Opinion: NY Can Address Immigration Court Backlog by Funding Legal Services | By Catalina Cruz & Brad Hoylman

The record backlog of cases in New York immigration courts and across the nation is more than just a bureaucratic problem: people’s lives are at stake. As federal immigration enforcement and detention continue in the aftermath of the Trump-era, thousands of New Yorkers are still facing permanent family separation and the threat of deportation without the help of a lawyer.

READ MORE: Processing Issues in Immigration Courts Upending New Yorkers’ Cases, Lawyers Say

There is currently no right to public defense in immigration proceedings, but having a lawyer to navigate this notoriously complicated system advances the cause of justice. People in detention with legal representation are up to 10 times more likely to establish their right to remain in the United States compared to those languishing in the system without an attorney. Indeed, for people in detention, only two percent win their cases without a lawyer. For people who were not detained, 60 percent have a successful outcome with an attorney compared with just 17 present for those who are unrepresented. 

Yet today, New York legal service providers face crushing caseloads and are stretched too thin to meet the needs of everyone who is facing deportation. Fortunately, there is a  solution for this problem. The New York State Legislature and Gov. Kathy Hochul can address this crisis in the current legislative session by increasing funding for immigration legal and social services in the state budget to $24.4 million. Passage of our Access to Representation Act (S81/A1961) would also guarantee that all New Yorkers facing deportation have a lawyer moving forward. In the context of the state budget, this program’s cost is a drop in the ocean, but for so many families, it is an absolute lifeline. To put this in perspective, annual funding for legal services would be fully covered in 10 days with revenue generated by mobile sports betting alone.  

The need for immigration legal services has become even more acute during the coronavirus pandemic. Since the emergence of COVID-19, over 400,000 additional individuals have been detained, even as public health experts have expressed concern that the cramped and unsanitary conditions in detention facilities pose extreme risks to people forced to live there, the employees who work in these locations, as well as the surrounding communities.

Fair funding in this year’s state budget will enable legal representatives in every corner of the state to continue working on existing cases, while allowing additional providers to serve 1,000 New Yorkers who need legal assistance as they navigate a byzantine system while seeking protection against detention, deportation, and family separation. In addition to organizations providing legal services, our plan also provides support for social services critical to ensuring long-term stability and assistance for trusted community-based organizations that are well positioned to handle outreach, offer “know your rights” trainings, and provide community education. In many ways, this investment will create a stabilizing force for communities.

After years of attacks from aggressively anti-immigrant federal policies layered on top of a disruptive global pandemic, we can’t let court backlogs stand in the way of justice. One in three children in New York is the child of an immigrant parent, immigrants own 316,000 businesses in our state and make up more than one quarter of our workforce. Immigrants are the backbone of our economy and so many of our communities—they deserve a fair shot in court. 

In this legislative session, Albany must take action to equip New Yorkers with more legal resources and the right to representation. This is a generational moment for our state to seize a national leadership role and reimagine justice for immigrant communities by strengthening legal services funding. With this investment, we are promoting family unity, community stability, and an equitable recovery for all of New York.

Catalina Cruz is an assembly member representing Queens’ district 39. Brad Hoylman is a state senator representing district 27 in Manhattan.

Source: https://citylimits.org/2022/02/23/opinion-ny-can-address-immigration-court-backlog-by-funding-legal-services/

NY1: Rep. Catalina Cruz discusses immigrant rights | By Cheryl Wills and Kaitlynn Keller

Assemblywoman Catalina Cruz joins In Focus to talk about immigrant rights. Cruz is a Colombian-American attorney from the borough of Queens. As a member of the Democratic Party and a former undocumented immigrant, she has worked as an advocate for immigration rights.

Cruz goes one-on-one with Cheryl Wills about non-citizen voting as more than 800,000 noncitizens and “Dreamers” in the city will have access to the ballot box — and could vote in municipal elections as early as next year. She also discusses her fight for tenant protections, the end of the eviction moratorium and her Community Disaster Relief and Recovery Act to protect those from natural disasters like Hurricane Ida.

That’s not all — Cruz weighs in on the end of the indoor mask mandate for businesses and voices her support for the Elder Parole and Fair and Timely Parole of incarcerated people and their families.

