FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM NOVEMBER 29, 2018 • THE QUEENS COURIER 23
Photo: Mark Hallum/THE COURIER
DREAM Act should be
renamed for Peralta:
congressman
BY MARK HALLUM
mhallum@cnglocal.com
A Manhattan congressman is pushing for
the DREAM Act to be named in honor of
the late Queens state Senator Jose Peralta,
who died unexpectedly on Nov. 21 of unconfi
rmed causes at the age of 47.
Congressman Adriano Espaillat, who represents
upper Manhattan and part of the
Bronx, issued a letter to Governor Andrew
Cuomo calling for the bill’s “most ardent
champion” to be recognized if the DREAM
Act is passed, which could become a reality
with Democrats now having a majority
in senate.
“On behalf of his constituents in New York
City and the greater immigrant diaspora in
New York State, he was unyielding in his
desire to see the New York state DREAM
Act passed and signed into law,” Espaillat’s
letter read. “In memory of Senator Peralta,
I respectfully ask that when the New York
State Legislative Session reconvene on Jan. 9,
that both the Assembly and Senate name the
DREAM Act in honor of Peralta.”
Peralta’s death occurred just two months
aft er losing his seat in the September
Democratic primary to Jackson Heights
activist Jessica Ramos. He had served the district,
which covers Corona, Jackson Heights
and East Elmhurst, since 2010; before that,
he served in the state Assembly for seven
years.
Peralta was a prime sponsor of the DREAM
Act while advocating for the New York to be
made into a sanctuary state.
He fell out of favor with many in his district
aft er joining the Independent Democratic
Conference, a group of eight state senators
who caucused separately from mainline
Democrats but negotiated with Republicans,
who had the majority, to pass progressive
legislation in 2017.
Aft er negotiations with Cuomo and other
leaders in the state, members of the IDC
rejoined mainstream Democrats who threatened
the breakaway group with primary
challenges if they did not return.
Despite Peralta’s vocal support of the
DREAM Act, which he was a primary sponsor
of, he was voted out of offi ce among
almost all the other IDC members and was
set to hand over his offi ce to Ramos in
January.
City Councilman Barry Grodenchik embraces Queens Borough President Melinda Katz at Senator Peralta's funeral
Post, she said that her husband developed
a fever and complained of pressure
in his head and shortness of breath.
He went to the doctor but “they
didn’t fi nd anything, everything was
normal,” Evelyn Peralta told the Post.
By last Wednesday night, however, he
“couldn’t breathe, and all of a sudden,
he stopped.”
Peralta was in his fi nal weeks as a
state senator; he lost his re-election
bid to challenger Jessica Ramos in the
September Democratic primary aft er a
hard-fought campaign.
Borough President Melinda Katz, at
Peralta’s funeral on Nov. 27, commented
on the fact that although Peralta
fell out of favor with much of community
by defecting the Independent
Democratic Conference in 2017, paying
proper respect to the lifelong public servant
now a top priority.
“Th ere’s a lot of politics, but at the
end of the day our families and friendships
transcend that,” Katz said. “As is
self-evident today, nobody knows our
future. Th is should be a message to take
nothing for granted as we move along
day-to-day. At the end of the day, we
all want the same thing which is a great
future for our family.”
Councilman Barry Grodenchik,
who served in the state Assembly with
Peralta, tearfully remembered Peralta as
a close friend of his.
“He always had a smile on his face
through some of the darkest moments
shared politically, we’d always laugh,”
Grodenchik said outside the church,
before turning to the topic of passing
the DREAM Act. “We have an
overwhelming Democratic majority in
Albany so there’s really no excuses are
there.”
Peralta grew up in Washington
Heights until the age of 8, when his
family relocated to Queens. He went on
to graduate from Flushing High School
and from Queens College, where he
earned a degree in sociology.
In January 2003, Peralta became the
fi rst Latino resident elected to represent
Queens in the state Assembly.
He would serve in the 39th Assembly
District seat.
Seven years later, in 2010, voters
would elect Peralta to the State Senate
in a special election to succeed Hiram
Monserrate, who had been expelled
from offi ce.
Over the last eight years, Peralta
has represented the 13th State Senate
District, which includes all or parts of
Corona, Elmhurst, Jackson Heights and
Woodside. During his time in offi ce, he
fought for improvements in education,
immigration and even conditions on
the Roosevelt Avenue streetscape.
In 2017, Peralta joined the
Independent Democratic Conference,
a breakaway group of eight state Senate
Democrats that formed a majority coalition
with state Senate Republicans.
Th e move angered many of his constituents,
but Peralta said his membership
in the IDC would enable him to
secure more for his district and pass
meaningful legislation. Th e IDC would
rejoin the traditional Democratic caucus
in 2018.
Peralta was a constant champion for
the DREAM Act, for which he was a
primary sponsor, and near the end of
his life issued a resolution hoping to
make New York a sanctuary state.
Th ere is currently a push led by
Congressman Adriano Espaillat to
name the DREAM Act in honor of
Peralta if it is passed and signed into
law.
Peralta holds the honor of being the
fi rst Dominican-American elected to
the state Senate.
Family members of state Senator Jose Peralta light candles at a vigil outside the late lawmaker's East Elmhurst offi ce on Nov. 25.
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