Peralta has lived in Queens for over 25 years. Peralta is a product of the public school system in Queens – having attended elementary school PS 14, Intermediate School 61- Leonardo Da Vinci, Flushing High School, and finally Queens College.

Peralta’s interest in representing issues of concern to his community was demonstrated by his active participation in student government at Queens College, where he became the first Latino Student Body Vice President and subsequently the first Latino Student Body President. He also represented over 200,000 students within the CUNY system as a member of the University Student Senate in which he held the positions of Vice Chair of Legislative affairs and Vice Chair of Fiscal affairs.

After graduating from Queens College, Peralta began working with the New York State Assembly, as a community liaison.

Peralta then served as the Director of the Commission on the Dignity for Immigrants at the New York City Labor Council, representing over 1.5 million union members.

Peralta has dedicated his tenure to fighting for the rights of working men and women in the state of New York in order to improve their quality of life. Peralta has been at the forefront of providing affordable health care coverage to thousands in his district through the child and family health plus programs, as well as, providing and fighting for the community’s fair share of health care dollars for the local hospital, Elmhurst Hospital, and its many surrounding clinics. Peralta has also passed legislation to allow the employer to post valuable health care coverage information on the child and family health plus programs at the worksite. Peralta has improved his constituent’s quality of life by spearheading the Operation Impact programs in the district and insuring that over 70 new police officers patrol the streets of his community every year a new police class graduates. He has brought in the Guardian Angels to assist the police with the growing gang epidemic. The Guardian angels were at first to be thought of as a bit controversial, but Peralta believed in their method and it has turned out to be a huge success, so much so, that other elected officials have inquired about the Guardian Angels patrolling their neighborhoods.

Peralta has also been a leading advocate in protecting the rights of new Americans by insuring that those who have come here to live the American Dream and work hard get the respect they deserve. Peralta has worked tirelessly on discrimination cases, the Department of Motor Vehicle (DMV) driver’s license issue, the Licensed Money Transmitter issue, and many, many more important issues that affect New Americans. Peralta has worked very hard to fight against tuition hikes and elimination of opportunity programs like, HEOP and EOP for the higher education students at CUNY and SUNY. Peralta has also insured that he continues to fight to get the necessary dollars through the Campaign for Fiscal Equity (CFE) campaign for our NYC schools. Peralta has gone above and beyond his call of duty by securing hundreds of thousands of dollars for the local schools in his district and insuring that the children in these schools get a quality education. Peralta has also led the way in securing capital investments to improve the number 7 train railroad tracks. Peralta is also proud of the community investments he has made to local community non-for-profits groups and sports leagues. Peralta has not forgotten his labor roots and has been a champion for those working men and women who have been discriminated against and have lost their jobs by fighting for their cause and working for the return of their positions through the union that represented them or through their employer. Peralta played a crucial role in the fight to increase the minimum wage in the New York State. Peralta knows and understands that he represents the "United Nations" of all Assembly districts, thus he has worked to insure that all ethnic groups that he represents work together and are educated on their rights. Peralta appreciates the rich culture that each group brings to the district and continues to foster a balance of learning, understanding and respect for each other. Peralta has taken on the challenge of providing for those many times forgotten seniors that have worked so hard to make this state and country what it is today, by insuring that their home aide programs and senior centers are well funded and that their quality of life is not diminished. Peralta has tackled scam artists that prey on immigrants, seniors and all constituents alike. Peralta has also brought in the DOE FUND to clean up the streets in his district down Roosevelt and 37th Avenues to supplement the Sanitation department’s daily effort.

Peralta is and was a member of various community organizations such as the Dominican American Society, the Gran Alliance of Queens, The Dominican American Hispanic Congress, Community Board 3, and the Inter-American Political and Civic Parliament. He was also a member of Local 153 OPEIU. Peralta is married to his lovely wife Evelyn and has two children, Matthew and Myles.