Town of Hempstead: The Changing Demographics

"In many parts of Hempstead, more than a third of residents are foreign-born, coming primarily from Central and South America, according to the coalition. Those statistics should be no surprise. From 2000 to 2010, the Hispanic voting-age population grew across the county by more than 45,000, or 48 percent, to nearly 138,500. Hispanics now account for 13.5 percent of Nassau’s voting-age population, up from 9.3 percent in 2000." 

Article

Manuel Marquino Clavel: Immigrant Day Worker 1929

Manuel Marquino Clavel was a 43 year old 'day worker' when he joined the Spanish Benevolent Society of New York City in 1929. An immigrant from Cordoba, Spain, Manuel lived in many places including Brooklyn, Massapequa Park and Lindenhurst in the 1950s.

Cuban Immigrant in Brooklyn 1927

BEFORE THE GREAT DEPRESSION, C. 1927...Angel Alonso (far right) in Brooklyn, New York. Angel had migrated from Havana, Cuba to Tampa, Florida to Ohio to Brooklyn. 

Dafny Irizarry: Somos El Futuro - Advocate Of The Year

Dafny Irizarry (Central Islip) is this year's recipient of Advocate Of  The Year Award, Somos El Futuro Conference. Ms Irizarry is a teacher at the Central Islip School District and the president of the Long Island Latino Teachers Association (LILTA). 

LILTA is a membership organization committed to increasing graduation rates and higher education enrollment, retention and completion of Long Island Latino students. It holds two conferences a year -- one for boys and one for girls -- dedicated to teaching the importance of education and personal accountability. 

Dafny Irizzary with Assemblyman Phil Ramos

Islip's Renee Ortiz fights to save community pools

Islip community leader Renee Ortiz speaks to News12 about the town's pool closures travesty. 

Article and video

Islip's Latino Community Fights Pool Closures

“It is important for the community to stand up and send a message to the authorities that our communities are concerned about the pools, and more importantly, that we need them. These parks are safe spaces which our families deserve, they should be kept as a right." Renee Ortiz



Article

Spanglish by Bill Santiago

A little Spanglish humor from the funniest Brooklyn Nuyorican -- Bill Santiago! 

More Bill Santiago 

afroTANGO by Thalia Spanish Theatre (Sunnyside, Queens)

Backstage Review

Long Island vs Connecticut

Did you know that Long Island (Kings, Queens, Nassau, Suffolk counties) has more than double the population of Connecticut, 7.5MM vs 3.5MM? Or that it has triple the number of Latino residents, 1.5MM vs 495K? Or that the island's residents have per capita income totaling $204 billion vs $135 billion for its LI Sound neighbor? Or that Long island is 28 miles longer than Connecticut? Or that if Long Island was a state it's capitol would be the City of Brooklyn (2.5 million) to Connecticut's Hartford (125K)? Or that Long Island has 4 major league sports franchises (Mets, Nets, Islanders, Lizards -- and soon the Cosmos), US Open (tennis), Belmont Stakes and US Women's Open (golf) vs Connecticut's Travelers PGA Tournament? Or that Long Island has 8 full and 6 partial congressional districts vs 5 for Connecticut?

Of course, Connecticut does have many advantages including: four times the space, 5540 square miles versus 1400 for Long Island (though LI is bigger than Rhode Island at 1200 sq mi); its own governor and legislature; and its own two US senators. 

Patchogue-Medford HS Students of the Month

Twenty eight percent (28%) of Patchogue-Medford School District students are Latino. So it's great to see that 15 of the 40 students, 37%, recognized as 'students of the month' are of Latino heritage. Very nice! The scholars are: Josue Sorto-Reyes, Abigail Gonzalez-Medina, Charleen Colon, Michael Rivera, Abril Costanza, Venessa Callejo, Carla Castro, Milton Jara, Aaron Rodriguez, Marc Negrin, Fedrik Durao, Noe Martin, Juliana Garcia, Sean Acosta and Yamnia Pena-Peguero. Congratulations!

Patchogue Patch Article