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Following New York City's lead, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka said today his administration will explore implementing a municipal identification program for undocumented city residents.

The mayor, who first mentioned the possibility of an ID program at town hall on Wednesday, said the program would give undocumented Newarkers an identification card that could give them access to city services and the ability to hold a bank account.

"We're working hard to get it done by next year. We are bringing together all kinds of stakeholders," Baraka said during an interview today.

Councilman Ramos discussing the Affordable Care Act recently with a group of North Ward Latino residents at the Vince Lombardi Center. Pictured in the background are: Councilman-at-large Luis Quintana, White House Associate Director of Public Engagement Bess Evans and Dennis E. González, executive officer for the Office of the Secretary for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Region II. 

Newark residents can now pay their city property taxes on line or by phone.

The city today unveiled a new website that began operating today allowing residents to pay using a credit or debit cards or e-checks.

Councilman Anibal Ramos Jr. was on hand today for the opening of seven new affordable housing units in the renovated Wright-Clark house on Mount Prospect Avenue in the city’s Forest Hill neighborhood that had been an abandoned and deteriorating eyesore for more than 25 years.

Ramos said redeveloping the Wright-Clark house has been one of his priorities since he was first elected to represent the North Ward on the City Council in 2006. At the time, the home was owned by the city and Ramos pressed the administration of former Mayor Cory Booker to designate the property to RPM Development Group and urged the administration to allocate funding for the project. 

RPM, one of the leading developers of affordable housing in New Jersey, entered into an agreement with Newark in 2013 to restore the home to the Department of the Interior’s Standards for Historic Preservation. The city required original details such as woodworking, windows, and the floor plan of the home to be restored or replicated.

Councilman-at-Large Carlos Gonzalez, Edward Martoglio of RPM Development Group, and North Ward Councilman Anibal Ramos Jr. with tenants who will move into one of the apartments in the restored Wright-Clark home.