You are reading

State Sen. Peralta Died From Leukemia Complications, Medical Examiner Rules

State Sen. Jose Peralta (via NYSenate.gov)

Jan. 15, 2019 By Nathaly Pesantez

The sudden death of State Sen. Jose Peralta in November, which shocked constituents and New York politicians across the spectrum alike, stemmed from complications of an aggressive form of leukemia, the city medical examiner announced today.

The findings come two months after Peralta’s death on Nov. 21 at age 47, with a spokesperson noting that the legislator had “acute promyelocytic leukemia.”

The cancer is characterized by an overgrowth of immature white blood cells in the bone marrow, leading to a shortage of normal white and red blood cells in the body, according to the National Institutes of Health. The NIH noted that the disease is a rare type of leukemia.

It is unclear if Peralta’s family was aware of the disease’s role in his untimely death on the day before Thanksgiving. The family had not mentioned leukemia after his death, and told several news outlets that Peralta had died of sudden septic shock, which led to organ failure.

But Peralta’s widow, Evelyn, told the New York Post in the days after his death that additional tests needed to be done, and that there was no final conclusion yet.

Peralta was elected to the state senate in 2010, at the same time becoming the first Dominican-American in the body. But the Queens resident, who grew up in Washington Heights, had represented Jackson Heights and surrounding neighborhoods in Albany since 2003.

The late-politician, however, was on track to leave his post as senator for District 13 at the end of 2018 after being defeated in a September primary by now State Sen. Jessica Ramos.

email the author: [email protected]

5 Comments

Click for Comments 
Athena Emmanouilidis

Interesting, because posts right after he passed away stated that he had a flu shot and he was complaining of symptoms of the vaccine when he passed away

3
3
Reply
MD

That’s correct. The fact that it’s a form a leukemia all of a sudden it’s a bit fishy. Flu shot has been giving a lot of people symptoms more than ever. Leading to death.

Reply
Pd

Jessica Ramos deserves a chance to prove herself just as I’m sure there were skeptics when Peralta took office. United we stand, divided we fall.

Reply
Anonymous

It’s so sad. He’s help me in the past. I don’t think Ramos can do the things that he has done.

6
8
Reply
Allison Schonder

We should never forget Senator Jose Peralta and pray for strength and courage for his family and their future.

11
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.