ALBANY — State Sen. Jose Peralta died suddenly Wednesday night. He was 47.
Sources say Peralta, a Queens Democrat who was the first Dominican-American elected to the state Senate, was stricken with an apparent heart attack.
Senator Cathy Young issued a statement on Twitter this morning saying "tragic news that Senator Jose Peralta has passed away at far too young an age. He loved public service and his community. May he Rest in Peace."
According to the NY Daily News,
Peralta joined the Senate in March, 2010 after winning a special election. Representing Jackson Heights, Corona, Elmhurst, and Woodside, he was re-elected four times.
But Peralta angered many in his own party in January, 2017 when he defected from the mainstream Senate Democratic conference to become the eighth member of a breakaway group of Dems who were aligned in a leadership coalition with the chamber’s Republicans.
