Since its establishment in 1666, the Four Corners intersection, once dubbed the busiest intersection in the United States, has pumped innovation throughout Newark, New Jersey.
With traces of Queen Latifah, Sarah Vaughan and residue from the first M&Ms ever created, a culture of hustle and Black excellence was born. This ethos still lingers within and all around the 150 year-old, star studded Prudential Center and is embedded into the Historic, Arts and Education Districts that nestles a multitude of small business, a few new Rutgers University buildings and share space and incubator: Equal Space.
Co- founded in 2014 by vetted creative director and entrepreneur, Citi Medina, alongside healthcare aficionado Ralphie Roman, 89 Market Street and 550 Broad Street house the campuses where the Equal Space team is able to host and extend resources to creatives and businesses looking for spaces to work, peers to collaborate with and a place to call home. Each campus consists of office spaces of various sizes equipped with technology, snacks, pronoun identifying bathrooms and even counseling services available for members to use for an affordable daily, weekly or monthly rate.
“We got a lot of no’s when we first started,” admitted a vision led Medina. “We had no intel, it was just me and Ralphie. We started in a basement in Brooklyn and were building up.” Little did they know, three years of no’s would turn into three stories of Equal Space in one building, and a couple more floors in the other.
It was two “yes’s” that changed the course of rejection, according to Medina. He credits Wells Fargo for, most recently, investing half a million dollars to support Equal Space, and Aisha Glover, Head of Global Innovation and former VP of Tech at Audible; which relocated its Global Headquarters to Newark in 2007 to be part of the city’s revitalization.
The Audible team was able to provide a tour of their tranquil home base: a former church and its neighboring community center, towering Harriet Tubman Park.“Our founder Don Katz still says that this is one of the best business decisions that he’s ever made in the company’s history,” Glover beamed in discussion with Medina on May 18.
“A lot of our focus is on our headquarters, and in this neighborhood, and kind of building this tech innovation ecosystem; and that cannot happen without the creative economy.”
In August of 2023, Audible launched their Business Attraction Program in efforts to empower the community with tech and transform Newark into “the next Black tech Mecca.”
Aligning with Equal Space cofounders and Glover, Head of Economic Impact at Audible, Ari Fox, also relocated from New York and has been based in Newark for over a decade. “We wanted a place where small companies and start ups can land and grow,” Fox explained.“As we spoke to everyone,” he recalled, “they all created amazing spaces, but they didn’t really get it from a community building perspective.” Once joining forces with Equal Space, the collaboration seemed inevitable, especially when both teams learned their spaces already shared a landlord.
Since, results have spoken for themselves. With a growing number of members and investors, Equal Space is able to create the change they want to see. Hosting panels, networking events and gatherings bring community artists and businesses center stage. Brick City Jam, a Newark based outreach program, was able to hold their Amplify Series on May 17 at the Market Street campus where they appointed music artist and Newark native, Conrad Khalil Dupree, the first headlining performer.
On the business end, Equal Space managed to cater to streetwear brand, Trap Art (To Really Appreciate People And Respect Time). While merchandising his pieces out of 89 Market Street, Trap Art founder, Moustapha, was also able to create music in the Equal Space recording studio. However, the brands rapid growth resulted in a bittersweet, pending goodbye as Trap Art graduates from its decked out showroom to a bigger space where they can comfortably assist their expanding celebrity clientele and house more garments.
Despite the good Equal Space does for others, Medina boldly acknowledges the true origin of his love letter to Newark. “I selfishly say I built this space for what I wish I had and I think a lot of founders of color do that. They build something that heals apart of themselves.” In doing so, a team of five was born and now creates opportunities for other creators of color to pay it forward.
“When you’re dealing with a city of color, you’re dealing with layers of trauma, you’re dealing with layers of socioeconomics which usually get treated really monolithically,” Medina noted. Community and Programming Manager Kelly Outing, in cahoots with Operations Manager Jonathan Collins and Community Engagement Coordinator Angie Albizu, tenderly aide the flow of money and resources back into the community by clinging to the essence of Newark in order to further uplift the majority minority communities within the reemerging city.
