Chair invites Council Member Sanchez; Sanchez shares his grandfather's story

And let me now invite...

Oh, so?

Or lean?

Oh.

Hello.

Oh, that's me.

Okay, hi.

Okay, now let me invite Councilmember Sanchez to speak about his resolution.

Is this on?

Great.

Buenos dias a todos.

My name is Justin Sanchez.

I have the proud honor of representing the South Bronx and one of the largest

Puerto Rican populations and all of the city of New York.

I want to start off by saying a little bit about my story.

My grandfather came here from Manatee, Puerto Rico in the 60s.

I grew up in the front of multiple cabs.

He was a yellow cab driver.

He was a unit cab driver.

He was a Watson cab driver.

I grew up going to the dry cleaners where he was also a presser.

And believe me, if he saw a single wrinkle on anything that I'm wearing today from wherever he is, he is coming to get me.

But that turn from when he got here to now his grandson,

Being a New York City council member is exactly why he came from Puerto Rico to New York.

It wasn't only to give himself a better opportunity, but the rest of his family.

And he had the most epic death of all time.

I'm not even joking.

My grandfather died dancing salsa at the Copa.

Literally surrounded by family and friends, hitting his signature one, two, bop, heart attack right there.

It's the story of us as Puerto Ricans.

Look how we laugh at something that is so sad.

But it's beautiful because it reminds us of our culture and our family and about the dreams of the people that came here before us that we have to continue fighting for.