Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino says news of Tuesday’s earthquake in central Mexico hits hard. Westchester has a Memorandum of Understanding in the areas of tourism and education with the state of Puebla, near the quake’s epicenter.
Astorino says he made a call when he heard.
“I spoke with Diego Gomez Pickering, who is the consul general for Mexico in New York City. And he and I have a very good relationship,” Astorino says. “And I offered any support that we can give to our friends in Mexico, specifically in Puebla, where we have strong ties. I visited there last year.”
That visit was to sign the MOU. Astorino says eight students from Puebla then attended Westchester Community College last summer as part of a student exchange program. He says Westchester is home to more than 45,000 Mexican-Americans, the majority of whom originated from Puebla.