Mr. McEnroe, who is 63, is a Newark native who joined the organization when Mr. Lerner was still running things.

Dan O'Flaherty, an economics professor at Columbia University and a Newark native who has been involved in local politics since the 1950's, said residents here have always been wary of change.

Maize is now on its fourth executive chef: Terrence Soto, a 29-year-old Newark native who was a member of the original team.

"So many people are Newark natives or their parents were born here," he says.

After a January vacation, Dr. Norwood, a Newark native who is 68 years old, will be analyzing and speaking out about such issues at the Urban Institute, a Washington research organization.

The Newark native was a 1939 graduate of Columbia and received a Ph.D. in physiology and kinesiology from Illinois in 1952.

"But that's why we don't have a high rate of students getting a college education," said Richard Pereira, a Newark native of Portuguese descent who is a businessman and the director of a community service agency.

It could draw Newark natives like Desiree Jessie, 40, who works at the concession stand at Symphony Hall.

A Newark native who worked as a track coach and physical education teacher before entering politics, Mr. James was elected mayor in 1986 and quickly established a reputation as an energetic cheerleader for a struggling city.

"We have plenty of statistics on the problem, but I was lamenting the absence of a debate on solutions," said Mark Ferguson, the foundation's founder, a Newark native who is an investment banker.