[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 77 Introduced in House (IH)]

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117th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 77

  Recognizing the Dominican community's presence and contributions to 
           Hamilton Heights, Washington Heights, and Inwood.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            February 1, 2021

   Mr. Espaillat (for himself, Mr. Castro of Texas, and Mr. Vicente 
   Gonzalez of Texas) submitted the following resolution; which was 
           referred to the Committee on Oversight and Reform

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
  Recognizing the Dominican community's presence and contributions to 
           Hamilton Heights, Washington Heights, and Inwood.

Whereas historically Hamilton Heights, Washington Heights, and Inwood have had 
        the highest concentration of residents of Dominican descent in New York 
        City, making it the center of Dominican culture in the United States;
Whereas the neighborhood continues to be an iconic hub and cultural center for 
        Dominicans, epitomizing the fusion of upper Manhattan and Dominican 
        culture;
Whereas referring to Washington Heights and Inwood as Wahi is perpetuating the 
        rebranding and erasure of the community's identity to appeal to an 
        incoming wave;
Whereas the cultural legacy of the Dominican community in the neighborhood must 
        be upheld to ensure it does not disappear;
Whereas Dominicans have been an integral part of the vibrant Hamilton Heights, 
        Washington Heights, and Inwood community since the 1960s, in all areas 
        including activism, advocacy, art, culture, literature, sports, 
        business, and government;
Whereas Hamilton Heights, Washington Heights, and Inwood have the highest 
        population of Dominican immigrants in New York City, and Dominicans make 
        up 63 percent of the immigrant population;
Whereas, in 1613, Juan Rodriguez, a man who migrated from the island of 
        Hispaniola, which is now known as the Dominican Republic and Haiti, was 
        the first immigrant, the first Black person, the first merchant, the 
        first Latino, and the first Dominican to have resided in metropolitan 
        New York;
Whereas Juan Pablo Duarte, the founding father of the Dominican Republic, has 
        been immortalized in the neighborhood by the renaming of St. Nicholas 
        Avenue to Juan Pablo Duarte Boulevard from 170th to 193rd Streets;
Whereas small businesses in Hamilton Heights, Washington Heights, and Inwood 
        continue to be fueled by Dominican entrepreneurs and loyal patrons, 
        creating a sense of community within local shops and restaurants;
Whereas Dyckman Street restaurants have witnessed a renaissance creatively 
        fusing Dominican cuisine with different cultures, such as Japanese and 
        Italian, and local staples, such as 809 Bar and Grill, Mamajuana, La 
        Nueva Espana, and La Casa Del Mofongo, continue to attract patrons from 
        the tri-State area to dine on traditional Dominican fare and visit the 
        lively neighborhood;
Whereas Dominican vendors continue to serve the public with fresh fruits and 
        foods from the Dominican culture in La Plaza de Las Americas and the 
        newly opened Uptown Plaza in Inwood, and line the sidewalks between 
        Broadway and Audubon Avenue, a tradition that embodies the hard-working 
        immigrant spirit of the neighborhood;
Whereas the National Supermarket Association and the Bodega Association of the 
        United States promote the creation of jobs and sustainable economic 
        growth in inner cities and Latino communities that have been overlooked 
        by large chains, such as Hamilton Heights, Washington Heights, and 
        Inwood;
Whereas professional associations, such as Dominicans on Wall Street (DOWS), the 
        Association of Dominican-American Supervisors and Administrators 
        (ADASA), the New York Dominican Officers Organization (NYDO), Dominican 
        Bar Association (DBA), Dominican Medical Association (DMA), and the 
        Dominican Medical-Dental Society (DMDS), highlight the contributions of 
        professional Dominicans nationwide to the development of their 
        communities;
Whereas the New York Yankees, an all-American baseball team, had its beginnings 
        in Washington Heights, baseball continues to be one of the main sports 
        in the neighborhood, and Dominican baseball players have brought great 
        pride and recognition to the sport;
Whereas three-time Most Valuable Player (MVP) Alex Rodriguez and four-time Major 
        League Baseball All-Star Dellin Betances of the New York Yankees, were 
        born in Washington Heights, and Manny Ramirez, the award-winning MVP and 
        twelve-time All-Star baseball player, moved from the Dominican Republic 
        to New York City where he attended George Washington High School in 
        Washington Heights and became a baseball prodigy;
Whereas the Dominican Republic has won six medals at the Olympics, including 
        Pedro Nolasco's bronze medal in boxing at the 1984 Summer Olympics and, 
