Would have written sooner, but dsl is acting up...disonnectingI was sorry to hear about Joe. Even if you did not agree with him, I
myself, always took the time to listen what he had to say on this forum. You did
not have to be a personal friend of Joe to know how much he loved AP. He
always had the time to get the facts straight. I'm glad I told him for
years, I appreciated his input to this group and to the city. His many
years of gay activism and journalism help propelled AP as a positive place
to live in. As far as I knew he always had time and energy to pitch in to
make things right.
When I had a car accident last summer, even when I told him it was OK
to leave, he stay with me till the police arrived. He would remind me of
that a few times and I always told him I would have done the
same, Joe. Joe showed all of us that even if you disagree, it important to stick
to the facts and listen what the other person has to say. I will miss your good
points at the council meetings and driving around town.
My thoughts and prayers are with Will, his friends and family.
***************************************************************************JOE D'ANDREA: Dead at age 52BEFORE DEATH: Had chest painLeader of gay community mourned in Asbury Park
Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 05/2/06BY NANCY SHIELDSCOASTAL MONMOUTH BUREAU ASBURY PARK — From the outset after he and his partner, Will Elliott, moved to Asbury Park from Brooklyn six years ago, Joe D'Andrea buzzed around this city, working to make things right. His love for the gay community, of which he was a leader, and of the community-at-large, of which he also was a leader, did not end until he was rushed to the hospital with chest pains late Sunday afternoon. He died soon afterward at the age of 52, apparently of heart failure, touching off a wave of sadness in people who knew or had met him. D'Andrea maintained the city's Web site, was co-owner of the West21 Systems technology company, and was publisher of the gayasburypark.com Web site. "Joe's one of our hometown heroes," said Thomas Gilmour, the city's director of commerce. "Besides the fact that he worked so hard for the city, he was my friend. We had different opinions, but when we left each other, everything was settled." Gilmour was one of several people who said they saw D'Andrea downtown Sunday in the early afternoon the day he died. D'Andrea was a prime mover of AP Action, a political action group founded early in 2005 by members of the gay and lesbian community to educate people about issues and endorse candidates in the city. The group formed a viable voting block, and its endorsements won. He left the AP Action board of directors recently to focus on finding a home for a gay and lesbian community center to be located in the city. "He was still very supportive of us (AP Action) and maintained our Web site," said Rod Siberine, a board member, on Monday. "For me, it's amazing that all of these people who knew him but weren't the best of buddies with him are feeling this overwhelming sense of grief. I can only equate that to how you feel about people who do great things. He was such a positive force for this town. "He had a good sense of humor, and he didn't take himself too seriously," Siberine said. "Anybody who knew him, even if you didn't agree with him, you could never say he didn't have the best interests of Asbury Park at heart." During the past two months, D'Andrea experienced chest pain and told a reporter that he was treated at first for an ulcer, and then subsequently was found to have major blockage of his arteries. He said he was undergoing stent placement procedures and had the last two done on Thursday, said Kevin Russell, a close friend who served with D'Andrea on the board of The Center, which provides many services for people with HIV and AIDS. "He was feeling great until 4 p.m. Sunday when he had a really bad chest pain," Russell said. "He died at the hospital. Will was with him. He was joking with the ambulance drivers." "I always saw him as a very strong activist, always trying to have a strong voice for causes he believed in and absolutely 100 percent Asbury Park," said Robert DiSanto, president of the city's Board of Education. D'Andrea jumped into the fight when DiSanto, who is gay, came under attack by another school board member and her husband for his then-job as manager of Club Paradise at the Empress Hotel. The city backed DiSanto.
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