Watch full video: https://www.ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/in-focus-shows/2022/02/20/rep--catalina-cruz-discusses-immigrant-rights#

NY1: Lawmakers Gounardes and Cruz sponsor the HEAL Act | By Susan Arbetter

Maternal mortality has grown each year since the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention began looking at the numbers.

“Since the Pregnancy Mortality Surveillance System was implemented, the number of reported pregnancy-related deaths in the United States steadily increased from 7.2 deaths per 100,000 live births in 1987 to 17.3 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2017.”

“It would surprise anyone who lives in the United States of America in the 21st Century to find that…we rank within the top five in terms of maternal mortality in pregnancy, which is a horrendous outcome,” State Senator Andrew Gounardes told Capital Tonight.

Nearly 60,000 people in the U.S. suffer from pregnancy-related diseases, according to the CDC. The majority are non-Hispanic Black women.

“If you are a Black woman, you are twice as likely than anyone else…to experience a life-threatening complication during or after childbirth,” Gounardes said. “And you are eight times as likely to die from a pregnancy-related death.”

To address the issue, Gounardes, who chairs the Senate Budget and Revenue Committee, and Assemblywoman Catalina Cruz, have introduced the Hospital Equity and Affordability Law, or HEAL Act, to bar hospital networks from striking contracting deals with insurers that have the effect of raising health-care costs.

“We know one of the big drivers of those increasing costs is the way that big hospital networks are leveraging their market power to dictate the terms by which they are going to cover treatment and health care services for patients,” Gounardes said. “Big hospital networks will come in and say, ‘If you want access to our world class cancer treatments, you also have to contract with us for your colonoscopy treatment, and your MRIs and your mammograms.’”

Gounardes referenced reporting by Crain’s which revealed wide discrepancies between what different hospitals charged for similar services in New York City.

The HEAL Act was inspired, in part, by a maternity program created by the 32BJ Health Fund, which had been lauded as a first-of-its-kind program.

The union’s fund had offered high-quality prenatal and postnatal care and delivery at partner hospitals for as low as $40 total out-of-pocket costs.

But a 2021 contract between Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield and New York-Presbyterian Hospital would “force the fund to end the innovative programs it currently offers participants, including a cutting-edge maternity care program.”

In an emailed statement to Capital Tonight, HANYS, the Healthcare Association of New York State which represents hospitals, wrote: “We are evaluating the HEAL Act, but we have concerns that the bill could create a bigger imbalance of power between plans and providers.”

The HEAL Act (S7199-A8169) currently sits in the Insurance Committee in both the Senate and Assembly.

Watch full video: https://spectrumlocalnews.com/nys/central-ny/news/2022/01/27/lawmakers-gounardes-and-cruz-sponsor-the-heal-act#

QNS: Three Kings Day celebrated with a gift giveaway at Corona Plaza | By Julia Moro

Community members gathered in Corona Plaza to celebrate Three Kings Day on Thursday, Jan. 6. (Julia Moro/QNS)

Various community organizations came together to host a gift giveaway celebrating Three Kings Day on Thursday, Jan. 6, at Corona Plaza for the second year in a row. 

Last year, the Three Kings Day event gave out around 150 gifts. This year, nearly 450 toys, art kits, N-95 masks and other gifts were handed out to families from the area. In addition, Assemblywoman Catalina Cruz donated about 250 toys to the event to help families in her district celebrate the occasion. 

“Tres Reyes is a tradition in Latino communities, and even during a pandemic, we have to find opportunities where we can celebrate traditions in a loving yet healthy way,” Cruz said.

Sam Massol, the program director of the Queens Economic Development Corporation, said he hopes this gift giveaway becomes an annual event but wants to make sure that the programs they host meet the community’s needs.

“If you were to ask any Latino, this is something very integrated to our cultural background,” Massol said. “We are programming events like this and we want to continue these sorts of events because this is a way to connect the community together. It’s about bringing in the merchants, street vendors and all the different aspects of Corona at the plaza to stimulate the local economy there.”

Organizations like QEDC, Queens Museum, the Street Vendor Project and other organizations honored the holiday with this event, while also hoping to slowly revamp Corona Plaza.

