EAST WILLIAMSBURG — Mexican restaurant, Viva Toro, was packed from stem to stern on the final day of Hispanic History Month, courtesy of  Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez and his team. Several hundred guests acknowledged three prominent Latino leaders the evening of Oct. 15.

The lively three-hour celebration, which consisted of food, drink, entertainment and dancing, honored Mark Vazquez, the first Latino NYPD assistant chief for Patrol Borough Brooklyn North; Henry Garrido, District Council 37 executive director; and Murad Awawdeh, president and CEO of the New York Immigration Coalition.

Ceremony co-hosts Jose Interiano, Blue Zone deputy bureau chief and president of the Eric Gonzalez Alliance for Justice, and Katrina Gomez, senior Violent Criminal Enterprise Bureau ADA and vice president of the Eric Gonzalez Alliance for Justice, collectively welcomed the standing room only crowd. 

A beautiful mosaic

Gonzalez, who is the first elected Latino district attorney in the nearly 250-year history of New York State, told the Brooklyn Eagle that the purpose of the night’s event is to celebrate the beautiful mosaic of Latino people in the borough of Brooklyn.

“It’s also a time to bring community together and show them that law enforcement is not their enemy,” he said. “We want to work with them to produce peace, safety and fairness, and that’s what today is about.”

Gonzalez pointed out that, while the DA’s office has hosted Hispanic Heritage events before, they have been considerably smaller, and this is the first time it has been opened up to the community at large.

“This started out as an internal event,” Gonzalez recalled, saying that this time they wanted the public to know how much he and his office care.

Brooklyn’s safest year?

Gonzalez also gave a rousing speech to the crowd, in which he touched upon both public safety and immigration. 

“Last year we had the fewest number of people ever shot in the history of Brooklyn,” Gonzalez emphasized.  “And this year, I believe, will be the safest year in the borough’s history!”  

With regard to immigration, Gonzalez underlined that immigrant communities are “truly the backbone of our society.”  

“They are our dreamers — the living proof of America’s promise,” he said. “Our families came here for a better opportunity for themselves and for their children. I’m the beneficiary of that, as are so many of you. We will continue to fight to make sure our immigrants feel safe in Brooklyn.”