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Adam Zipkin
Deputy Mayor

Adam Zipkin was appointed Deputy Mayor as well as Director of the Department of Economic and Housing Development for the City of Newark in 2011.

From 2006 through 2011, Mr. Zipkin served as the Department’s Chief of Staff. During this time Newark attracted new major employers, including Manischewitz, Panasonic of North America, Audible.com, Pitney Bowes, Mimeo.com, Standard Chartered Bank, Bartlett Dairy, and Damascus Bakeries. In addition, the City has doubled its rate of affordable housing production and is building its first two new downtown hotels in almost four decades. The Economic Development Department launched City Hall’s first Office of Reentry, which connects formerly incarcerated individuals with mentoring and job placement services. It also has produced “Shifting Forward 2025,” Newark’s first comprehensive Master Plan reexamination in over a decade.

Before working for the Booker Administration, Mr. Zipkin operated a Newark law office from 2000 to 2006 primarily devoted to providing pro bono legal services to Newark residents in need, with a focus on providing representation to low income tenants. From 1993 to 1999 he was a partner, co-founder, and principal of the Newark law firm Bross Underwood Zipkin, which offered a full spectrum of transactional, trial, and appellate legal representation from client intake to final settlement or trial. In 2005 Mr. Zipkin received the “Advocate” Award from Newark Now in recognition of service to Newark residents through pro bono legal representation. In 2006 he received the “Pro Bono Attorney of the Year” Award from Essex County Legal Services, Volunteer Lawyers for Justice Program in recognition of service and dedication to meeting the legal needs of indigent persons.

Mr. Zipkin received his Bachelor of Science from the University of Maryland in 1989 and his Juris Doctorate from Seton Hall University School of Law in 1992.

In the 1920s Adam’s great-grandparents sold their potato farm in southern New Jersey and moved to Newark in search of a better life. Adam’s grandparents all lived and worked in Newark, and Adam’s parents were born and raised in the South Ward. Adam returned to Newark in 1989 to attend law school and has remained ever since.