North Ward Councilwoman Marge Caldwell-Wilson in her Mill Hill home.
When North Ward Councilwoman Marge Caldwell-Wilson purchased her Mill Hill home in the 1980s, the neighborhood was infested with drug dealing.
“There were constant drug drops,” Caldwell-Wilson said about the 200 block of Jackson Street. “There were cars continually coming and going and there were parties all night long.”
She was born and raised in Scotland, but moved to New Jersey after marrying a man from Freehold. Caldwell-Wilson unintentionally found the property she would later call home while driving through Trenton. “I was drawn to it,” she said.
When she first bought the house, she had no knowledge of the parties and drug deals because she drove through during the day and most of the neighboring properties were vacant and boarded up. There were several families living in the 10-room home that Caldwell-Wilson purchased, so she helped each of them find another place to live. As she began restoring the property, she realized the true plight of the neighborhood.
“There were angel dust factories on this street,” the councilwoman said.
For many years it was “rough” living in the neighborhood, Caldwell-Wilson said. Her home was burglarized several times — once while she was there — and she often received threats from street hustlers. But she stood her ground, purchased a home alarm system, and told the drug dealers that she wasn’t going to tolerate their behavior.
“I dug my heels in and said I’m not leaving,” Caldwell-Wilson said.
Over the years, she worked with other property owners to restore and rehabilitate the neighborhood, and the drug dealers eventually found other locations to conduct business. Now, the councilwoman’s street is one of the most beautiful blocks in the city.
“We became very strong as a community,” she said. “If everybody works together, you can get it done.”
Now in her second term as North Ward councilwoman, Caldwell-Wilson hopes to spread those efforts to other parts of Trenton. In 2014, more homicides occurred in the North Ward than any other ward. She said there are various “pockets” of criminal activity throughout the ward, and she hopes to work closely with Mayor Eric Jackson and the Trenton Downtown Association to increase economic development, which she feels will deflect crime. The councilwoman is adamant about placing Trenton on the map as a destination for artists in the Tri-state area. She realizes crime is a deterrent for everyone, especially struggling artists. But she believes the current administration and law enforcement leaders are moving in the right direction.
“Our arts community is growing by leaps and bounds and I truly believe that’s going to be part of the engine that brings economic development,” she said.
More street lighting and repaved streets and sidewalks will greatly improve the city’s conditions, but citizens should take pride in Trenton and also work to change the current culture, Caldwell-Wilson said. The vacant buildings have become an eyesore and the city, at times, is covered in garbage, which is a complaint she often hears from constituents. She would also like to see more residents plant trees.
“I want people to respect their own environment and keep their neighborhood clean,” she said. “A clean neighborhood doesn’t attract bad things. We should all be ambassadors who encourage people to come into the city and live here.”
Clean neighborhoods and effective policing are only part of the solution to Trenton’s turnaround, the councilwoman said. The school board, as well as parents, must find ways to keep kids engaged in positive activities during and after school. In short, she said, each and every citizen of Trenton will need to get involved in the process.
“We need to reconnect with one another and we need to start working together as a community,” she said.