While it is only a figurative title, some people refer to Puerto Rico as New York City's 'sixth borough,' illustrating the deep relationship between the region — home to one of the largest Puerto Rican populations on the mainland U.S. — and the island.
Five years, almost to the day, after Hurricane Maria devastated the island, the all-too-familiar images of rising floodwaters and windswept streets from Hurricane Fiona areThe images also prompt the question of how to help fellow Americans recover, even as reports on the death toll continue to emerge from Florida and North Carolina after Hurricane Ian made landfall there in late September.
Bronx state Sen. Gustavo Rivera and former New York City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito each have a unique perspective on the responsibility that our region bears when it comes to Puerto Rico, and the role of Latino leaders in fulfilling it.,” WNYC’s midterm election series on Sunday, and spoke with host and senior politics reporter Brigid Bergin. Excerpts of those conversations are below. They have been edited for clarity.
What do you think of trips like the one we just talked about — visits to the island after a disaster? Do they help bring real visibility to what's needed there? We talked about how President [Joe] Biden is traveling there Monday, Oct. 3. I know you made some trips with former Gov. [Andrew] Cuomo after Hurricane Maria.
But they're also building power in people because they are built by Puerto Ricans for Puerto Ricans and have an agenda that is beyond disaster relief and for the long-term benefit of the island. That's what we have to do. We need to find organizations that are doing work on the ground that are Puerto Rican-led.
Over the years, as communities have grown — and certainly the Dominican community is a perfect example — they have grown not only numerically, but more generations have been born here. They've kind of broken through and established themselves politically. It's difficult sometimes when you have a lot of folks fighting for their own fiefdoms in different places.
You talked about the kind of the struggle because people are focused on their own fiefdoms. You are certainly someone who has operated outside of the Bronx machine. I'm wondering if you want to elaborate a little bit on what you mean when you say that? I've been saying that this is the living embodiment of insanity. Basically, going through the same motions and same actions over and over again expecting a different result. The fact that we have portions of the island that are still 40%, 50% without electricity, other parts, maybe 20%. We have the president coming tomorrow to visit. It is just unacceptable, right?
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