“I YAM WHAT I YAM”

“I exist as I am, that is enough, If no other in the world be aware I sit content, And if each and all be aware I sit content.”

–Walt Whitman

I mentioned in Chapter 1 my dad was a sailor so one of our favorite TV shows was Popeye. My dad would imitate Popeye’s “I yam what I yam” when I would ask him why he did certain things. I dedicate my second BLOG entry to my dad, the “Duke”. I want to share with you two of my early “Life Lessons” that helped shape the person I am today. For those familiar with Freud, you will appreciate how events that take place in your formative years have a strong effect on most of the things you do for the rest of your life.

The Air Rifle Story

When I was about five years old I wanted an Air Rifle. My mom had promised that Santa would deliver one to me for Christmas . I was playing ball with the son of a life long friend of my mom in the basement of our house on Monmouth Street in downtown Jersey City when the ball bounced over the front of our bar. When my friend went under the bar to get the ball he found my Christmas presents. His mom blamed me for ruining her son’s Christmas because he realized there was no Santa Claus. My punishment for this innocent act was that I didn’t get my Air Rifle for Christmas. I found out later that my mom’s friend had bought the Air Rifle and she was so upset with me, she took it back. I can still remember crying in my room not understanding what I did that was wrong. I carried the guilt and hurt of this innocent act for many years. Throughout my life, I would jokingly remind her of the Air Rifle everytime I met her. She would always say: “Again with the Air Rifle, forget about the Air Rifle, “Andra Volta!”. (English translation: Here we go again) I would just smile but inside I was saying; “I wish I could forget, but it won’t go away”. The last thing I said to my mom’s friend a few hours before she died in Christ Hospital ten years ago was, “Can I have my Air Rifle now?” She couldn’t speak but she nodded her head “yes”. She died never knowing the significance her cruel act had on my life, which I still carry today. This is why it is so offensive and hurtful to me when the Board of Directors, in what I compare to a “public hanging” broadcast on TV throughout the Galaxy and Mall, described my actions as harmful to the Galaxy. In fact, these actions were done with only the most innocent and honest intentions.

The Watermelon Story

A few years later I wanted to try out for the Little League team “A. C. Chevrolet” sponsored at North Street Park but I needed a glove. I went to work for our neighbor Mr. Tuli selling watermelons from a truck on Rt. 440 at the location of the Jersey City Incinerator Authority Building. After a few weeks of work, I only needed 50 cents and I would have enough to buy my glove for seven dollars. A few days before I was to get paid, Mr. Tuli asked me to walk with him away from the truck to clean up some garbage on the ground. I told him; I’ll be there in a minute. I didn’t want to wait for the end of the week to get paid to buy my glove so I went into the back of the truck and stole the 50 cents from the cigar box where he kept his change. On that day there were tractors close by pulling poles from the dirt. When I jumped off the back of the truck I noticed a man on the tractor trying to get Mr. Tuli’s attention. The cable had snapped and a metal hook was traveling right at Mr. Tuli. Mr. Tuli’s hearing was poor and he didn’t see the construction worker’s warning. He was struck in the head and died instantly. I bought my glove but after a few days I felt so guilty, I couldn’t stand myself and I confessed to my parents. The glove was taken away as my punishment and to this day I carry the guilt of Mr. Tuli’s death. If I had been honest and did the right thing, I would have been next to him and could have saved him. From then until today, I never took anything that didn’t belong to me and I always tried to “do the right thing”. I still have that glove on my desk at home to remind me. On the few occasions that I have said something that I later thought was inappropriate, no matter how hard it was and how much I didn’t want to do it, I looked at my glove and went back and apologized and admitted that I didn’t do the right thing. Some of the Board’s biggest supporters and a GTCA employee can attest to this. I learned that admitting your mistakes and being responsible for them builds your character and makes you a better person.

