Joseph Barry, the former majority owner of the Hudson Reporter newspaper chain, has sold his share to longtime partners Lucha Malato and David Unger. The sale, which had been in the works since June, was completed Dec. 15. Barry, who owns Hoboken-based Applied Housing, a real estate development company that has built market-rate and subsidized housing in Hudson County since 1970, founded the chain in 1983. Barry said that he sold the chain because he has had no time to devote to it due to his real estate projects. Malato, who became the paper’s general manager shortly after its founding in 1983, has been a partner since 1984. Unger joined the chain as the advertising director in 1985 and became a partner later that year. The two now share ownership. “We don’t plan any dramatic changes,” Unger said last week. “The newspapers are always evolving, growing with the communities. We’ll continue that growth.” The chain includes newspapers in seven communities