NYCHA Celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month

Director of Emergency Services Erenisse Tavarez welcomed more than 100 employees from all walks of the Authority to the 2015 Hispanic Heritage Month Celebration, co-hosted by NYCHA’s Department of Communications and its Hispanic Society in the Ceremonial Room on October 22.

Guests at the reception first enjoyed contemporary salsa music from Tres del Solar and authentic Latin cuisine by Sazon Perez, which put the celebrants in an appropriately festive mood.

“We’re here tonight,” Ms. Tavarez said, “because we’re proud of the vibrant legacy we’ve inherited. And we want to show our children the variety and beauty of the Hispanic culture, and inspire them to keep it going strong.”

Recognizing an historic milestone in that legacy, Ms. Tavarez quoted from Pope Francis — the first Hispanic pope — who said, during his recent visit to the U.S., “You should never be ashamed of your traditions. Do not forget the lessons you learned from your elders, which is something you can bring to enrich the life of this American land.”

General Manager Michael Kelly remarked that “this year’s Hispanic Heritage Month theme, ‘Honoring Our Heritage, Building Our Future,’ is exactly what our NextGeneration NYCHA work is all about.” Noting that nearly half of NYCHA’s households are of Hispanic heritage, and that Hispanic Americans have long made their mark in New York City, GM Kelly introduced illustrious former NYCHA resident and keynote speaker Council Member Ritchie Torres. As head of the Council’s Public Housing Committee, Council Member Torres is a fierce advocate for public housing.

Raised in Throggs Neck Houses, where his mother still resides, Council Member Torres was elected to represent the Central Bronx’s 15th District in 2013 and is still the Council’s youngest member.

Mr. Torres spoke in personal terms about the impact of public housing on his own life and on the life of his family. Without public housing, he said, his family may well have been homeless.

“You can all take great pride that front-line workers are helping to preserve the greatest provider of public housing in the City and nation. On behalf of the City Council, I want to say thank you,” he said. “You are truly doing God’s work.”