Several local organizations partnered for the Three Kings Day celebration and gift giveaway in Corona Plaza on Thursday, Jan. 6. (Julia Moro/QNS)

Massol said that Corona Plaza has a lot of intersectional challenges, from homelessness, rodents to crime — which the pandemic has only exacerbated. But Massol has been working to combat those issues and make the plaza a safe, cultural hub.

“This is about bringing the community together in a positive way to effect positive changes we need to see in the plaza,” Massol said. “We have the whole gamut of urban challenges right now. But this is something that the community is very much interested in changing and we’re interested in harnessing all this wonderful energy that the community has to make those changes.”

Cruz said that the vision for Corona Plaza has not yet been carried out, but thinks that with more events like the Three Kings Day celebration, it could be delivered.

“I’m hopeful that in the future we’ll see the kind of leadership in the community that will really help us carry through a Corona Plaza that is for the people, that has cultural events, fun events, educational events and see that to fruition,” Cruz said.

Source: https://qns.com/2022/01/three-kings-day-celebrated-gift-giveaway-corona-plaza/

QNS: Governor signs Nourish NY legislation into law in Flushing Meadows Corona Park | By Bill Parry

Governor Kathy Hochul signed Assemblywoman Catalina Cruz’s Nourish NY legislation into law on Nov. 20. (Photo credit: Kevin P. Coughlin/Office of the Governor)

As she has done so many times during the COVID-19 pandemic, Assemblywoman Catalina Cruz helped La Jornada distribute food to 5,000 families on Saturday, Nov. 20, at the New York Hall of Science in Flushing Meadows Corona Park.

Governor Kathy Hochul joined Cruz, her colleagues in government, and community advocates in the parking lot afterward to sign Cruz’s landmark Nourish NY legislation into law making the program permanent.

“The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated the hunger and food insecurity problems already plaguing many communities across the state including thousands of families in my district,” Cruz said. “Nourish NY provided a lifesaving opportunity to support the food pantries caring for our neighbors while fighting for the survival of our farming community.”

Cruz added that she’s proud to have pushed for the allocation of $50 million to Nourish NY in this year’s budget.

“Additionally, together with the signing of this law, we are now ensuring the continuity of this lifesaving program. It is now critical that we now also strengthen our emergency food system through a yearly review included in this new law,” she said.

Through three rounds of the program, New York’s food banks purchased over 35 million pounds of food products, which equates to 29,800,000 meals, according to the governor’s office. In this current fourth round, food banks across the state have purchased 6,903,366 pounds of food, creating an additional 5,752,805 meals for households in need.

“The COVID-19 pandemic brought unprecedented hardship to so many New Yorkers and made the situations for those already struggling even worse,” Hochul said. “The implementation of the Nourish NY program was a huge success in helping those facing food insecurity while also benefiting New York’s farms. As we get ready to celebrate the holidays, I am proud to sign this legislation to ensure our state will continue to combat hunger and provide for those in need.”

State Senator Michelle Hinchey, the chair of the Committee on Agriculture, traveled from her upstate district to join Cruz and Hochul at the signing ceremony.

“During one of the darkest moments our state has ever faced, Nourish NY was a beacon of compassionate, bipartisan support that addressed the devastating surge in food insecurity and provided upstate farmers, who were struggling to stay in business, with a new avenue to continue feeding our communities,” Hinchey said, calling the Nourish NY program “a win-win in every sense of the word.”

Source: https://qns.com/2021/11/governor-signs-nourish-ny-legislation-into-law-in-flushing-meadows-corona-park/

AMNY: Queens midwives look to deliver a new deal for better wages as part of union | By Dean Moses

Midwives picketed outside of Mount Sinai Elmhurst Hospital on July 28 demanding a fair contract. Photo by Dean Moses

Queens is having a midwife crisis.

The childbirth helpers who are part of Mount Sinai’s midwife program at Elmhurst Hospital picketed on Wednesday morning over their ongoing beef with the healthcare system over failed union contract negotiations. 

Midwives, nurses, elected officials and parents of children stood in solidarity with the picket outside the medical center on July 28. Illuminated by the early morning light, marchers encircled the entranceway holding signs and chanting, calling Mount Sinai “greedy” for failing to reach a deal.

Midwives demanded a fair contract. Photo by Dean Moses

Families whose children were delivered by midwives joined the rally. Photo by Dean Moses

Midwives recalled operating during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic in the spring of 2020 — when Elmhurst Hospital itself was the epicenter of the city’s health crisis — without hazard pay and at costs lower than base pay.

