SOMOS Unidos (We are United): NY Pols Meet in Puerto Rico

from the SOMOS website.

By STEPHANIE ROSERO and JORDAN RAMOS

On Thursday morning, Governor Kathy Hochul appeared on a One-on One interview with City & State NY. She talked about topics like health care access, affordability for prescription drugs, providing aid for people with high utility costs, and helping New Yorkers stay in their homes during this time of recovery.  “We need to encourage developers to build more affordable housing. People can’t live in the neighborhood they were born in and that’s tragic,” Hochul said.

For his part, Mayor Bill de Blasio also held a press briefing. He discussed his excitement about vaccinations being available for children ages five to 11.

Hochul, de Blasio, Mayor Elect Eric Adams, and many other New York politicians were to be heading late in the day to the five-day 2021 SOMOS Conference in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Somos Inc. is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that collaborates with the New York State Assembly and Senate, as well as working with the Puerto Rican & Hispanic Task Force to bring Latino communities together and advocate for communities of color, especially the Latino/Latinx  population of New York State. The organization holds conferences twice a year.

This year’s event focuses on educating New York lawmakers on the economic and social crises Puerto Rico is facing. There will be multicultural and leadership events, art expositions, legislative workshops, and even a conference hosted by Hochul herself.  According to the Somos’ website, “Our goal is not only to help the people of Puerto Rico, but to inspire conference participants through our humanitarian efforts and workshops. Participants will engage in service-related activities and in dialogues that will highlight and help to shape priorities for public policy, civic participation, and community engagement.”

Somos in Spanish means “we are.”

Among those arriving in Puerto Rico was New York State Attorney General Leticia James, who recently announced she was running for governor against Hochul. Many more elected officials from all around the state were also showing up.