Community Heroes Tribute

Floor Speech

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Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute and recognize this year's Community Heroes for their life-time record of public service, social activism, and charity. 2020 will be remembered as one of the most unprecedented times in modem history. The COVID-19 pandemic has tested us and forever changed our lives. It has exposed our vulnerabilities but has also given rise to countless community heroes who, amid their own personal challenges, demonstrate courage and resilience.

I am honored to congratulate this year's extraordinary Lower East Side recipients of CODA's Community Hero Awards. Their service is immeasurable, and the residents of my district are enriched and strengthened by their contributions.

Camille Napoleon, Vice-President of the Baruch Houses Tenants Association and a dedicated lifetime resident of the New York's City's Loisaida community and Baruch Houses. When the state issued its stay at home order and the pandemic swept the city, Camille knew her neighbors and community would need help to survive this monumental event. Amidst a notable lack of timely response from the City at the height of the lockdown, Camille and her unstoppable crew of volunteers became a lifeline for residents. Operating six days a week, ``Team Camille'' delivered thousands of emergency meals, food boxes, and essential protection supplies to quarantined and homebound seniors, unemployed families, and other vulnerable individuals throughout the Lower East Side's public housing developments. Camille's volunteerism and efforts far exceeded expectations. Today, she continues to serve her neighbors and exemplify her passion for the community.

Eric Diaz, Executive Director of Vision Urbana Inc, Food Pantry program. Vison Urbana is a community faith-based led organization dedicated to the underserved families of the Seward Park Extension and its neighboring communities. I recognize Eric Diaz for his leadership and service to the community. The pandemic not only disrupted lives but also the access to the food chain. Constituents in my district encountered empty shelves at local grocery stores and markets. Food insecurity grew to affect a record number of vulnerable residents. Eric swiftly worked to secure and increase resources for the program. Under his leadership, the food pantry program grew to double its distribution and expand its coverage area. It delivered prepared meals and boxed foods to hundreds of seniors and families in need. With his volunteers and partner organizations, Eric and Vision Urbana's pantry program reaffirmed its commitment to its mission and humanity.

Shaheeda Smith, who has devoted her life to empowering NYC residents to reclaim their wellness through her innovative approach to dance and movement therapy. Shaheeda, an advocate from Henry Street Settlement's Community Advisory Board, teamed up with Henry Street and Good Old Lower East Side (GOLES), a neighborhood housing and preservation organization, to create the People's Permit Process, a guide to help community members navigate the city's rules and regulations. When COVID-19 rocked the community with biased and violent arrests related to social-distancing regulations enforcement, this civil rights activist interceded. Armed with extensive knowledge in the constitutional right to assemble peacefully, Shaheeda emerged as a bold voice for these victims of unwarranted excessive police force. Journalists and activists have documented numerous excessive force cases related to protests or simply for not wearing a mask. I am proud to know that Shaheeda was proactive and recognized that these actions are unacceptable.

Frances Goldin, posthumously, was known as ``the Crusader for the Lower East Side''. Frances had an interesting life as a staunch lifetime advocate and defender of housing, social and civil rights. As early as 1959, she launched a successful campaign that defeated Robert Moses' urban renewal plan to replace affordable housing in the Lower Eastside with a freeway. She was a founding member of the Metropolitan Council on Housing and was a strong defender of the displaced families of Seward Park Urban Renewal area. Her activism was instrumental in ensuring affordable housing for seniors at the newly developed Essex Crossings. In 2019, the 100-unit senior development was named The Goldin in her honor. Frances was also a literary agent who gave a voice to countless aspiring progressive writers who probably never would have their works printed without her support. Lastly, Frances was a proud advocate and champion for the LBGTQ community. She was iconic for attending New York City's Pride Parade. Before her passing, she was pictured in the papers at the parade on her wheelchair. Despite her unfortunate passing at the peak of the pandemic, her legacy lives on through her children and the many lives she touched over the years. At the time her passing the New York Times called her a ``. . . protester, provocateur and voice for lost causes.'' Frances was that and more, she was a trailblazer and a woman on a lifetime mission for justice. The Lower East Side community will forever remember Frances Goldin.

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