Dear Editor:
During my tenure as the Chairperson of the Hudson County Tenants Council, I was pleased to present Joseph Barry on May 24, 2001, with the #1 developer award. He was the first and only developer to be honored in the 15 year history of the Council.
He was chosen for this award because of his dedication to creating affordable housing while revitalizing the aging housing stock of Hoboken and other areas all over the State of New Jersey. Thousands of families have been the beneficiaries of his vision.
It was with great sadness that I read of Mr. Barry’s indictment. U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie has relied on the cooperation of self-confessed extortionist, former County Executive Robert Janiszewski in naming local officials and others who allegedly paid him. The fact that Janiszewski was allowed to remain in office for the purpose of tapping and entrapping others is outrageous to say the least, and for the Government to allow Janiszewski to collect on his pension, and spare his wife Beth “the head and source of all evil and corruption,” any embarrassment is unfair.
Mr. Christie’s description of Joe Barry as “corrupt” is unfounded and mean spirited. Joe Barry is a very hard working, honest developer, who more than deserves the public funding he received. The loans or grants were given and allocated to build projects. The projects were built for everyone including the Government to be proud of. The monies were put to a very good use. The monies were not misused.
Mr. Christie said public funds were given because of the bribes that Janiszewski received. I ask Mr. Christie if he is so worried about how our federal dollars are being spent, why doesn’t he go over all the Billions of dollars spent every day in Iraq? Does he not see that as misuse of Public resources? Mr. Christie does not see his boss as violating public trust. I do not see him handing down a well-deserved indictment to his bosses.
In my opinion, the office of Mr. Christie did not score any points with his investigation. They are losing focus and losing the respect and trust of the public.
In conclusion, I could say with no hesitation, that the name of Joseph Barry should be engraved in gold in all the buildings he founded and all the cities where he created an economic revival. I pray to God to give Joe Barry strength and protection during these trying times. The buildings he founded will long stand tall and proud as a testament to the man.
Wafaa Mikhail
Community Activist