        in 2004, Felix Sanchez's gold medal in the 400-meter hurdles;
Whereas Dominican cultural and educational activists organized to reverse 
        inequities in public schools within the area, and developed Gregorio 
        Luperon High School for Science and Mathematics to meet the needs of 
        immigrant Spanish-speaking adolescents and to create an inclusive 
        learning environment;
Whereas six schools in the area have been named after historic Dominican 
        figures: I.S. 218 Salome Urena, P.S. 132 Juan Pablo Duarte School, 
        Gregorio Luperon High School for Science and Mathematics, Mirabal 
        Sisters Campus, Professor Juan Bosch Public School, and P.S. 8 Luis 
        Belliard;
Whereas the Dominican Studies Institute of the City University of New York (CUNY 
        DSI) located in Hamilton Heights, founded by Dr. Silvio Torres-Saillant 
        and directed by the renowned Dominican sociologist Dr. Ramona Hernandez, 
        is the first university-based research institute in the United States 
        dedicated to the study of people of Dominican descent in the United 
        States and other parts of the world;
Whereas the area boasts of vibrant cultural centers and nonprofit organizations 
        founded and enriched by Dominican activists;
Whereas the Centro Civico Cultural Dominicano, a nonprofit community 
        organization, continues to build on the invaluable contributions of 
        Dominicans by engaging and empowering Dominican and Hispanic communities 
        locally;
Whereas the Dominican Women's Development Center has been a vital resource to 
        the Washington Heights and Inwood communities for over 25 years, 
        providing comprehensive services to marginalized women and families, and 
        serves as a haven for the artistic and activist expression of the 
        community's youth;
Whereas Dominican native Normandia Maldonado had a long history of activism in 
        Washington Heights where she cofounded the Instituto Duartiano of the 
        United States in 1966, the Dominican Day Parade, Inc., in 1983 with 
        Miguel Amaro, and the Centro Cultural Ballet Quisqueya in 1967, all of 
        which have helped the community with necessary resources and fostered a 
        connection with Dominican cultural roots through folklore dances and 
        celebrations;
Whereas Centro Cultural Deportivo Dominicano, a social club founded in 1966, 
        remains a longstanding pillar of the local community, where the sound of 
        traditional merengue tipico continues to expand the cultural roots of 
        the Dominican immigrant experience;
Whereas Alianza Dominicana was a leading Dominican organization in Washington 
        Heights and employed about 350 individuals, who provided support to 
        victims of domestic violence, the elderly, children with special needs, 
        along with alcoholism and drug treatment programs, and represented the 
        families of the Flight 587 tragedy;
Whereas the Dominican community was heavily involved in the advocacy and 
        restoration efforts to bring local parks back to life in the 1990s from 
        their state of neglect and vandalism, such as High Bridge Park, Inwood 
        Hill Park, Riverside Park, and Fort Tryon Park;
Whereas the legacy of upper Manhattan is being upheld by Dominican artists and 
        artists born to immigrant Dominican parents in Washington Heights, who 
        personify the blending of dynamic cultures that make up the 
        neighborhood's identity;
Whereas Dominican-American artists Lucia Hierro and M. Tony Peralta have both 
        been recognized internationally for their thought-provoking work 
        exploring the Dominican-American experience in intersecting areas of 
        class, culture, identity, and gender;
Whereas Dominican theater artist Mino Lora cofounded the People's Theater 
        Project, which provides creative youth development programs for children 
        growing up in the immigrant communities of upper Manhattan;
Whereas the story of Alexander Hamilton, founding father of Hamilton Heights, 
        was highlighted by Washington Heights native and second-generation 
        Puerto Rican Lin-Manuel Miranda in the critically acclaimed Broadway 
        show ``Hamilton'';
Whereas Lin-Manuel Miranda conceived ``In the Heights'', the Tony award-winning 
        musical set in Washington Heights, which incorporated salsa and merengue 
        with rap and hip-hop, blending them with more conventional Broadway 
        tropes, to successfully portray the multicultural and Dominican 
        influence in the neighborhood;
Whereas Alianza Dominicana Cultural Center serves as a hub for local artists who 
        enrich northern Manhattan through art and the celebration of Dominican 
        and Latin American culture, and this organization promotes literary, 
        performing, and visual arts programs in Washington Heights and Inwood 
        that foster the artistic development of the neighborhood's youth;
Whereas Cayena Publications is a publishing firm based in Washington Heights and 
        founded by Mary Ely Pena-Gratereaux that shines a light on the immigrant 
        experience by supporting literary works that project a positive 
        representation of Dominicans and other Latinos in the United States;
