Prominent Newark Leader Gustav Heningburg Dies at 82

Gustav "Gus" Heningburg, one of Newark's most influential leaders who changed the face of the city following the infamous 1967 riots, died Monday at age 82.

Heningburg, the first president and chief executive officer of the Greater Newark Urban Coalition, was a staunch civil rights advocate who zeroed in on workforce equality. Now disbanded, the coalition was an effort to unite businesses, government and urban communities in the fight against inequality in the late '60s.

As a relentless negotiator, he helped ensure construction jobs for black and other minorities in the late '60s and '70s, most notably during Newark Liberty International Airport's $400 million expansion project and the creation of the New Jersey College of Medicine and Dentistry.

Newark Mayor Cory Booker Wednesday credited Heningburg with creating better job opportunities for thousands of Newarkers.

"His impact on this city in terms of issues of justice, fairiness and equality are unparalleled," said Booker. "This was just a great statesman who was a humble hero of Newark. His passing is sad in a way, but it's a time to rejoice a life well lived."

Booker said Heningburg imparted invaluable advice onto him as a young law student.

"He was really a guy not focused on emotionalism and knee-jerk reactions," Booker said. "He was really focused on facts and data. That's what really struck me as a law student. He'd say, 'Look at the facts and data.'"

Following the 1967 Newark riots, Heningburg helped piece the city back together, even getting the Black Panthers and Young Lords to put down their guns at the well-attended Newark Love Fest, according to NJ.com.

"Gus was, in many ways, the most senior civic steward in Newark," said Dr. Clement Price, Board of Governors Distinguished Service professor of history at Rutgers University-Newark. "Everybody knew Gus. He was an iconic figure."

As an affirmative action consultant for New Jersey Performing Arts Center, Heningburg helped bring together a diverse workforce to construct the theater in the '90s. Forty-six percent of construction jobs during that time were held by women and minorities, NJPAC wrote on its Facebook page.

"He was a terrific gentleman and will be deeply missed," the post read.

A memorial service for Heningburg, who died of heart failure, will be in New Jersey but have not yet been finalized, according to NJ.com.