La Gran Manzana 2025: The Road Ahead for Latino New Yorkers

Hispanic Federation released La Gran Manzana: The Road Ahead for Latino New Yorkers, a policy blueprint with recommendations on how the next mayor and City Council can improve the lives of the nearly 2.5 million Latinos living in New York City. The report was created in partnership with Hispanic Federation’s member and partner organizations throughout New York City, of which 50 nonprofit professionals participated.

Some recommendations in the report include:

  • Supporting Latino Nonprofits: Increasing financial support for the nonprofit sector through public and private sources, contracting reforms so the nonprofit salaries can keep up with inflation, streamlining procurement so funds can be distributed in a timely manner, transparency in the RFP process to ensure a diverse review committee is involved, and much more.
  • Latino Representation in City Government: Prioritizing a Latino/a speaker in New York City Council, establishing a permanent Hispanic Appointment Advisory Committee to boost Latino staffing in the City Council, diversifying city boards and commissions by increasing Latino résumé submissions, creating a demographic transparency database, launching educational campaigns about these bodies’ roles, partnering with community-based organizations, allowing temporary membership expansions to enhance diversity, and much more.
  • Improving Education: Expanding early childhood programs (Pre-K and 3-K) with extended hours and equitable access, investing heavily in bilingual teacher recruitment, enhancing funding for English Language Learners (ELLs) programs, strengthening community-based schools that provide wraparound services which can help address chronic absenteeism, recognizing how nonprofits can help to replace punitive discipline with restorative practices, and much more.
  • Protecting and Supporting Immigrants: Ongoing public education campaigns designed to inform immigrant communities about services that are available in New York City, expanding funding for programs that assist adults in being able to fully participate in the labor market, ensuring that more people have access to legal representation, making sure that wraparound services are included in all of the programs, and much more.

La Gran Manzana resources: 

Acknowledgements

This policy blueprint was developed by the Hispanic Federation’s Policy Team — Frankie Miranda, Jessica Orozco Guttlein, Ingrid Álvarez-DiMarzo, Mario Colón, Diana Caba, Almirca Santiago, Bethsy Morales-Reid, Yalinel Beltre, Adonis Ortiz, Perla Rodriguez, Emely Paez, Brandon Munda, Myriam Villalobos Solís, Yesmin Vega, Peter Michelen, Brandon Ramirez, Michelle Born, Robert Edwards, Maria Lugo, Liliana Melgar-Hoyos, Cindy Treminio, Betsy Rodriguez, Stephanie Mulcock, and Amy Thesing — in consultation with its member and partner agencies. Additional support was provided by policy consultant John A. Gutiérrez, Ph.D., John Jay College of Criminal Justice.

The Federation would like to acknowledge member and partner agency leaders who were critical in shaping policy blueprint recommendations: Bora Lee (Fifth Avenue Committee), Anita Teekah (LatinoJustice PRLDEF), Evelin Caballero Omana (La Colmena), Arlene J. Ortiz (Opportunities for a Better Tomorrow), Eric Diaz (Vision Urbana), Katje King, (Northern Manhattan Improvement Corporation), Melissa Holiday (New York Council on Adoptable Children), Maria Lizardo (Northern Manhattan Improvement Corporation), Lisette Sosa-Dickson (RAICES), Tyler Groskinsky (Zone 126), Margarita Guzmán (Violence Intervention Program), Barbara Bonholm (Puerto Rican Family Institute), Denise Barrera (New York Council on Adoptable Children), Keith Mitchell (VIP Community Services), Timothy Majoor (St. Ann’s Corner of Harm Reduction), Daniel Ramirez (East Harlem Council for Human Services), Luz E. Correa (Urban Health Plan), Heriberto Sanchez Soto (Hispanic Aids Forum), Lucciano Reberte (Latino Commission on AIDS), Barbara Salcedo (VIP Community Services), Quentin Ball (I Challenge Myself), Brayan Pagoada (Churches United for Fair Housing), Robert Amadeo (Comunilife), Mark Gonzalez (We Stay/Nos Quedamos), Ryan Castalia (Sure We Can), Sandra Martinez (Regional Aid for Interim Needs), Raísa Lin Garden-Lucerna (El Puente), Coniqua Johnson-Reed (Avenues for Justice), Gamal Willis (Avenues for Justice), Elizabeth Frederick (Avenues for Justice), Steven Hernandez (St. Ann’s Corner of Harm Reduction), Diana DeJesus-Medina (LatinoJustice PRLDEF), Carlos Sanchez Payano (Dominicanos USA), Leidis De la Rosa (La Colmena), Aya Esther Hayashi, Ph.D. (The People’s Theatre), Manuel Moran (Society of the Educational Arts), John Mejia (Repertorio Español), Rosalba Rolón (Pregones/Puerto Rican Traveling Theater), Eva Mayhabal Davis (LxNY Arts Consortium of New York), Jana-Lynne Umipig (El Puente), Cynthia Carrion (El Museo del Barrio), Beatriz Coronel (Comunilife), Gilberto Saenz (Casita Maria Center for Arts & Education), Melody Capote (Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute), Andrea R. Thompson (Afro Latin Jazz Alliance/Belongó), Nedda De Castro (The Internationals Network for Public Schools), Melissa Clarke (uAspire), Anju J. Rupchandani, Ed. D. (Zone 126), Samantha Alcalá (The Opportunity Network), and Asenhat Gomez (El Puente).

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