McGreevey comes to Paterson to defend controversial prison reentry initiative
JANUARY 6, 2016, 9:57 AM LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 6, 2016, 10:02 AM
BY JOE MALINCONICO
PATERSON PRESS
PATERSON — Former Gov. Jim McGreevey made a surprise appearance at Tuesday night’s City Council meeting in an attempt to defuse criticism aimed at the new prisoner reentry program he is launching in Paterson.
Speaking to the council members, McGreevey said a similar reentry initiative he oversees in Jersey City has achieved low recidivism rates and high employment among its participants by providing them with counseling, job training and other services to ease their transition to life outside prison.
Then the former governor addressed council members’ concerns about Paterson’s use of municipal public works department employees working overtime to complete renovations on the privately-owned Montgomery Street building where some of the post-prison services will be provided.
McGreevey said the “crazed drive to get this done quickly” stemmed from concerns that the city could lose the $180,000 federal grant paying for the work if it were not completed quickly. McGreevey’s explanation matched the one provided by Mayor Jose “Joey” Torres on Monday. The mayor has said the overtime costs would be covered by the federal grant.
In an interview after his presentation to the council, McGreevey said he expected the program to begin operation in the middle of this month with its first group of 11 to 15 participants. He said that it would serve between 175 and 250 released inmates per year. In an effort to dispel some residents’ concerns that parolees would be living at the Montgomery Street building, McGreevey said the site would only be used during business hours to provide services and referrals.
“I believe we’re changing lives through the process of reentry,” said McGreevey, chairman of the board of the New Jersey Reentry Corporation, the nonprofit organization working on the project.
For the most part, council members seemed to show deference to the former governor as they complimented his efforts. Not until later in the night, long after McGreevey had left the building, did several council members sharply question administration officials about the project
Is that our Mayor next to him?
What’s he got in his hand…?
Maybe the keys to the new Ridgewood parking garage.
Prob the mask he wore in the rest area bathrooms
I am not now and never was a fan of his, but I do truly believe he’s made amends for the past by focusing on issues that benefit all of us in the long run. Discipline and punish should be the mantra of our penal system, and the discipline portion comes through reentry programs such as the ones he is involved in.
I saw the documentary that follows his latest work, which consists of his church career as well as his prison inmate counselling. On one hand, I felt the guy was engaged in highly honorable endeavors, but at the same time, I also felt that the man is an insatiable narcissist, looking to engineer his return to public attention.
Did anyone spot our mayor in Paterson on Tuesday night?