Brooklyn, NY – A three-man delegation from Grenada’s Parliament and the official Opposition, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) visited New York November 12 through the 15. The delegation was led by Honorable Tillman Thomas, Parliamentary Representative for St. Patrick’s East and accompanied by Representatives Nazim Burke and Peter David. The purpose of the delegation visit was three-fold. First, to thank Grenadians and supporters in New York for their participation in the relief and recovery efforts following Hurricane Ivan’s devastation. Second, to provide the NDC’s perspectives for Grenada’s reconstruction and third; to develop and strengthen collaborative partnerships with businesses and institutions in New York. Upon arrival in New York, the delegation made courtesy visits to the main disaster relief centers, Medas and Maitland Shipping yards and thanked the staff for their tireless efforts in collecting urgently needed items and ensuring that they reach Grenada promptly. In Brooklyn, the delegates participated in “Radio Link Up” with Rennie Bishop of WWRL 1600am and Marajah of Chin FM Radio Toronto. The live radio broadcast afforded the group an opportunity to thank individuals and organizations publicly for participating in the relief efforts. At a Town Hall Meeting held at Café Omar, the delegates provided estimates of the devastation. They also presented a progress report on the recovery efforts, the political situation in Grenada and their perspective on rebuilding Grenada. Cited among the priority needs were (1) rebuilding the housing stock, (2) resuscitating the agricultural sector, (3) restoring educational activities and (4) reenergizing the tourism industry. After the meeting, the delegation attended a cocktail reception. More discussions on “The way forward” were held during and after the reception. The delegates delivered fraternal greetings to Grenadian worshipers and thanked congregants at Brooklyn churches for their participation in the disaster relief efforts. The last day of the visit began with a morning discussion with officials from the Disaster Relief Committee at Medgar Evers College. The delegates thanked the group for their support and discussed the possibility of developing collaborative partnerships with the Environmental Science and Social Services Departments to assist in the recovery effort. The parliamentarians ended their trip with a visit to the Grenada Permanent Mission to the United Nations and paid a courtesy call on the Ambassador/Permanent Representative. SOURCE: New York Chapter of the National Democratic Congress.