Senator Rivera on the Passing of Luis Garden Acosta, Founder and President of El Puente

"Today, I pay tribute to the extraordinary life of the trailblazing founder of El Puente, Luis Garden Acosta, who sadly passed away yesterday. His untimely death leaves an immense void in our City and our State's civic discourse, an impossible one to fill.

In many ways, Luis Garden Acosta, a Puerto Rican, and New York icon, was ahead of his time. He was not only a dedicated community activist, a fierce champion of our youth and civil rights, but an environmental justice warrior. His organization, El Puente, served as a vehicle to inspire and nurture leadership among Brooklyn's most disadvantaged youths at a time when entrenched violence was killing them at a devastating pace.

In his honor, I will continue fighting to implement policies that will lift up our communities and make them thrive.

Rest in Power, Hermano. 

¡Pa'Lante, Siempre Pa'Lante!"