For all he did to expose corruption, largely in the pages of the Village Voice, Barrett deserves much more recognition in New York than he has gotten. Over some 40 years, he energetically and meticulously covered misdoings by politicians and public figures, so a nod to his work could go nearly anywhere. For his early warnings to the public about a certain young, brash real estate player, it would be especially fitting to see it on Fifth Avenue, perhaps on the west side of the street, directly across from the architectural monstrosity of Trump Tower.
One can learn much about political dealmaking in New York in the late 20th century in "Without Compromise: The Brave Journalism That First Exposed Donald Trump, Rudy Giuliani, and the American Epidemic of Corruption," a collection of Barrett's investigative article published after his death in 2017, prefaced with essays by people who knew and worked with him.
