On Wednesday, October 1, at Brooklyn Borough Hall, Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz hosted the Latin American Consuls in New York (CLACNY) for its first-ever gathering outside of Manhattan.

The organization signed a declaration reaffirming its commitment to promote and defend the interests of all Latinos in New York State and the tri-state region in areas such as immigration rights, cultural and language barriers, education, health care, discrimination and human and labor rights.

Attending were representatives from Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela.

The Consul General of Mexico, Rubén Beltrán expressed that “CLACNY represent our commitment, not in words but in deeds, to work together as consulates towards concrete goals for the advancement and integration of our communities in this society,” and added, “The result of a close collaboration, this coalition was born not only from the common historical identity that our people share, but also from the similar problems and challenges that our communities face in this city” Consul Beltrán added.

“I am proud that CLACNY chose Brooklyn for its first-ever meeting outside of Manhattan. From Sunset Park to Williamsburg, Red Hook to Bushwick, Brooklyn has some of the city’s largest and most progressive Latino communities. Today’s declaration of unity reaffirms CLACNY’s proven commitment to promoting and defending the interests of all Latinos in the New York area. Like I always say, “Lo que es bueno para Latinos es bueno para New York.”

The morning’s events included welcoming remarks by BP Markowitz, an overview of CLACNY delivered by Ambassador Ruben Beltran, the Consul General of Mexico in New York, the signing of the declaration, Q & A with the media.