Both midwives and those looking from the outside in, like Assembly Member Catalina Cruz, feel that the fact these essential workers still have not been given a union contract is a slap in the face.

“I have the displeasure of not having my calls returned by Mount Sinai every time I want to have a conversation about this issue. Why? Why is it so difficult to understand you should be at a table negotiating in good faith with, at a minimum, the willingness to listen to the needs of the folks who are serving the community that—frankly—is making your pockets pretty rich right now,” Cruz said.

Assembly member Catalina Cruz is fuming over Mount Sinai’s unwillingness to enter a dialogue with her. Photo by Dean Moses

According to organizers of the rally, the midwives were approved to join the New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA) two years prior and yet still remain unionized. The Midwives stated that they believed once the pandemic began to slow, contract negotiations would be able to resume, however, they say this has yet to happen.

Believing that Mount Sinai is taking liberties with their rights, they argue that the work environment is not only becoming unsafe for them, but also a liability for their patients, something Elmhurst’s Chief Midwife Margaret Re testifies to.

Members of the community held signs stating, “Support our midwives! They supported us!” Photo by Dean Moses

“I have served proudly here for the last 23 years, loving this community, loving the people that I have served. I have worked with the hardest group of midwives you can ever meet. I would like to keep them. I would like to retain them. It is too difficult to retain and keep midwives when we are expected to work 30 to 50 hours of overtime each week without extra pay. It has been absurd. We have tried as hard as we can. We voted for the union of NYSNA so that we can at least keep the midwives, so that we could survive. Once the pandemic hit, every one of us stepped up to the plate,” Re said. “Not one of these midwives here called in sick the entire year of the pandemic no matter what was going on at home or at work.”

The group of frontline workers ended their rally calling for immediate contract negotiations, fair wages, and respect.

In response to the rally,  Mount Sinai provided amNewYork Metro with the following statement:

“Midwives are an essential part of NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst’s Women’s Health team, and are integral to the services provided to the Elmhurst community.  Since before the pandemic, we have been in constant communication with the union and we are hopeful that we will reach a fair resolution in the near future,” a spokesperson said. 

Dozens of individuals joined the rally in support of midwives. Photo by Dean Moses

Nurses and other medical staff stood in solidarity with the midwives. Photo by Dean Moses

Source: https://www.amny.com/news/queens-midwives-look-to-deliver-union-justice/

News 1: Bipartisan plan would aid military families seeking immigration status | By Nick Reisman

The family members of New York veterans and active military personnel would have support in securing immigration status in the country under a bipartisan measure approved last week in the state Assembly. 

The bill was developed and approved in honor of Staff Sgt. Alex Jimenez, who enlisted in the Army in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks, was taken prisoner and later found dead. Jimenez had been in the process of securing legal status for his wife before he died, but had been turned down. She was later granted discretionary parole due to her husband's service. 

The bill approved in the Assembly was worked on by Republican Assemblyman Jake Ashby and Democratic Assemblywoman Catalina Cruz. The bill would create a program that provides support and services for military families seeking dcoumented status in the United States. 

“I am immensely proud that my colleague Assemblywoman Catalina Cruz and I have succeeded in establishing the Alex R. Jimenez NYS Military Immigrant Family Legacy Program, a program that recognizes the sacrifices military families make for our country while assisting New Yorkers in gaining legal citizenship status” said Ashby, the ranking Republican on the Assembly Committee on Veteran’s Affairs. “The ability to make a lasting and positive impact on our State is what drew me to public office and this legislation will have such an impact as it will make the dream of citizenship a reality for so many New Yorkers while also honoring a true American hero, Staff Sgt. Alex Jimenez.”

More than 130,000 immigrant members of the military have received naturalized status since September 2001, Cruz said. More than 20% of those recipients were also awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. 

"Yet, the road to obtaining U.S. citizenship is not easy and not much support is provided to these brave people seeking assistance with immigration matters," Cruz said. "This bill will change that by ensuring access to resources so that our immigrant service members can pursue their citizenship dreams. I want to thank Assemblyman Ashby for his bipartisan partnership and dedication to not only his brother-in-arms, Sergeant Alex Jimenez, but also to the veterans of New York State and their families."

