{"id":1133,"date":"2014-10-31T00:37:29","date_gmt":"2014-10-31T04:37:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/philvelez.com\/blog\/?p=1133"},"modified":"2019-03-16T22:40:47","modified_gmt":"2019-03-17T02:40:47","slug":"brooklyn-borough-presidents-latino-heritage-event","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/philvelez.com\/blog\/?p=1133","title":{"rendered":"Brooklyn Borough President’s 2014 Latino Heritage Celebration"},"content":{"rendered":"

Thanks to my good friend Farid Ali<\/a>, co-owner of Bogota Latin Bistro<\/a>, I had the opportunity to attend the Brooklyn Borough President’s 2014 Latino Heritage Celebration. Brooklyn Borough President Eric L. Adams<\/a> and Deputy Borough President Diana Reyna<\/a> hosted an incredible event honoring many Latinos contributing greatly to the communities of Brooklyn.<\/p>\n

The evening was full of speeches and award presentations, but it provided an excellent arena to thank and recognize those in the community that have dedicated their time to making Brooklyn a better place. Borough President Adams spoke of “one Brooklyn” and is really working hard at trying to unify the diverse populousness.<\/p>\n

I missed the news late last year of Diana Reyna’s appointment as Deputy Brooklyn Borough President so it was a pleasant surprise finding out at the event. I remember her good work in Ridgewood, Queens in the early 2000s. She owned the evening with her command of the Spanish language and overall grace.<\/p>\n

There were so many honorees at tonight’s event and I, unfortunately, cannot list them all in this brief blog post, but I do want to give a shout out to Angelo Falcon<\/a> for his continued commitment to Puerto Rican politics, community and culture. I also want to mention freshman City Councilmember Carlos Menchaca<\/a>, whom I finally had the pleasure of meeting. I have heard great things thus far about Menchaca and I am sure he’ll have a prosperous political career.<\/p>\n

But my favorite part of the night was getting another chance to see and hear the Speaker of the New York City Council, Melissa Mark-Viverito. I met her once way back before she became a city councilmember. She is the first Latino Speaker of the City Council. She just always gives me a huge sense of Boricua pride<\/a> and I have always felt that she is truly one of those politicians that really care about people and what she can contribute to the Latino political world.<\/p>\n

I would like to thank the Brooklyn Borough President’s Office<\/a> for presenting the Latino event in partnership with Brooklyn (Kings County) Hispanic Chamber of Commerce<\/a> and the Ponce De Leon Federal Bank<\/a>. It’s always incredible being around Latinos making moves and helping others out in the process.<\/p>\n

\"Deputy<\/a>

Deputy Brooklyn Borough President Diana Reyna (left) and Melissa Mark-Viverito, the Speaker of the NYC Council, at the Brooklyn Borough President’s Latino Heritage Celebration. – Thurs. Oct. 30, 2014.<\/p><\/div>\n