Wé McDonald's parents feel unsafe in Paterson neighborhood

PATERSON — Their daughter spends her time recording music, attending high-profile shows and living her dream after placing third on NBC's "The Voice."

Back home in Paterson, the parents of Wé McDonald feel their dream slipping away as their level of comfort in their neighborhood continues to shrink because of crime and an alleged lack of police response.

Jacqueline and Dr. Varleton McDonald have lived on East 38th Street for 19 years but said they have witnessed too much crime and unfavorable activity there.

"It’s not fair, it’s not right that we should be afraid," Jacqueline McDonald said.

Wé McDonald finished third in the NBC singing competition "The Voice" in December 2016 at the age of 17. She still lives at the Eastside home with her parents, 26-year-old sister and 6-year-old brother.

The couple said that police have been unresponsive or dismissive when they've raised issues, such as when a family member's car was burglarized Sunday or when they found hypodermic needles in front of the house.

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"I understand they’re in Paterson, there’s a lot of activity going on," Varleton McDonald said, "and they may be frustrated but that doesn’t stop them from having a level of professionalism so a person would feel welcome to share what’s going on."

Paterson Police Director Jerry Speziale denied that members of the department would ignore someone who reaches out to them.

"If somebody calls us, tells us about their problem, we address them," Speziale said. "So for someone to say they’re not getting police service I find that hard to believe."

The McDonalds disagreed. Varleton McDonald, a 63-year-old education administrator, said his son-in-law's car was broken into Sunday night or early Monday and his computer was taken. When they called police, Jacqueline McDonald claimed a dispatcher asked her how she knew the car was broken into, then told her someone would call back. No one ever did, she said.

In the late summer or early fall, Varleton McDonald said he found hypodermic needles in front of his house and saw people in a car doing drugs. When he called police, he said he was told there was a needle exchange at a nearby Walgreens as an explanation.

"We want to be heard," Jacqueline McDonald, a 54-year-old deputy court administrator in Englewood, said. "We want to feel like we matter. We’re not asking for anything unreasonable, just a police presence."

The couple said they've considered moving out of the city and that several of their neighbors already have started the process.

Speziale recommended that anyone with need of more police assistance should contact him directly. He attested that East 38th Street has received plenty of attention from his department.

"I’ve been called in the middle of the night and I personally dispatched [officers] myself to that location," he said.

More is still needed, Varleton McDonald said.

"We’ve really taken pride in building and being a part of this community," he said. "It’s just disheartening sometimes when we see that attention is being given to other places as opposed to when we pick up the phone."

Email: jongsma@northjersey.com