What You Should Know By State Senator Rev. Rubén Díaz

Oscar Rivera Lopez & Mark Gjonaj’s Assembly District 

You should know that since Assemblyman Mark Gjonaj, has been elected to the seat previously occupied by Council Member Jimmy Vacca, has created a vacancy and there is already a brawl brewing about who will occupy his vacant seat in the New York State Assembly. 

It is important for you to know that Mr. Mark Gjonaj has been representing the 80^th Assembly District, which encompasses Allerton, Bedford Park, Morris Park, Mosholu Parkway, Norwood, Pelham Gardens and Van Nest areas in the Bronx. 

These are multi-cultural neighborhoods.  Its residents are honest, responsible and hard working African Americans, Hispanics, Whites, Albanians, Bangladeshi, as well as others who love this country.  I know this because I formerly represented them as their New York State Senator.  I’m very familiar with these neighborhoods and its residents. 

You should know that when Mark Gjonaj leaves for the City Council, a special election will be held to fill the vacancy.   Rumor has it that there are two women interested in filling the position in the Assembly.   

 One of them is Nathalia Fernandez.   Ms. Fernandez is well known in the district and in the Assembly because she has worked as Mark Gjonaj’s Chief of Staff.  Ms. Fernandez is well qualified educated, experienced, and well versed in the needs, problems, and the expectations of the residents of the district.   As a result some say that Ms. Fernandez is the right person to replace Mark Gjonaj in the Assembly due to her vast knowledge and experience within the district.   

But surprise, surprise, the other woman who is interested in the position is none other than Lorraine Cortez Vazquez, presently the President of the National Puerto Rican Parade, who just this year she brought shame and disgrace to the parade when she made the controversial decision to honor Mr. Oscar Lopez Rivera, as a “Hero of Liberty”, “Heroe De La Libertad” which resulted in disunity within the Puerto Rican Community.     

You should know that Oscar Lopez Rivera, according to Wikipedia is known to many as a “terrorist”.   He is one of the leaders of the clandestine paramilitary organization “The Fuerzas Armadas De Liberacion Nacional Puertorriquena” known as the terrorist group the “F.A.L.N.”.    This organization is devoted to the independence of Puerto Rico and they carried out more than 120 bomb attacks on the United States between 1974 and 1983 which resulted in the killing of six (6) people.   

On August 11, 1981 Mr. Lopez was found guilty of  “Seditious Conspiracy”, use of force to commit robbery,interstate transportation of firearms and ammunitions to aid in the commission of a felony.    He is released from prison and Ms. Lorraine Cortez Vazquez  hails him as a Hero of Liberty.   

Her association and close friendship with Oscar Lopez Rivera will not sit well with the district she hopes to represent.  Already many are commenting on their apprehension of having Lorraine Cortez-Vazquez as the person to fill Mark Gjonaj’s vacant seat.  Others are saying that the honest, hardworking residents of the 80^th Assembly district will not cast a vote for Ms. Vazquez.   

As you can see my dear readers, two well prepared, well educated women will be competing to fill the vacancy for the 80^th Assembly district.  This will be a very interesting and very divided contest, as was this years the National Puerto Rican Day Parade….. thanks to Oscar Lopez Rivera, and the actions taken by Ms. Lorraine Cortez Vazquez.   

This is Senator Ruben Diaz and this what you should know.

EDITOR'S NOTE:

 Is this another ploy by Assemblyman Luis Sepulveda in his quest to become the new "REVEREND SENATOR LUIS SEPULVEDA" by chasing away another formidable contender for the soon to be vacant 32nd State Senate seat? Why is it that current Councilwoman Anabelle Palma who was to have switched seats with State Senator Ruben Diaz Sr. (since she was term limited out at the end of this year) was taken out of the running when Assemblyman Luis Sepulveda announced his intention to run for the 32nd State Senate seat?

 Now, why is it that Assemblyman Sepulveda wants another woman who would be as good if not better a candidate than Ms. Palma out of the way? What is the connection between Anabelle Palma, Lorraine Cortez-Vazquez, and Assemblyman Luis Sepulveda? The answer is Mayor Bill de Blasio. Mayor de Blasio has hired Ms. Palma to be Assistant Commissioner of the DHS, while Ms. Cortez-Vazquez currently works for Mayor Bill de Blasio. 

 Are Luis Sepulveda and Mayor Bill de Blasio playing Bronx politics? That should be left up to the Bronx Democratic County Leader Assemblyman Marcos Crespo, or do Mayor de Blasio and soon to be State Senator Sepulveda have other plans for Assemblyman Crespo?

What You Should Know By State Senator Rev. Rubén Díaz

Anniversary of the First Pro-Immigrant March in NYC 

  

You should know that on April 1^st , we will be celebrating the 11th Anniversary of the First Pro-Immigrant March in New York City. 

  

It is important to know that eleven years ago, to be exact, on April 1, 2006, I organized, together with Radio Visión Cristiana Internacional, Radio Cántico Nuevo and the New York Hispanic Clergy Organization, the first massive pro-immigrant march across the Brooklyn Bridge in New York City. 

  

In response to a national call-to-action for every major city in the nation to organize and protest the mistreatment of immigrants, and to address the necessity of solving the immigration problem in the nation, we, the Hispanic Ministers and other community groups organized the Great Walk in Solidarity with Immigrants where thousands of people joined us marching across the Brooklyn Bridge to 26 Federal Plaza, where our rally was held. 

  

Referring to our march, Ms. Leslie Casmir, in her article titled “Marching to Stay Here: Thousands Rally vs Immigrant Crackdown” in the New York Daily News on April 2, 2006 wrote the following: “Waving the flags of their homelands, tens of thousands of legal and undocumented immigrants streamed over the Brooklyn Bridge yesterday to protest a proposed crackdown on border crossing. The march was a smaller version of a massive pro-immigrant rally in Los Angeles last month but was still much bigger than anticipated - with word being spread mainly through Spanish churches and media.” 

  

Various major news and media outlets in New York covered the Great Walk in Solidarity with Immigrants, expressing their admiration for the march. 

  

Ms. Lorena Mongelli wrote the following in the New York Post on April 2, 2006: “A roiling sea of immigrants - many of them in the country illegally - and their supporters poured across the Brooklyn Bridge and into Manhattan yesterday to protest what they call "oppressive" reform measures currently under consideration in Congress. Marchers, waving flags from Mexico, Colombia, Honduras and El Salvador, chanted and carried signs recalling America's roots during the demonstration, organized by state Sen. Ruben Diaz, a Bronx Democrat and native of Puerto Rico.” 

  

Mr. Nicholas Confessore wrote an article in the New York Times on April 2, 2006 titled “Thousands Rally in New York in Support of Immigrants' Rights” stating: “Thousands of people marched from Brooklyn to Lower Manhattan yesterday in support of immigrants' rights, the largest such rally so far in the New York area and the latest in a string of marches tied to immigration legislation under consideration in Congress.”  

  

Even Mr. Andrés Duque, in his blog Blabbeando, wrote the following on March 31, 2006, the day before the March: “Hey, even I have acknowledged that the Reverend Diaz has done a great deal for immigrant communities.” 

  

As you can see, my dear reader, we, the Hispanic Clergy have been fighting for immigrants for many years. We will continue fighting, knowing that after eleven years since our historic Great Walk in Solidarity with Immigrants, the situation of 11 million undocumented immigrants in the United States remains unresolved. 

  

I am Senator Reverend Rubén Díaz, and this is what you should know.