NY State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli Honors Westchester Hispanic Leaders

State Comptroller DiNapoli and event honorees. L to R: José Alvarado, Westchester County Legislator District 17; Maria Kercado, President of Labor Council for Latin American Advancement; Judith Aucar, Executive Director, El Centro Hispano, Inc. and Yadira Ramos-Herbert, Mayor of New Rochelle.

New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli’s Hispanic Heritage Month event this year recognized several individuals and an organization working to make a difference in the Hispanic and Latino communities:

  • José Alvarado, Westchester County Legislator, District 17
  • Yadira Ramos-Herbert, first Latina Mayor of the City of New Rochelle
  • Maria Kercado, President, Labor Council for Latin American Advancement (LCLAA) Westchester Chapter, AFL-CIO and Executive Vice President, Retired 1199 SEIU, UHWE
  • Judith Aucar, Executive Director, El Centro Hispano, Inc.

The annual event was held this year at Cafetero Coffee Company in New Rochelle in Westchester County on September 17. Westchester County’s Hispanic population has grown faster than the state and nation. In 2020, 269,334 people in Westchester County identified as Hispanic or Latino, which is 26.8% of the county’s population, according to 2020 census data. That number represents a 30.1% increase over the past 10 years.