Milagros Vicente - Valley Stream Mom of the Month

Milagros Vicente

It makes my job much easier when you find an individual as involved and vocal about community issues as this month's Valley Stream Mom of the Month.  If you haven't heard of Milagros Vicente, you've been living under a rock.  Her name is synonymous with the "Save the 5th Precinct" movement, a community effort to stop the closure of Valley Stream's police precinct.  Recently, she began advocating against the closing of four police precincts and went around the community with her children collecting signatures, and organizing community meetings and rallies.  Approximately 7,500 signatures later, "Save The 5th Precinct" has turned into a movement to keep residents informed and involved.  Milagros is also coordinating non-partisan voter registration drives, and informing residents of community events, including a vigil in honor of the Trevon Martin tragedy.

Milagros has lived in Valley Stream for four years and has wasted absolutely no time getting involved.  She has three children, Arianna (5), Tony (15), and Rafael (23).  One of her most memorable mommy moments is when her eldest son took his first steps with his walker.   Like most moms, her children keep her busy with dancing, drawing, scooting, biking, wheelchair baseball, wheelchair basketball, and wheelchair boccia ball.

On the weekend, you are most likely to catch Milagros at home or at a community event.  Just like me, she was at the opening of the Dog Park without a dog.  Now that's community support! A few interesting facts about her is that she has great time management skills, loves to clothes swap (which is becoming the new "it" thing), and really loves sports especially NFL football.  What a woman!

Her favorite part about being a mom is when her children tell her unexpectedly that they love her, and seeing them laugh.  Tear.  Her neighbors are her favorite part about living in Valley Stream as they look out for one another.  That's important especially with the closing of our precincts. 

When asked what one thing she would change about Valley Stream she says, "I would lower the fees the village has for North Valley Stream residents.  Our fees should not be as high as other non-Valley Stream residents.  Lowering North Valley Stream fees would encourage North Valley Stream residents to be more inclusive and supportive of the Village's initiatives."

Lastly, the advice she would give to mom's living in Valley Stream is to never let being a mom get in the way of what you want to do.  At the end of the day, your children will respect you more and learn from you.  Always raise your children with God in their heart.

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