Also known as Science Park and the old Third Ward, the Central Ward has roughly 55,000 residents and is predominantly African-American. The Central Ward is represented by Council Member Charles A. Bell.

Once Newark’s central business district, the Central Ward at one point held all of Newark’s major department stores, among them Hayne & Co., Bamberger's (Macy's), S. Klein, Orbach's, Two Guys, and 3 B's. It also is home to many historical sites, including the Krueger Mansion, the Metropolitan Baptist Church, the Abyssinian Baptist Church, and Eberhardt Hall, now a part of the NJIT campus.

In 1967, the Central Ward was the focal point of the social unrest of the period. Riots during this time resulted in considerable destruction on Bergen Street between Clinton and Springfield Avenues.
But soon after, in 1969, the New Community Corporation was developed in conjunction with the Queen of Angels Church. Today it features one of the city’s largest day care centers, a senior housing facility, and a community housing facility.

In 1970, the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ) was developed on a 60-acre tract; today it has grown to become the largest health sciences university in the nation.

Anchored by UMDNJ and home to three other universities – Rutgers, Essex County College, and the New Jersey Institute of Technology – the Third Ward forms the present-day heart of Newark. It has 26 public schools, two police precincts, four firehouses, and one branch library.

Newark Public Library

Hayes Street
50 Hayes Street

Central Ward Public Schools

There are 26 schools in the Central Ward listed below.
 

School	Address	Phone
Adult Learning Center	32 Warren Street	(973) 733-7028
Arts High School	550 Martin Luther King Blvd	(973) 733-7391
Barringer High School	90 Parker Street	(973) 268-5125
Berliner Samuel	70 Montgomery	(973) 733-6641
Camden Middle School	321 Bergen Street	(973) 733-8350
Camden Street School	299 Camden Street	(973) 733-6994
Central High School	100 Summit Street	(973) 733-6897
Cleveland School	388 Bergen Street	(973) 733-6944
Education Center for Youth	301 West Kinney Street	(973) 733-7018
Eighteenth Avenue School	241 18th Avenue	(973) 733-6824
Fifteenth Avenue School	557 15th Avenue	(973) 733-6924
Alma E. Flagg	150 3rd Street	(973) 268-5190
Fourteenth Avenue School	186 14th Avenue	(973) 733-6940
Franklin School	42 Park Avenue	(973) 268-5250
McKinley School	1 Colonnade Place	(973) 268-5270
Academy of Vocational Careers	74 Montgomery Street	(973)733-6912
Morton Street School	75 Morton Street	(973) 733-6938
Newton Street School	150 Newton Street	(973) 733-6848
Quitman Street School	21 Quitman Street	(973) 733-6947
Malcolm X Shabazz	80 Johnson Avenue	(973) 733-6760
South 17th Street School	619 So. 17th Street	(973) 374-2570
Louise A. Spencer	66 Muhammad Ali Avenue	(973) 733-6931
Sussex Avenue School	307 Sussex Avenue	(973) 268-5200
Sussex Avenue Annex	310 Sussex Avenue	(973) 268-5209
Harriet Tubman	504 So. 10th Street	(973) 733-6934
Harold Wilson School	190 Muhammad Ali Avenue	(973) 733-6446