“DO THE RIGHT THING”

A few years ago the Concerned Unit Owners held a Town Hall Meeting at the Green Kitchen Restaurant at the Galaxy Mall. One of the guest speakers, a Board member, was asked: if it were proven that violations had been issued, would you apologize to Mike Deluca? He said yes and gave his word in front of a whole roomfull of Galaxy residents. He never apologized even though a State Report and other public records name the violations. Instead, he chooses to tap-dance around his commitment by saying the violations issued were not part of the investigation or by saying the violations were made out to the contractor; not the GTCA. The fact of the matter is that it doesn’t matter whom they were made out to or if they were or were not part of the investigation. The fact of the matter is that even if you discount the one violation that was rescinded months later, there were still three others that were not. The fact of the matter is that at the time I was accused of spreading false information, there were four violations pending for lack of eight permits and three of them are made out to the Galaxy Condo Association as the Owner in Fee. The fact of the matter is that what I was saying was not false. There was work going on without the proper permits issued by the Building Department.

The fact of the matter is proven in this one sentence from the State Report: “During the course of the investigation, Mr. Ribarro had issued several Notices and Order to Pay Penalties for work without permits to the Building and electrical contractors”. “February 18, 2004/$2000.00, February 21, 2004/$2000.00, February 26, 2004/$6000.00”. (Mr. Ribarro is the Guttenberg Construction Official Zoning Officer)

If not for these “Life Lessons” I could have become a person who lacked ethics and morals. I would have no interest in justice or fair play. I could create an illusion that gave credence to false allegations without conscience. I could discredit someone unjustly without conscience. I could pick the last sentence of a three page State Report and read it out of context to support my false allegations. I would pick this last sentence because if read alone, it would appear as though the GTCA was cleared of any charges of impropriety when in fact this last sentence vindicates the Building Official of not enforcing the Building Codes because he did issue violations to the Galaxy. I could use this last sentence to deceive every member of the GTCA and every person watching in the Mall of the Galaxy. This is the last sentence of the State Report I could use to accomplish this: “Based on the evidence obtained during this investigation, this office has concluded that there are no Violations of the Uniform Construction Code. Therefore I recommend this case be closed with no further action from this office”.

On February 3, 2005 in an Open Board meeting and during an election time when two Concerned Unit Owner members were running for the Board, the General Manager and GTCA Attorney implied I was a fraud. They said “he lies and continues to lie”. They claimed I was spreading false information about violations issued to the Galaxy for lack of permits on the construction work. To support their charges against me, the Attorney used a State Report that was written in response to my complaint filed with the Department of Community Affairs. At the time of the complaint, I didn’t feel the Building Official was enforcing the Building Code Regulations. I believed he was ignoring my complaints to him concerning lack of permits for the construction work. The Building Official was cleared of my charges against him because the State Report explains; “It is apparent through Mr. Ribarro’s actions that he was properly enforcing the regulations. When Mr. Ribarro discovered, or was notified that work was taking place without permits, he issued the appropriate Notice of Violation, and then issued the appropriate permits”.

At the end of the February 3rd meeting, the Board member I mentioned earlier asked the GTCA Attorney to sum up the State Report. The GTCA Attorney only read the last sentence of the State Report; “Based on the evidence obtained during this investigation, this office has concluded that there are no Violations of the Uniform Construction Code. Therefore I recommend this case be closed with no further action from this office.” When he was finished reading this last sentence, the Board member replied: “nothing sums it up better than that”. My letter and my Attorney’s letter requesting the correction of their misstatements were never answered. A few weeks later, I filed a complaint with The Attorney Ethics Committee when the GTCA Attorney refused to correct his misstatements after I presented him with the facts. The Attorney Ethics Committee “did not hear my complaint”. “It was declined”. “They concluded that the facts stated in my grievance, even if proven, would not constitute unethical conduct or incapacity.”

That was the day I lost all hope for humanity and decided there were not enough “bottom feeder” CAI Attorney jokes.

These “Life Lessons” I shared with you would not allow me to get away with injustice or unfairness. They would not allow me to have peace of mind until I correct my mistake. My morals and values and everything else within me, decent and honorable, would force me to “right the wrong” and “do the right thing”. My conscience would not allow me to sleep at night until I did. This is the person I have become. This is my character. I am what I am and you are what you are. Only you can change that.

Coming next: The early years at the Galaxy

MIKE DELUCA