On behalf of all of us at LatinoJustice PRLDEF I extend our heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of one of the shining lights of our Puerto Rican, Dominican and Latino community, Luis Garden Acosta, and especially to his wife Frances Lucerna and friend Gino Maldonado both of whom from El Puente in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
 
Luis Garden Acosta was the founder and President of El Puente in Williamsburg where he inspired leadership and activism among young and veteran activists to protect their environment, support education and higher learning, and develop leaders all in the name of peace and justice.  A man of faith, Luis was a member of the Young Lords and was intimately involved in all matters that affected Puerto Rico.
 
Luis was full of grace and resolve.  He would spend hours ensuring that our collective work was grounded in our people’s needs. And he shared his insights and wisdom freely. Luis was Brooklyn through and through and he ensured that the newer residents of Williamsburg did not forget that that neighborhood had life, culture and spirit long before they arrived. He was also Puerto Rico through and through tracing his family’s roots to the Nationalist Party of the 1930s.
 
New York lost a shining light yesterday. But we can feel confident that Luis’ legacy will live on.