Jackson Heights Street Co-Named For Late State Sen. José Peralta

JACKSON HEIGHTS, NY — Legislators crowded onto the corner of 79th Street and 37th Avenue in Jackson Heights this weekend for a ceremony co-naming the street after the late State Sen. José Peralta, who represented the neighborhood.

Peralta, the first Dominican-American elected to the New York State Senate, died suddenly in November 2018 from cancer complications. He was 47.

"New York political history will remember Peralta as a legislator of principled advocacy and genuine kindness," City Council Member Daniel Dromm, who spearheaded the co-naming proposal, said in a press release announcing the Sunday ceremony.

Peralta represented Jackson Heights, Corona, Elmhurst and Woodside in the State Senate from 2010 until his death in 2018, just before State Sen. Jessica Ramos was due to replace him.

He was a member of the New York State Assembly from 2002 to 2010.

Peralta's signature accomplishment was the New York State DREAM Act, later renamed in his honor, which Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed into law earlier this year. The law gives undocumented immigrant students access to state-administered grants and scholarships for college.

His widow and two children still live on the street corridor now named State Senator José R. Peralta Way, the Jackson Heights Post reported in February.

Miles Peralta delivered powerful speech about the dad he knew. State Senator Peralta’s legacy will live-on forever through his advocacy for all of us. Thank you ⁦@Dromm25⁩ for make this day possible. pic.twitter.com/xi4u3AtFkf
— Donovan Richards (@DRichards13) October 6, 2019

We memorialized Sen. Jose Peralta with a street co-naming today — a recognition he deserved but one that came too soon. He was a fighter, a leader and a tireless advocate. I thank him for the work he did and the lives he made better. pic.twitter.com/p7u2aqz25Y
— Francisco Moya (@FranciscoMoyaNY) October 6, 2019

Moving street co-naming ceremony for my late friend @SenatorPeralta today in Jackson Heights. Thanks to @Dromm25 for organizing this special tribute to a person who helped an untold # of people in his all too short life. May his memory be for a blessing always. RIP my brother. pic.twitter.com/SfGo7i4vwC
— Barry Grodenchik (@BarryGrodenchik) October 6, 2019