Source: https://spectrumlocalnews.com/nys/central-ny/ny-state-of-politics/2021/06/14/bipartisan-plan-would-aid-military-families-seeking-legal-status

NY Daily News: Queens Assemblywoman Catalina Cruz nominated for EMILY’s List Rising Star Award | By Denis Slattery

ALBANY — Assemblywoman Catalina Cruz is among six finalists who have been nominated by EMILY’s List for a national award recognizing women lawmakers serving at the state level.

Cruz, a Democrat who represents parts of Jackson Heights in Queens, is up for the political action committee’s Gabrielle Giffords Rising Star Award.

The honor is named for the former congresswoman and honors women serving in state or local office who demonstrate the “sort of commitment to community, dedication to women and families, and determination and civility that have been the highlights of Giffords’ career, in and out of office.”

Emily Cain, the executive director of EMILY’s List, which is focused on helping elect to office Democratic women in favor of abortion rights, praised Cruz for her work in the Assembly.

“Assemblywoman Catalina Cruz has dedicated her career to providing a voice to those who are too often silenced,” Cain said. “The first DREAMer to be elected to the New York State Assembly, Catalina has helped pass key legislation to improve workers’ rights, expand sexual harassment protections for employees, and strengthen tenant, reproductive, and immigrant rights.”

New York state Assemblywoman Catalina Cruz, D-Jackson Heights, speaks at a public hearing on sexual harassment in the workplace in February 2019, in Albany. (Hans Pennink/AP)

Cruz came to the U.S. when she was nine with her mother from Colombia. After overstaying a tourist visa, the former undocumented immigrant gained citizenship through marriage and went on to John Jay and City University of New York School of Law.

She worked as a housing lawyer representing seniors and other low-income tenants and served as the director of Gov. Cuomo’s Exploited Workers Task Force before running for office. She was elected to the Assembly in 2018.

Cruz is nominated alongside Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo, of Texas, Debra Lekanoff, a Washington state representative, Park Cannon, a Georgia state representative, Jennifer O’Mara, a Pennsylvania state representative, and Tram Nguyen, a Massachusetts state representative.

In 2014, former Georgia House Minority Leader Stacey Abrams became the first recipient of the award.

Source: https://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/new-york-elections-government/ny-catalina-cruz-emilys-list-giffords-20210419-z4da42oc6jeidbacmgdodcfmwq-story.html

Queens Chronicle: Cutting funding to healthcare during a pandemic will endanger more lives | By Catalina Cruz and Helen Arteaga Landaverde

This month, many people around the City have observed the one-year anniversary of COVID-19, remembering the uncertainty the early days of the virus brought, reflecting on the economic hardships too many households continue to face, and, perhaps most of all, mourning the lives we lost to this horrific pandemic. And while transmission rates decrease and vaccines give people optimism that an end to this public health crisis is near, healthcare workers – like those once at the epicenter of the epicenter, NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst – are still taking care of critically-ill COVID patients, offering testing and vaccines, and supporting those still recovering that potentially will require a lifetime of additional health treatments. But despite the heroic, life-saving care the city’s public health system provided in the darkest of days during the pandemic, our funding is currently in jeopardy.

NYC Health + Hospitals, as New York City’s biggest provider of care to Medicaid recipients and the uninsured, is under attack yet again. The Governor’s proposed budget continues the assault on vital health care funding during a global pandemic emergency. The proposed cuts threaten the financial stability of safety net hospitals that disproportionately provide care for people on Medicaid and the uninsured. We want to highlight three Executive budget proposals that will be harmful to Elmhurst hospital and others in our system: the elimination of the Indigent Care Pool for public hospitals; the 1 percent cut in Medicaid reimbursement; and the reduction to capital reimbursement.

If these three proposals are enacted, our City’s public health system will stand to lose a total of $152 million, of which Elmhurst hospital would lose a combined $20.9 million.  This would be devastating in a normal year, but even more catastrophic since last year’s enacted budget cut Medicaid by 1.5 percent and reduced capital reimbursement by 5 percent. Both of these cuts are still in effect and as a result, Elmhurst have lost $10.9 million in State Fiscal Year 21. As COVID ravaged our community, we stood outside every night with pots and pans and began cheering and clapping for doctors, nurses, and other first responders. Yet, here we are fighting for money to help them do their job and help us stay alive.

