Alexa Aviles moves to Zoom panel; Antonio Rosario testifies

Gracias, gracias.

Next we're going to move to a Zoom panel.

We're going to have Antonio Rosario.

You may begin.

We're going to resume in person.

We are going to give opportunity for Antonio Rosario, Calvin, and Freddie.

Gracias, Alexa.

Can everybody hear me?

Yes, we can hear you.

Please start.

My name is Antonio Rosario.

I'm a proud 32-year teenster, a worker, a father, and proud Boricua.

And today, I'm speaking not just as someone who cares about Puerto Rico, but someone who has family that comes from Cabo Rojo.

My mother was born in Cabo Rojo.

I spent my summers there as a kid.

Cabo Rojo is in some distant place on a map to me.

It is a part of who I am.

And now I bring my own children there.

We visit our families that are down there in Cabo Rojo.

I used to run around La Santa Rita Residencial as a kid.

We call them caserios.

We visit our family.

We walk the land.

We see the beauty of the island.

And we also see the reality that the people living there face every day.

I've been there when the water has been shut off.

I've been there when the electricity has gone out.

I've seen firsthand.

What those things mean for our families who live there.

So when I hear about a massive development that could require more than 1.25 million, excuse my language, sorry, gallons of water every day, I don't hear the number.

The statistic, I think about my familia, I think about the people who already live there, and I have to ask, how can we talk about building luxury resorts and golf courses and private

residences when the people who already call Cabo a home are still dealing with basic infrastructure challenges?

That's why I'm here today to support Resolution 5494.

The New York City Council's resolution recognizes Project Exacia for what it is, a proposed $2 billion luxury development covering more than 2,000 acres with hundreds of hotels, more than 1,000 residences, golf courses, private airport, and luxury amenities.

The resolution also raises concerns about water, wetlands, endangered species, archaeological sites, public beaches, and the impact of the surrounding communities.

And these concerns aren't coming only from the people standing outside with protest signs.

The Puerto Rican Senate has been investigating the project.

In recent hearings, government agencies have raised serious questions about infrastructure and water capacity.

The Puerto Rico Aqueducts and Sewer Authority has stated that existing Potencias filtration plant does not have the design capacity to supply the project and stimulate demand without additional infrastructure improvements.

That matters to me because I've seen the consequences of the inadequate water structure.

And I want the children of Puerto Rico and the working families are told to conserve water while luxury developments are guaranteed with resources they need.

Water is not a luxury.

Electricity is not a luxury.

Housing is not a luxury.

A healthy environment is not a luxury.

These are things that people deserve.

These are human rights.

brings me to Resolution 2728.

These resolutions speak a larger question on who determines Puerto Rico's future.

Resolution 27 calls for the action against financial practices that allow outside financial interests to profit from Puerto Rico's debt crisis, while Resolution 28 calls on Congress to establish a date certain for ending the financial oversight and management board.

For me, these issues are connected.

Because whether we're talking about debt, development, land, water, and natural resources, we have to ask, who's Puerto Rico developed for?

Is it being developed for the people who live there?

Is it for the families who have their generations?

For our children?

Being developed for ground one outside investors and extract the island, Puerto Rico cannot simply be treated as an investment opportunity.

Viva Puerto Rico, viva Puerto Rico libre.

Esencia Canova, sorry.