New York Sen. James Sanders Jr. recently brought a contingent of local clergy and community leaders from the 10th Senate District, which he represents in southeast Queens, to visit New Community. With Director of Special Projects Richard Cammarieri (standing far right) as their tour guide, the group first started with a history lesson on Newark dating back to the late 1960s, when NCC was first formed. The group watched NCC’s 45th anniversary video, which interviews NCC Founder Monsignor William J. Linder and other prominent figures.State Sen. Sanders, left, and the tour group also listened to NCC CEO Richard Rohrman, center, and Chief of Staff Kathy Spivey, right, as they enjoyed lunch at St. Joseph Plaza.The tour group visited NCC Associates and met with Sharon Pleasant-Jones, far left, NCC Director of Health and Social Services, and learned about the services offered at clinics located within senior buildings.
For more than 50 years, New Community Corporation has walked the walk of social justice, helping residents of inner cities improve the quality of their lives to reflect individual God-given dignity and personal achievement. After all, NCC was birthed from the literal ashes of the civil disorders of 1967 by a core group of Black community leaders and White allies, including a young priest named William Linder. Together, they modeled through word and deed the moral principle and reality that Black Lives Matter.
Today, just as in 1967, NCC joins in solidarity with all those who seek justice and an end to police brutality and racism.