On behalf of the Newark Teachers Union I want to thank the Municipal Council members and in particular Councilman Quintana for spearheading this honorable dedication to Joe. I welcome his family Loretta and Jeannine and friends…
Joe was quite & modest (except in his attire) and if you were his friend, you knew it; if you were his enemy he’d charm you then send me or Pete after you. He was a lifelong practitioner of keeping his enemies close. But he too spoke up loudly against injustice and was often shunned for it; he spoke as a teacher and had the same ability to talk to them on their level.
If I recount the day at Chancellor Avenue when a student (mistaking him for George Washington) asked him if he was the guy whose head was on the quarter and he replied “yes” I’ll laugh and cry. Others have or will speak more eloquently about Joe and I’ll just leave you with this—moving forward if you’re a new teacher coming up W Kinney or a veteran teacher coming down W Kinney, making a left or a right at the intersection you’ll Google the name Del Grosso, the result will lead you to the same place—the NTU.
John M. Abeigon
President Newark Teachers Union