El Siglo newspaper introduces the new consul general of the Dominican Republic in New York City. Luis Eludis Pérez migrated to New York City in 1988. His first job was as a painter, then he worked as a plumber and his last job was as a superintendent at 501 Amsterdam Avenue, in the Bronx. He left that job in January 2000 to campaign for Mejía in New York City. He was appointed consul on 26 August 2000. Pérez plans to dedicate most of his time to finding and implementing ways to better serve the Dominican community in New York, as per instructions he said he received from President Mejía. He said he is working on developing community projects with Adriano Espaillat and Guillermo Linares, two of the most outstanding NY community leaders. Pérez is proud that the Consulate will soon be offering computerized passports. The passports will no longer be filled out by hand. He said that Luis J. Polanco, director of informatics at the Ministry of Foreign Relations installed the new system. Pérez promised a cut in the cost of Dominican passports issued in New York as of January 2001. He also announced that the Customs Department will be allowing expatriate Dominicans that have not visited in the past six months to bring tax exempt gifts for their relatives and friends when visiting as of 4 December through the end of the Xmas and New Year holidays. Prior to moving to NY, today Consul Pérez worked in the Human Resources department of the Ministry of Agriculture through 1986. The PRD was in power from 1978-1986. When the PRD lost the election in 1986, he migrated to the US. The news item highlights his humble background. In Santo Domingo he lived in the slum area of Guachupita, where he was a known activist for the PRD.
