You are reading

Jose Peralta’s Funeral to be Held in Jackson Heights Tuesday

Twitter: Liliana [email protected] (Vigil in front of Peralta’s East Elmhurst office Sunday)

Nov. 26, 2018 By Meghan Sackman

The funeral for State Sen. Jose Peralta will be held Tuesday in Jackson Heights, as local leaders and residents continue to grieve following his sudden death last week.

Peralta died Wednesday at Elmhurst Hospital at the age of 47 while seeking treatment as a result of a fever. The exact cause of his unexpected death has yet to be determined.

The funeral for Peralta, who has represented Jackson Heights and its surrounding areas in Albany since 2003, will be held at St. Joan of Arc’s Roman Catholic Church at 82-00 35th Ave. at 10:30 a.m.

Immediately following the funeral, Peralta will be buried at St. Michael’s Cemetery at 72-02 Astoria Blvd in East Elmhurst.

Tributes have been pouring in for Peralta since his death.

“Senator Peralta was a tireless advocate for Queens and for all New Yorkers, including our immigrant communities,” said Governor Andrew Cuomo in a statement Friday, while ordering flags be flown at half-staff in Peralta’s honor.

Community members gathered in front of Peralta’s office in East Elmhurst Sunday and held a prayer vigil. Many carried candles and placed flowers by his 32-37 Junction Blvd. district office.

Mourners gathered this afternoon for Peralta’s wake at Farenga Funeral Home on Ditmars Boulevard, by 38th Street, in Astoria.

State Sen. Peralta

Over the weekend, his staff set up a GoFundMe page to help the late senator’s family cover the funeral costs. The donation page exceeded its goal of $25,000, with a total of nearly $55,000 by this afternoon.

More than 145 people donated, including a $10,000 donation from Governor Cuomo.

Efforts are being made by local officials to keep Peralta’s legacy going–including naming the DREAM Act after him should it be passed into law.

Peralta, the first Dominican-American elected to the state senate, was the senate sponsor of the DREAM Act which would provide undocumented immigrants with access to financial aid for college.

Congressman Adriano Espaillat, who represents upper Manhattan and a section of the Bronx, wrote to Cuomo about naming it in Peralta’s honor.

Peralta represented the 39th Assembly District from 2003 to 2010 before being elected to the state senate in a special election in 2010.

He only had weeks to go in office, having been defeated in the Democratic primary in September by Jessica Ramos.

Ramos went on to win his seat earlier this month.

Flags at half-staff in Peralta’s honor in Albany

 

 

email the author: [email protected]

2 Comments

Click for Comments 
Patricia Alvarez

Su batalla ha terminado Senador…duerma tranquilo… y que los Angeles arrúllen su sueño…?

Reply
Mary F.

Respectful sympathies to this man and his family. It says a lot for his character and his priorities that money has to be raised for his funeral. Unlike others, he must have been an honest man. God rest and keep him.

Reply

Leave a Comment
Reply to this Comment

All comments are subject to moderation before being posted.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Recent News

Met Council leader warns of ‘catastrophe’ for low-income families in Queens due to lack of pandemic-era federal food aid

Mar. 28, 2023 By Bill Parry

As an accomplished legislator, law professor and media personality with broad experience in government and not-for-profit organizations, Met Council CEO and executive director David Greenfield is well aware of the power of words. With Passover arriving on Wednesday, April 5, and with federal pandemic food assistance no longer available to low-income families in Queens, the leader of the nation’s largest Jewish charity organization warned of a coming “catastrophe” and called for the city to step up to provide $13 million in emergency funding for pantries to help New Yorkers facing food insecurity and elevated costs of living in the borough.

Pair of Queens community organizations will activate public spaces to celebrate local cultures

Two Queens community organizations are among an inaugural cohort of five groups citywide that will lead new projects to celebrate local cultures and histories in public spaces under a new initiative called The Local Center in a partnership between Urban Design Forum and the Association for Neighborhood & Housing Development (ANHD).

At a time when New York is grappling with an uneven pandemic recovery and as displacement looms large for communities and neighborhoods across the five boroughs, this new endeavor will convene interdisciplinary teams to transform and activate the shared spaces where cultural traditions flourish — and importantly, center the community visions and leadership that is too often left out of the process.