This article originally ran Feb. 17, 2009 on nj.com
Federico Velez was headed to Columbia University in the early 1970s to earn a master's degree in social work when he had a change of heart. Instead, the Brooklyn native came to Newark to study law at Rutgers University.
As a lawyer, Mr. Velez believed he could be a more effective advocate for the Puerto Rican community. His first job in the legal profession was with the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund in New York, where he worked on class action cases involving civil rights litigation.
Mr. Velez will be remembered not only for his work as a lawyer in Newark, but for his contributions to the North Ward community.
"He was one of the most selfless, giving people I've ever met," said Stephen N. Adubato Sr., the founder of the North Ward Center, where Mr. Velez served as a member of the Board of Trustees of the not-for-profit organization.
Mr. Adubato said he actively sought Mr. Velez's involvement in the North Ward Center because he was such a pillar of the community.
"I told him about the work we did at the center and he knew all about it," Mr. Adubato said. "I asked him to become part of us and agreed. He got involved in everything we did."
Mr. Velez first became actively involved in the North Ward Center's scholarship dinner for college-bound Puerto Rican students from the North Ward.
"Although I was well aware of the many contributions that the center had made to the quality of life to the city, I was taken aback by the scholastic, artistic and cultural achievements of the students selected to receive their awards," Mr. Velez said in an interview in November. "Their presentations were inspiring and truly demonstrated what our community is capable of producing."
Mr. Velez was elected to the center's Board of Trustees in November.
"Although he was an accomplished civic leader and lawyer, he welcomed everyone into his life," said Adrianne Davis, the executive director of the North Ward Center. "He was a warm and compassionate person. When you met him you immediately felt a connection to Federico. That's who he was."
State Sen. Teresa Ruiz, who grew up a block from Mr. Velez's law office, said she first met him about two years ago, when she was a candidate for the Senate.
"He didn't know me as an individual, but he believed in the importance of having someone elected from a group that wasn't represented at the state level," said Sen. Ruiz, whose district office is located on the ground floor of Mr. Velez's Bloomfield Avenue building. "He committed himself 100 percent without really knowing who I was. We went from being friends to really just being family. That's the kind of person he was."
Mr. Velez was born in Brooklyn to Nerida (Irizzary) Velez and the late Federico Velez, who moved from Puerto Rico in 1946. In an interview in November, Mr. Velez recalled how his father, who worked as a waiter in a New York hotel, organized pickup baseball games with him and the neighborhood kids. Mr. Velez was a die-hard New York Mets fan.
Mr. Velez was a member of the American Bar Association, the New Jersey State Bar Association, the New Jersey Trial Lawyers Association, the Essex County Bar Association and the Hispanic Bar Association of New Jersey.
Mr. Velez had previously served on the board of directors of the Hispanic-American Chamber of Commerce of Essex County, the board of directors of United Way of Passaic Valley, the board of directors of the National Society for Handicapped Children and Adults of Puerto Rico, the board of directors of First Bank Americano.
He was also a founding member of the Hispanic Bar Association of New Jersey and the Rutgers Association of Latin American Law Students. He was also past president of the Rutgers Association of Latin American Law Students.
In addition to his mother, he is survived by his wife, Mary Rivera-Velez, his daughter, Bridget, and brother Carlos Velez.
Funeral services are Wednesday at 10 a.m. from Shook's Cedar Grove Funeral Home, 486 Pompton Ave. (Route 23), Cedar Grove. A funeral mass will be at 10:30 a.m. at St. Catherine of Siena R.C. Church, Cedar Grove. Visiting hours are today from 2 to 4 p.m. and 7 to 10 p.m.
Donations in his memory may be made to The North Ward Center, 346 Mount Prospect Ave., Newark, N.J. 07104.
