Puerto Rican-born lawmaker Melissa Mark-Viverito made history on Wednesday as the first Latina and first person of color to serve as New York City Council Speaker.

"This is a historic moment," said Councilman Ritchie Torres (D-Bronx), who formally nominated Mark-Viverito for speaker, calling her "someone who has never hesitated to speak truth to power," the New York Daily News reports.

Referred to as "a fiery liberal who helped form the City Council's Progressive Caucus," by the New York Times, "giving Mayor Bill de Blasio a partner at the controls of the legislative branch who shares his ideology and much of his agenda."

The 44-year-old Puerto Rican-born lawmaker from East Harlem becomes the first Hispanic to hold what is New York City's second-most-powerful office. The vote was unanimous, 51 to 0.

"After a bitter fight, in which Mr. de Blasio played an outsized role, Ms. Mark-Viverito's lone challenger, Daniel R. Garodnick of Manhattan, formally conceded on the floor of the Council chamber shortly after 1 p.m., acknowledging the tense battle but saying, 'I will do my part to resolve any rifts this process may have caused among us,'" The New York Times adds.

Garodnick supporters, including the powerful Queens Democratic Party leader, Representative Joseph Crowley, "were working furiously to try to sway votes to their side" late into Tuesday night, but by Wednesday morning, they came to the realization that they didn't have the votes needed to claim a victory. Yet, the final decision still came down to the wire -- and it "remained unclear until half an hour after the Council meeting was supposed to start" whether Garodnick's supporters would give their votes to Mark-Viverito or rise up in opposition.

At 11:40 a.m., Mark-Viverito, accompanied by 30 supporters, arrived at City Hall. While the Mark-Viverito camp "voiced confidence they had the votes to win," they quietly expressed that there was still uncertainity as to if the vote would be unanimous.

At 12:30 p.m., Garodnick and his supporters finally arrived -- and upon arrival Garodnick walked up to Mark-Viverito and embraced her, to a roar of applause from fellow colleagues. Then council members from both sides hugged it out.

According to The New York Times, the result of the race represents a victory for de Blasio, who lobbied council members to vote for Mark-Viverito, for the Working Families Party, and for several labor unions, particularly 1199 S.E.I.U., the health care workers' union, which put its weight behind Mark-Viverito as soon as de Blasio was elected.