Summer has officially arrived in Newark as the city kicked off its annual “Super Summer” campaign.

As kids jumped around the sprinklers in the new Riverfront Park, Mayor Cory Booker ushered in the summer.   

“Oh, I’m so excited to be here!”

“Super Summer” is the Booker Administration’s answer to keeping kids off the streets with activities from soccer camp to film series.

He brought up actor JD Williams, from HBO’s “The Wire,” as an example of what kids could be.

“He said I’m the scion of Newark and the son of the bricks and… it was great!”

The Arts High School graduate says while the summers of his Newark childhood weren’t spent on the streets, he’s witnessed the hopelessness some kids feel.  

“There’s things that children shouldn’t be surprised to see. You know, they shouldn’t be surprised to see something this nice. We should be used to this, but like I said Newark, I think we’re getting there.”

Mayor Booker says that’s the goal – to change Newark’s reputation by focusing on young people.