A year after her husband was killed in the Jersey City shooting that left six dead and the whole of New Jersey shaken, a Harrison woman is claiming her family has yet to receive the help promised by city officials.
Martha Freire, the widow of Douglas Miguel Rodriguez, claims that despite pledges and promises to help her and her family weather the financial aftermath of her husband’s killing, the city has largely stopped contacting her and provided no help.
“Nobody from the mayor’s office of Jersey City has called me or helped me with anything, financially. Nothing” said Freire. “I don’t owe anyone an explanation. But a lot of people back home thought I’d been given $1 million dollars.”
On Dec. 10, 2019, Rodriguez was one of four victims of a deadly shooting rampage that started in Bayview Cemetery with the slaying of Jersey City Detective Joseph Seals and ended little more than a mile away at JC Kosher Supermarket, where Rodriguez worked as a clerk.
Despite having the opportunity to escape through a back door, Rodriguez stayed and held the door open for a customer to get out as two shooters unloaded on the grocery. He also tried to protect as many as 50 children from a neighboring Yeshiva.
Among the dead were Moshe Deutsch, 24, a Hasidic man who was visiting from Brooklyn; Leah Minda Ferencz, 33, co-owner of the Kosher grocery store with her husband, and Rodriguez, 49. Also killed was Seals, who approached the shooters at Bayview Cemetery minutes before they arrived and shot up the grocery.
The shooters, David Nathaniel Anderson, 47, and Francine Graham, 50, were also killed.
At the time of Rodriguez’s death, city officials at multiple public appearances and memorial services made pledges to help Freire and her daughter Amy. But Freire says that no help ever came.
At a memorial service for Rodriguez in Paterson – attended by Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal, Paterson Mayor Andre Sayegh and Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop – Fulop remarked on Rodriguez’s dreams of staying in his adoptive country and accomplishing more for his family.
Douglas Miguel Rodriguez, 49, was one of the victims of Monday's shooting in Jersey City.Courtesy of William Rodriguez
Rodriguez, who had a commercial engineering degree in his native Ecuador, came to the United States after a company he was working for folded, his brother William previously told NJ Advance Media. Moving to the United States with his family, he always hoped to work his way up from his job as a clerk to a higher paying job that would provide even more for his family.
“You told me you’re going to stay and fulfill the dream,” Fulop told Freire from the pulpit. “And we’re going to help you do that.”
But a spokesperson for Fulop’s office said the city is not authorized to use taxpayers’ money to help a homicide victim. Instead, the city shared a GoFundMe page created for Rodriguez’s family, which a city spokesperson claimed helped raise $150,000.
The GoFundMe page, which is now closed, ultimately raised more than $194,000. Freire said that she has received a portion of that money, which has been a life-line during the pandemic, helping to pay for basic necessities for her and Amy.
Freire said the state helped cover funeral costs and two months of rent for her family, but the city where the shooting happened did not provide financial help.
A spokesman for the Attorney General’s Office confirmed that Freire received financial assistance through the state’s Victims of Crime Compensation Office (VCCO). All the victims of the shooting were given help in applying for the VCCO assistance, the spokesman said.
For Freire, the issue is not the money, but that within weeks of her husband’s death, she heard little from Fulop’s office or the city itself.
“After March 30, nobody’s checked in on me,” said Freire.
Staying for the dream
Navigating life after her husband’s death was difficult enough for Freire.
Another roadblock to healing has been her immigration status, with Freire hoping to obtain a visa to stay in the country and work.
A few months ago, Freire’s immigration attorney Michael Wildes applied for a U visa, a nonimmigrant visa for victims of crimes, he told NJ Advance Media. The application will likely take years to process, but Wildes hopes that the federal government would step in and push the application forward.
“My prayer is that the federal government will step up and do what they can sooner than most,” said Wildes. “This pandemic should not lengthen our stride in helping her. And we have to remind ourselves that his (Rodriguez) one simple act in saving those 50 young boys and standing guard on that day, his family should be rewarded for that in kind.”
A spokesperson for Fulop’s office said that while the city did not provide direct financial help to Freire, it helped with her “immigration issues.”
One of the last city employees to check on Freire and Amy was Michael McLean, the director of Jersey City’s division of immigrant affairs, said Freire. Over several conversations, McLean spoke with Freire about attorneys the city would recommend to help her and her family.
“We went to great lengths to make sure that she would get a highly qualified Spanish speaking immigration lawyer from our nonprofit partners,” said McLean. “I personally spoke with three attorneys who specialize in the needs that Martha would have. They agreed to take her case.”
McLean said he shared information with Freire about the attorneys, making sure she was comfortable with them. Ultimately, Freire hired Wildes.
“At which point we couldn’t really help much,” said McLean.
Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a voluntary subscription.
Rodrigo Torrejon may be reached at rtorrejon@njadvancemedia.com.
"help" - Google News
December 19, 2020 at 07:30PM
https://ift.tt/3rbWxA6
Widow of Jersey City shooting victim says city promised her help that never came - nj.com
"help" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2SmRddm
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Widow of Jersey City shooting victim says city promised her help that never came - nj.com"
Post a Comment