You should know that when Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico on September 20th, 2017, we in Bronx County, executed a humanitarian relief effort that lasted 24 hours.
It is important for you to know that on Saturday, September 30th, 2017 together with Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr. and The New York Hispanic Clergy Organization, we coordinated a relief effort to help Puerto Rico in their time of need.
This activity was supposed to begin at 12 noon and end at 5 pm, but the response was so large that the activity continued up until the following Sunday, September 31stat 12 noon.
We were able to to fill 6 large containers for Puerto Rico and one for Mexico, but we ran into a problem. We were expecting to fill only 1 or 2 containers, but the response was so big we filled out 7 containers and by 9pm we still had extra goods, foods, water, and clothes that we had no idea what to do with.
Thanks to a call placed to Governor Andrew Cuomo by my son Ruben Diaz, Jr., that night 21 National Guard trucks arrived (see video attached) to help us move the rest of goods and to help clear the street.
I, as a Puerto Rican, and the New York Hispanic Clergy Organization have no way to thank the Governor for coming to the rescue and giving us a big hand. The Bronx executed a huge Puerto Rican relief effort and we owe our gratitude to Governor Andrew Cuomo.
That is why I can’t understand, with all Governor Cuomo has done for Puerto Rico, the Mayor of San Juan Puerto Rico Carmen Yulin Cruz and former City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, both Puerto Rican women, have rejected the Governor and thrown their support to a person who refused to march in the National Puerto Rican Day Parade and has done nothing for the people of Puerto Rico.
Ladies and gentlemen, they both are dead wrong in this decision not to support a person who has given so much to help Puerto Rico and our Puerto Rican brothers & sisters on the island.
I hope most Puerto Ricans are not so ungrateful, and that other Hispanics help us show our gratitude to the Governor.
This is Councilman Rev. Ruben Diaz, and this is what you should know.
