Targets and beneficiaries of Wayne Barrett's reporting honor his legacy

Politicians, colleagues and readers gathered to remember investigative reporter Wayne Barrett on Friday afternoon, filling a Catholic church in Brownsville, Brooklyn, for the funeral of the man who spoke truth to power and made those in power better in the process.

He earned the respect of those his attacked on the page – most prominently in The Village Voice, where he wrote for decades – a fact proven by those who came to honor and eulogize him.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo remembered Barrett’s “healthy cynicism” and noted that he was the only man who could make his father, the late Gov. Mario Cuomo, curse. Yet Cuomo also credited the longtime reporter for making him better as an elected officials.

“If Wayne wasn’t questioning, he didn’t know he was alive,” Cuomo said. “If you were in a position of power, you were guilty until proven innocent.”

U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer recalled Barrett’s roles in his biggest scandals and greatest triumphs. “I believe in God, and I believe God made you do these things to me to make me a better person,” Schumer said.

City & State’s Gerson Borrero remembered his friend who was handing out reporting assignments until the bitter end, when he passed away of interstitial lung disease on Jan. 19 at the age of 71. Tom Robbins, another longtime colleague who overlapped with Barrett at the Voice, said, “Even when he raged, there was so much joy in his rage.”

But the most memorable remarks were from Barrett’s only son, Mac, who brought tears to those gathered remembering “my old man: The defiant trespasser. The viper. The legend.”

Among those present were Barrett’s family, including his wife, Fran, who works in Cuomo’s office as interagency coordinator for nonprofit services, and a long list of elected officials, including: Reps. Nydia Velazquez and Carolyn Maloney, state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli, former New York City Mayor David Dinkins, former New York City Public Advocate Mark Green, Counsel to the Governor Alphonso David, Cuomo’s Chief of Staff Melissa DeRosa, Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer and dozens of journalists.