reached its peak when 75,000 people left the island. Operation Bootstrap ("Operación Manos a la Obra") is the name given to the ambitious projects which industrialized Puerto Rico in the mid-20th century engineered by Teodoro Moscoso. The attracted industry did not provide sufficient job opportunities. With increased population growth and displacement from traditional labor pursuits, the growing population could not be accommodated. Much of the surplus labor migrated to the United States. In 1948, Puerto Ricans elected their first governor Luis Muñoz Marín, who together with his government initiated a series of social and economic reforms with the introduction of new programs in the island. Some of these programs met some resistance from the American government and therefore, the local government had some trouble implementing the same. New York Mayor Robert F. Wagner, Jr. began a campaign to recruit Puerto Rican laborers in the island to work in the city's factories. Mayor Wagner figured that the city would benefit greatly by the luring of what was considered to be "cheap labor". Discrimination was rampant in the United States and it was no different in New York. As stated by Lolita Lebrón, there were signs in restaurants which read "No dogs or Puerto Ricans allowed". The Puerto Rican Nationalist Party established an office in New York in the 1950s and attracted many migrants. Leaders of the party conceived a plan that would involve an attack on the Blair House with the intention of assassinating United States President Harry S. Truman and an attack on the House of Representatives. These events had a negative impact on the Puerto Rican migrants. Americans viewed Puerto Ricans as anti-Americans and the discrimination against them became even more widespread. Many Puerto Ricans were able to overcome these obstacles and became respected members of their communities. Many such as Antonia Pantoja, established organizations such as "ASPIRA", that helped their fellow countrymen to reach their goals. In 1954, a group of politicians close to Carmine Gerard DeSapio, then the leader of Tammany Hall, chose Tony Méndez to lead the eastern section of the district, known as the 14th Assembly District. He was chosen by the group, which was also known as the Democratic County Committee, because in those days there was no direct election of district leaders. Plus, the influx of Puerto Ricans moving to the 14th Assembly District, in which East Harlem is located, replaced the members