New York, NY—For the first time in his administration, Mayor Eric Adams invited a group of Venezuelan leaders, including members from Venezuelans and Immigrants Aid (VIA), to discuss their challenges and needs as part of the growing Venezuelan community in New York City.
Ana Almanzar, Deputy Mayor for Strategic Initiatives, opened the meeting by welcoming the Venezuelan attendees. She emphasized that the purpose of the encounter was to bring together different communities to better understand their situation and improve city services for their benefit. “As an immigrant myself, I understand the challenges and the sadness of leaving our homelands and starting from nothing,” Almanzar said.
“The idea is to think about how we can collaborate and send a message to our leaders across the country that we, as Latinos who came to this country, are doing great work. We need to change the negative narrative,” Almanzar added.
Mayor Eric Adams remarked, “This has been an amazing journey for me. This meeting represents a historic step for our city. As Venezuelans, I want to ask you: how are you? Because your country has been in the newspapers, you have been demonized across the country. People have focused only on immigrants and asylum seekers and not on the contributions your community has made to this country. I encourage you to change the narrative and be leaders in shaping the future of this country.”
Precisely, the concern expressed by the Mayor, was addressed in a statement released by VIA early this year: “In light of recent concerns about Venezuelan citizens involved in criminal acts in NYC, VIA reaffirms its commitment to the many displaced people from our country who are working diligently towards a better future. We emphatically reject any criminal activity and those who commit it. The individuals involved in these incidents do not represent the values and principles of the Venezuelan community.”
Following the Mayor’s remarks, some guests had the opportunity to share their concerns and ask questions about mental health, employment, access to education, childcare, and other initiatives. Due to time constraints, additional questions previously submitted to the Mayor’s office will be addressed by City Hall authorities who attended the meeting. Similar roundtables have been held with Mexican and Ecuadorian leaders.
Other members of Mayor Adams’ team who attended the first roundtable with Venezuelan leaders included: Socrates Solano (Latino Liaison-Community Affairs Unit), Manuel Castro (Commissioner – MOIA), Annabel Palma (Commissioner & Chair-CCHR), Tania Kinsella (First Deputy Commissioner – NYPD), Eva Wong (Executive Director – OCMH), Fred Kreizman (Commissioner – CAU), Molly Shaeffer (Director – Office of Asylum Seekers), Anne Williams (Deputy Mayor – Health & Human Services), and Dynishal Gross (Acting Commissioner – SBS).