Booker’s Newark: How has it fared? His star power is clear. The city’s story is one of both hope and struggles.

Booker’s Newark: How has it fared? His star power is clear. The city’s story is one of both hope and struggles.

NEWARK, N.J. – In seven years as mayor, Cory Booker has added touches of luster here in the Brick City. Amid still-gritty streets, he has brought name-brand businesses and restaurants, loft apartments, and a glass office tower.

His wealthy admirers are writing checks to city causes, and last year British Prime Minister David Cameron visited to glean ideas for reviving rusted industrial cities.

But in any close analysis of Newark’s famous mayor, a fundamental question looms: Behind the undeniable flash, is there deep-rooted substance to match?

Booker, 44, said he has built momentum that puts Newark on a path toward revitalization, building interest unseen in decades. As a U.S. senator, he says, he would work to bring similar progress to other hard-hit New Jersey cities such as Camden, Paterson, and Asbury Park.

“The reputation of Newark was a place to stay away from,” Booker said last week in a telephone interview. “Now the city is really a place where hope is literally springing from the ground in terms of parks and housing.”

But as he campaigns to move from City Hall to the Capitol, Booker’s standout moments clash with indicators that show many long-standing ills remain. Poverty and unemployment, each jolted by the recession, are widespread, significantly more so than when Booker took office.

Nearby new hotels and offices, stretches of Newark streets are marked by rundown shops. Graffiti-covered security gates guard empty storefronts. After falling sharply, murder counts are rising again.

Despite the “rock star” status bestowed by Oprah Winfrey and other starry supporters who view Newark from afar, those who work, sleep, and raise children in this city of 277,000 see a more mixed picture.

“The city has plenty of problems, and I’m not sure if any leader could have solved them, especially in a handful of years,” said Brad Tuttle, author of How Newark Became Newark: The Rise, Fall, and Rebirth of an American City.

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