COVID-19 continues to have a disproportionate impact on our Black and Latinx communities, and safety net providers, like Elmhurst, continue to serve all who need care. In fact, NYC Health + Hospitals just opened a new state of the art COVID-19 Center of Excellence site, located in Jackson Heights, Queens. The Center is designed to meet the unique needs of patients recovering from COVID-19, including specialized services like pulmonary and cardiology care, radiology and diagnostic services, and mental health services, in addition to comprehensive primary care health services. Sites and quality care like the more offered at this clinic could be in jeopardy considering the Governor’s proposed budget cuts.

We applaud the Legislature for rejecting these proposed cuts in their one-house budget and ask that on April 1 we send a clear message by restoring the funding to our local health care systems. There has never been more proof that New York’s low-income, immigrant and communities of color need strong, sustainable safety net systems like NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst.

We must learn the lesson from the spring, and the future of the health care system must address health care disparities. This is a matter of health care access and a matter of racial equity.

Catalina Cruz is New York State Assemblywoman for the 39th District, in northwestern Queens, and Helen Arteaga Landaverde is CEO of NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst.

Source: https://www.qchron.com/opinion/cutting-funding-to-healthcare-during-a-pandemic-will-endanger-more-lives/article_e62cb692-8dab-11eb-8496-f7e3416db6e6.html

Queens Gazette: NY Cares Distributes Coats, Toys At Cruz’ Office | By Unknown

On Saturday, December 19, New York Cares, in partnership with Together We Can, a local non-profit, and Assemblywoman Catalina Cruz, hosted an outdoor coat and toy distribution for New York Cares’ 32nd annual coat drive where volunteers distributed holiday toys and over 500 coats to community members in need at the office of Assembly Member Catalina Cruz in Corona.

New York Cares, in partnership with Together We Can, a local non-profit, and Assembly Member Catalina Cruz, hosted an outdoor coat and toy distribution for its 32nd annual coat drive where volunteers distributed holiday toys and over 500 coats to community members in need on Saturday, December 19 at the office of Assembly Member Catalina Cruz in Corona. Families, children, and individual adults selected their own warm coats and new toys for the winter holiday season.

Cruz, along with Executive Director of New York Cares Gary Bagley, Together We Can Founders Shannon Getzel and Jessica Chacha, as well as New York Cares volunteers were in attendance. 

Now more than ever, New Yorkers are counting on acts of warmth from their neighbors to make it through the holiday season. Not since the Great Depression have so many people experienced hunger, unemployment, and illness, while struggling to fulfill basic needs like food and warm clothing.

This year, New York Cares is aiming to raise funds during its annual coat drive, which will purchase warm coats for New Yorkers experiencing economic insecurity, especially for residents of areas most impacted by COVID-19. Each $20 donation will cover the cost of one brand-new coat for a New Yorker in need. Every dollar goes directly to a coat supplier, ensuring that coats reach people who need them quickly and safely. While virtual fundraisers are encouraged this year due to pandemic health guidelines, a limited number of drop-off locations are available in each borough for New Yorkers who wish to donate a coat.

Since 1989, the New York Cares Coat Drive has collected over two million winter coats for men, women, and children throughout the city. For more information on setting up a virtual coat collection fundraiser and for other ways to help keep New Yorkers warm, visit newyorkcares.org/coat-drive

Assembly Member Catalina Cruz, Co- Founder of Together We Can Shannon Getzel and Executive Director of New York Cares Gary Bagley help to distribute coats and toys to families and children in need in Queens.

Source: https://www.qgazette.com/articles/ny-cares-distributes-coats-toys-at-cruz-office/

CBS News: New York official says her majority-Latino district was "left alone" to fight the coronavirus pandemic | By Unknown

New York State Assemblywoman Catalina Cruz heeded her constituents' call for help when New York City was caught off guard by one of the worst coronavirus outbreaks in the world. Today, she and a team hand out at least 2,000 meals a day to residents of her Queens district who are still struggling with the effects of the pandemic. 

"We are the epicenter of the epicenter," she told CBS News' Ed O'Keefe.

A Colombian immigrant, Cruz is the first "Dreamer" to serve in the New York State Assembly. On March 17, five days before Governor Andrew Cuomo imposed a lockdown order, her district office became a food pantry for struggling residents. 

