As Puerto Rico continues to reel from the unprecedented damage left by Hurricane Maria, Mayor de Blasio has announced a partnership with the Hispanic Federation to send aid workers to the island.
On Saturday morning, a 22-person team was deployed to San Juan from New Jersey’s Teterboro Airport, along with City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito. The group will work alongside 36 members of New York City’s Urban Search and Rescue crew to provide much needed relief to the area.
“We’re ready to do all we can to help those affected by this devastating hurricane. We thank the Hispanic Federation for making this flight possible, and these responders for dedicating their time and expertise to assisting with recovery,” said the mayor, in a statement released Saturday.
The team will include ten emergency managers for coordination of logistics and management of recovery efforts, nine NYPD Hispanic Society members, a staffer from the mayor’s Community Affairs Unit and two employees from the Department of Buildings with knowledge of building inspections and monitoring structural integrity.
“The relief mission we are partnering to execute will help Puerto Rico in its darkest hours,” said José Calderón, President of the Hispanic Federation in Saturday’s press release. “I commend Mayor de Blasio and the City of New York for their leadership and for demonstrating unflinching solidarity with the Puerto Rican people.”
Calderón also thanked Broadway star Lin-Manuel Miranda and his family for their fundraising efforts that made this possible.
