark Department of Health and Community Wellness remind residents of the hazards of cold weather. Several layers of warm clothing and protection against moisture and

“Newark is facing an onslaught of “extremely cold temperatures and wintry weather conditions,” Mayor Ras J. Baraka said. “We will meet nature’s challenge with the strength and resilience that defines us. I urge our residents to take precautions to keep their homes safe, stay indoors, and check on their neighbors, especially the disabled, children, and the elderly.”

The City offered the following tips on keeping homes safe:

• ‍Keep sidewalks and entrances to your home free of snow and ice.
• Watch for ice dams near gutter downspouts. Keep gutters free of leaves and debris so that melting snow and ice can flow freely. Ice dams can cause water to build up and seep into your house.
• Keep the house heated to a minimum of 68 degrees. The temperatures inside the walls where the pipes are located is substantially colder than the walls themselves. A temperature lower than 68 degrees will not keep the inside walls from freezing.
• Identify the locations for the main water shutoff in your home. Find out how it works in case you have to use it.
• Open hot and cold faucets enough to let them drip slowly. Keeping water moving within the pipes will prevent them from freezing.
• Check on seniors to make sure that they are warm and dry.
• Stay indoors as much as possible.
• Check all windows and doors for drafts. Place plastic if you feel a draft.
• Do not leave space heaters unattended.
• Do not use generators indoors.
• It is illegal to use kerosene heaters indoors.
• Keep anything that can burn at least three feet away from heating equipment, like the furnace, fireplace, wood stove, or portable space heater.
• Have a three-foot “kid-free zone” around open fires and space heaters.
• Never use your oven to heat your home.
• Remember to turn portable heaters off when leaving the room or going to bed.
• Test smoke alarms monthly.

The City offered the following additional tips on coping with extreme winter weather:

1. Be aware of weather forecasts during the winter months. Pay attention to the temperature and the wind chill factor.Know your rights as a tenant.  
2. Landlords must furnish heat from October 1 through May 1.
3. To report no heat or hot water in your apartment, call the Division of Code Enforcement at 973-733-6471 or 973-733-6481.