1948-
Nancy Zak is a community organizer for environmental justice and housing with Ironbound Community Corporation.
Nancy grew up in Lisle, IL and attended Mundelein University, now Loyola. She came to Newark in the early 1970s where she taught at Independence High School, an alternative school in Newark.
By the late 1970s, she worked for Ironbound Community Corporation, where she still works today. In her early years at ICC, Nancy worked at the ICC Information Center at 95 Fleming Avenue, which helped people with issues on health, senior services, adult education, and more. With ICC, and Bob Cartwright, Nancy published the Ironbound Voices, a trilingual newsletter from 1978 to 2001.
Nancy worked in Ironbound and citywide on issues of quality of life and the environment from the closure of the fire house and bathhouse in the Ironbound, to jobs and safety, to airplane noise and the environment, including garbage incinerator proposals. Nancy continues to work with ICC on environmental and quality of life issues such as the recent PVSC proposal.
Nancy, with Frank Hutchins was a key figure in the HUD Tenants Coalition with Frank Hutchins, which was founded in 1987, organizing tenants across the city, including in public housing buildings. More recently, she worked with the residents at Terrell Homes to advocate to stay in their homes.
Nancy was also instrumental in ICC’s 2001 Community Master Plan and has worked extensively on issues of zoning. Within this effort, ICC was able to get new school buildings for the Ironbound and continues to work to advocate for developments which are in-line with community design and have benefits to the Ironbound community.
In 1996, Riverbank Park, a historical Newark park, was threatened with demolition. Rick Cerone, along with city and county officials wanted to build a minor league Newark Bears baseball stadium. Nancy organized SPARK (Save the Park at RiverbanK) which ultimately saved the park, by getting it on the National Historic Register. The park was reopened in 2001, closing again briefly for cleanup, and then reopening again in 2003. Additionally long-term work by Nancy and others advocating for the Passaic River and a park along the river, led to a new park, Riverfront Park, which opened in 2012. Nancy continues to be active at both parks, leading SPARK in several annual events at Riverbank Park, including Music and Art Day which allows Ironbound schoolchildren to perform at the park and had it’s 20th year in 2024.
On these various issues, Nancy has partnered with a wide variety of citywide groups including Metropolitan Ecunemical Ministry, Right to Housing Newark Coalition for Neighborhoods, Newark Preservation and Landmarks, the Coalition to Improve Newark Recreation and many more.
Nancy has received the Power 15 Award (Newarks’ Most Influential Grassroots Leaders), the Local Hero Award from the Ethical Culture Society and the Carol Johnston Award from the ICC, among other honors. Nancy was also a Rutgers Gus Heningburg Fellow. In 2023, the Essex County Commissioners voted to name the Field House in Riverbank Park after Nancy.
Bibliography
ICC Environmental Justice Collection, Newark Public Library
Greater Newark HUD Tenants Coalition Papers, Newark Public Library not fully digitized
Arnold Cohen & Nancy Zak Collection, Newark Library, not fully digitized
Ironbound Community Corp. Digitized Material, Newark Library
Newark Library Digitized Material “Nancy Zak” 1, 2
Local Hero Award, Ethical Cultural Society
Extensive Star Ledger coverage
Kukla, Barbara J. Newark Women: From Suffragettes to the Statehouse.
Stewart, Nikita, “Reopening of Riverbank Park Ends Long Fight” Star Ledger Nov 6, 2003