"These are really kind people," she said, describing them as people "who will get to the end of the line, and we have no more food and they have four meals, and they'll turn around and give two meals to the person behind them." 

Constituents have not held back praise or criticism. 

"She's doing very good things," one woman said, while another person said they wanted Cruz to be "mayor."

"She does terrible things," another woman said. "She does for illegals, not the people that live here."

Three months into the pandemic, Cruz sees food lines winding around the block from her office daily. Many of the people in line are children.

"That means their parents probably had to go back to work," Cruz explained. "Cause I didn't have this many kids on the line before." 

Cruz said she could easily see herself in their shoes, and thinks of her mother as she walks down the line. 

"Had I not become one of the lucky ones, I'd be on a line with my mom," she said. 

As a state official, the assemblywoman felt she had been left alone to help so many of her residents — in the nation's largest city and financial center. 

"When it came time to help my people, they left us alone. They left us alone and had lines of people that were like, 2,000," she said through tears. 

Catalina Cruz is just one of the Latino leaders helping marginalized communities survive the pandemic. Latino communities and communities of color in the U.S. have borne the brunt of the coronavirus pandemic, and make up a large share of the essential workforce that has continued to face the risks of COVID-19 firsthand. 

Watch full video: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/coronavirus-pandemic-new-york-official-majority-latino-district/

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Wbur: New York Assemblywoman Describes Losses Queens Has Suffered From Coronavirus | By Unknown

A woman wearing a hazmat suit and goggles pulls her grocery cart in the streets in Queens, a borough of New York City, amid the coronavirus pandemic on April 20, 2020 in New York City.(Johannes Eisele/AFP via Getty Images)

Several neighborhoods in the Queens borough of New York have been hard hit by the coronavirus. New York State Assemblywoman Catalina Cruz (@CatalinaCruzNY), the first former DREAMer in the assembly, discusses residents' struggles in Corona, Elmhurst and Jackson Heights.

This segment aired on April 22, 2020.

Source: https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2020/04/22/queens-assemblywoman-coronavirus-new-york

QNS: Jackson Heights assemblywoman rides Q49 on fact-finding mission over proposed changes to Queens bus network | By Bill Parry

The MTA’s draft proposal for a complete redesign of the Queens Bus Network has been so poorly received by riders since it was rolled out on New Years Eve. All 15 members of the Queens delegation to the City Council called on the MTA to go back to the drawing board and amend the draft and address their constituents concerns.

Assemblywoman Catalina Cruz, who represents Jackson Heights — which was the first neighborhood to rise up against the proposal — as well as Corona and Elmhurst, where riders are also dissatisfied, undertook a fact-finding mission Wednesday.

Cruz joined MTA Bus Company Acting President Craig Cipriano and members of the Ridership Alliance transit advocacy group aboard the Q49 bus collecting data from readers about current slow and unreliable service and hearing new feedback on the contemplated changes to the borough’s bus network.

“It is clear that bus service in the community needs major improvement, and my partnership with the Alliance and the MTA helps reach out to as many individuals as possible in order to obtain their feedback as to how the MTA can best meet their transportation needs.” Cruz said. “It is imperative that during this open comment period that community members participate in surveys, attend events, and otherwise inform the MTA of their ideas and suggestions.”

Riders emphasized the need for better service overall and the importance of hearing local concerns about the plan. MTA officials promised to incorporate feedback into subsequent revisions to the redesign.

“Today we heard that Queens riders are fed up with the unacceptably slow and unreliable status quo on the bus,” Riders Alliance Campaign Manager Stephanie Burgos-Vera said. “Riders want MTA officials to be more forthcoming about how significant proposed changes to the bus network will speed their trips and improve commutes. We applaud the MTA for thinking big. We encourage riders to engage with planners to ensure the redesign works for Queens. Thank you to Assemblymember Cruz for riding the bus and hearing directly from riders about how badly we need better service.”

To review the proposed changes to the Queens bus network and see a schedule for public outreach events, visit new.mta.info/queensbusredesign.

Source: https://qns.com/story/2020/02/20/jackson-heights-assemblywoman-rides-q49-on-fact-finding-mission-over-proposed-changes-to-queens-bus-network/

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