Press Conference Puerto Rico Relief Efforts Friday, October 13, 2017

PERTH AMBOY – I want to start off by welcoming all who are present today- this would have been impossible without the help of everyone in this room.

I cannot express to you how proud I am of our entire community. I mean, we have had such an overwhelming response that some of our staff have solely focused on this humanitarian effort to fulfill a great need on the Island of Puerto Rico.

Perth Amboy is nearly 80% Latino, so I know this is near and dear to many of those in this room. Whether you have immediate family, extended loved ones, friends or maybe just very fond memories of the island, it leaves many of us grieving over its devastation.

As a Puerto-Rican American, my parents live on the island. When Maria hit landfall, my mother and sister were there. Not hearing from them for days was really difficult on all of us. We all experienced a lot of anxiety and worry for their well-being. Thank God my mom is now here at home with us. My heart goes out to those still trying to communicate with their loved ones.

Five years ago we experienced the devastation of Super Storm Sandy and here in our hometown, the damage does not nearly compare to the destruction faced by the victims of Harvey, Irma and Maria, which all happened within just a matter of weeks from one another. While Texas and Florida are on their way to recovery, Puerto Rico and the Caribbean Islands still fall short of just the basic essentials—food, water, shelter, gasoline, communication and power.

It was just a matter of hours into the storm on September 20th that we all realized what they were really facing.

It’s been 21 days! Since day 1, we brainstormed; Day 2 we mobilized; Day 3, we rallied our resources and every day since we’ve been on a single mission to get these resources to the people of Puerto Rico, specifically those in the most rural areas of the island, the North West Region.

Just last week, I was pleased to join New Jersey for Puerto Rico, an organization spearheaded by the Puerto Rican Congress of New Jersey and state-wide leaders, as we presented their first $10,000 check to the American Red Cross. Thank you Sam Delgado and Yvonne Lopez for making this possible.

Here in Perth Amboy, my administration led a city-wide collection drive.  Many city employees and our city departments–Human Services, Police, Fire, Public Works and my immediate office staff, rolled up their sleeves and expressed their compassion through action and it encouraged others. From boxing goods to donating and packing products, to palletizing—it has been all hands on deck.

Since then we have collected more than 200 pallets of goods that’s over 400 thousand pounds of essential supplies, including, first-aid kits, batteries, flash lights, hygiene products and most importantly, canned goods and water.

Dr. Roman, Vivian Rodriguez and Board President Puccio, thank you for joining us today and thank you for the generous donations of the staff and students of the Perth Amboy Public School System.

Surrounding communities like Edison, Linden, Rahway and Woodbridge lent a helping hand. Councilwoman Lizbeth DeJesus of Woodbridge Township, I want to also thank you for your generosity.

If it were not for the kindness of Home Depot, Englert, US Food Service, Sun life Rentals, Riverdale, Renovation House, The Puerto Rican Association for Human Development, the Perth Amboy Jeep Club, All Stars Academy and UPS, among many others, these goods would not be here today.

If it were not for the kindness of the cultural exchange students visiting from the Dominican Republic, these goods would not be boxed today.

We are gathered here in the Target Warehouse, the first distribution facility in the State of New Jersey that opened its doors just a few short months ago. If it weren’t for them we wouldn’t be here today!!!

They have stored our goods in this facility and assisted us with shipping. What you see here before you is less than half of the amount of goods we collected. Sousan and Jennifer, thank you so much for your hospitality.

Our first shipment went out on Monday, arrived to Florida and will be on its way to Puerto Rico tomorrow! And I want to give a special thanks to Jeff Milaniak, Principal of Bridge Development, who partnered with Unishippers of Edison to transport these goods to Jacksonville, Florida. This is over a $20,000 dollars donation and I can’t thank him enough for his generosity.  Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

Additionally, because of the giving of numerous donors to the Celebrate Perth Amboy- San Sebastian Relief Fund, we have raised over 45 thousand dollars and arranged the shipment of 8 full containers through Sea Freight Logistics.

I want to personally thank the following business owners and organizations for their donations:

•The American Endowment Foundation

•Joseph Decotiis

•Bayshore

•Harbortown

•Rene De la Cruz

•Ali Rada

•Hackensack Meridian Health Hospital and its Foundation

•Barry Rosengarten and Yolanda Flores

•Vintej Universal Meat Supermarket

•Med Apparel Services

•Middlesex County Water and

•Hoagland Associates

And while we’ve worked toward a practical response, Police Chief Roman McKeon will later share a little about the awaited deployment of six of our police officers through the efforts of the State of New Jersey, among hundreds of other state, local and National Guard officials.

And since so many families have lost so much on the island, many are seeking a new life on the mainland. We have started working on social service involvement with many partners, getting families settled into our community and assisting them with seeking housing, employment, education and healthcare.

It’s enough to say that what I do as Mayor could not be done without the community that supports me, and the same stands for the Island of Puerto Rico. We need to help our American brothers and sisters, looking beyond cultural boundaries and agendas.  During a humanitarian crisis, all the luxuries afforded to us of opinions and differences must be set aside for the preservation of life.

I am a witness to the goodwill of our community. Together, young and young at heart, volunteers and workers have united to assist in what is I know to be the largest response of our community to a natural disaster, since Katrina. And I want to personally thank all of you here today and those who were unable to join us.