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"She was my daughter, she was my companion, partner in crime,” Chelsea resident Lenny Rosado said. “She was my best friend. She was everything to me, she was my everything."

On October 11th, everything was taken away from Rosado. His 11 year-old daughter, Leandra was one of seven children being driven to a slumber party in the Bronx by a friend's mom. The mother, Carmen Huertas, accused of driving while intoxicated, flipped her van over on the Henry Hudson Parkway.

Several children were injured, Leandra was killed.

“I am feeling loss, I am feeling loss for my daughter,” Rosado said. “I am feeling pain.”

The incident came just 2.5 months after a mother allegedly driving drunk and stoned in Westchester killed herself and seven others, four of them children, generated indignation, and in Rosado, a swift call to action.

"I am going to step out of my way to go to City Hall and go to Congress,” he said. “And even if I have to take a bus to the White House to meet with Mr. Obama, there's got to be a bigger penalty for drunk driving."

Rosado’s determination proved hard to resist, and he caught the attention of the New York State Legislature, which for most of the year could not agree on anything; on this legislation, both houses couldn't agree more.

“Whether with children in the car or outside of the car and taking a life, that my daughter’s name and her death will make a difference from here and on,” said Rosado.

In November, just five weeks after his daughter's death, the Legislature passed a bill which makes driving while intoxicated with a child, 15 years or younger in the car, a felony and mandates that those convicted of DWI must have a device installed in their cars to test their blood alcohol level before they can drive.

Lenny Rosado was on hand for the signing ceremony.

“I appreciate that everyone got together here put aside all politics and bonded together like human beings,” he said.

Just weeks on the books, Leandra's law, one of the toughest DWI measures in the nation, is already paying dividends, snaring intoxicated motorists, and preventing others from getting behind the wheel.

And so NY1 salutes Lenny Rosado for turning his grief into a goal, and with perseverance, making it his mission to save as many children from his daughter's fate as possible. His action and continued advocacy makes Lenny Rosado NY1’s New Yorker of the Year.

If you'd like to nominate someone to be NY1's New Yorker of the Week, send an email describing their qualifications to: nyer@ny1.com or mail a letter to:

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