Senator Velmanette Montgomery (center) joined her colleagues at the State Capitol in welcoming the Honorable Roberto B. Saladin, Dominican Ambassador to the United States and the Honorable Rafael Evans, Esq., Dominican Consul General to New York to the First Annual Celebration of Dominican Heritage Month in New York State sponsored by the New York Senate Puerto Rican and Latino Caucus Members. February 27 is the anniversary of Dominican Independence, a holiday equally embraced by the 800,000 Dominicans residing in New York State as by the citizens on the island of the Dominican Republic. (Pictured with Senator Montgomery are (from l-r): Senator Ruth Hassell-Thompson (D-Bronx); Honorable Roberto Saladin; Honorable Rafael Evans; and Senator Bill Perkins (D-Manhattan.)