Whereas author and activist Angie Cruz is a native of Washington Heights whose 
        books, ``Soledad'' and ``Let It Rain Coffee'', highlight the issues of 
        working-class life, gender, and race in New York City;
Whereas the Dominican Film Festival in New York showcases filmmakers from 21 
        countries including the Dominican Republic who reflect the city's 
        diverse and multicultural population;
Whereas the Juan Pablo Duarte Foundation encourages academic excellence via 
        scholarships, along with pride and collaboration within the community by 
        hosting the annual El Carnaval Del Boulevard on St. Nicholas Avenue from 
        181st to 188th Streets;
Whereas Semana Dominicana en Estados Unidos (Dominican Week in the United 
        States) has been celebrated for 25 years, highlighting the Dominican and 
        United States ties socially and culturally, in addition to economic, 
        commerce, and academic collaboration;
Whereas the Dominican Day Parade in New York City has celebrated the vibrant 
        Dominican heritage through history, traditions, and music since its 
        beginnings in 1982 on Audubon Avenue, and now attracts thousands of 
        people who gather to enjoy the reverence of Dominican culture on the 
        Avenue of the Americas;
Whereas Dominican Americans have earned their place in local and Federal 
        Government, where they have fought to uphold the rights and liberties of 
        New York residents and the Nation overall;
Whereas Guillermo Linares became the first Dominican elected to public office in 
        New York City in 1991, who also served as President Bill Clinton's 
        Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans;
Whereas Adriano Espaillat is the first Dominican immigrant to be elected to the 
        New York State Assembly in 1996, and the first formerly undocumented 
        person elected to the United States Congress in 2016, representing New 
        York's 13th Congressional District which is predominantly Dominican 
        American;
Whereas Rolando Acosta was elected as the first Dominican-American New York 
        State Supreme Court Justice in New York County in 2002;
Whereas Judge Faviola Soto, who was born and raised in Hamilton Heights, was 
        appointed as the first Dominican judge in New York in 1993, and was the 
        first Hispanic to sit in the Court of Claims in 2006;
Whereas the character of Hamilton Heights, Washington Heights, and Inwood is 
        changing, as the area is undergoing cultural expulsion brought on by 
        gentrification, as evidenced by the massive increase in average income 
        in recent years;
Whereas the forces of gentrification have meant that more high-income people 
        have begun moving into Hamilton Heights, Washington Heights, and Inwood 
        while simultaneously longtime residents have been pushed out, as proven 
        by the fact that there were significantly fewer Hispanic residents in 
        these neighborhoods in 2015;
Whereas gentrification has meant that upper Manhattan is significantly less 
        affordable, and that Hamilton Heights, Washington Heights, and Inwood 
        have seen the biggest rent increases in all of New York City;
Whereas high rent is a significant burden on low-income Dominican families, who 
        are also being pushed out of the neighborhoods that they have called 
        home for generations;
Whereas longtime businesses, such as bodegas, have also been forced out of 
        Hamilton Heights, Washington Heights, and Inwood due to unaffordable 
        rents and the new influx of chain stores;
Whereas Hamilton Heights, Washington Heights, and Inwood are defined as the 
        10031, 10032, 10033, 10034, and 10040; and
Whereas referring to Hamilton Heights, Washington Heights, and Inwood as 
        Quisqueya Heights, as it has been colloquially referred to by the 
        community, honors the contributions of Dominicans to this area, and 
        reinforces the identity of the neighborhood: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) supports the renaming of Hamilton Heights, Washington 
        Heights, and Inwood to Quisqueya Heights in collaboration with 
        local officials to recognize the area as the cultural hub for 
        Dominican Americans across the Nation;
            (2) supports the engagement with Google, Wikipedia, Global 
        Positioning System applications, post offices, Metropolitan 
        Transportation Authority maps, and tourist maps to recognize 
        Hamilton Heights, Washington Heights, and Inwood as Quisqueya 
        Heights;
            (3) supports the fight against the gentrification of the 
        neighborhood that is threatening the identity of Hamilton 
        Heights, Washington Heights, and Inwood;
            (4) opposes the rebranding of the Washington Heights, and 
        Inwood neighborhoods to Wahi;
            (5) recognizes the Dominican community's contributions to 
        Hamilton Heights, Washington Heights, and Inwood; and
            (6) honors the long-standing history and rich contributions 
        of Dominican-American elected officials, artists, small 
        business and bodega owners, writers, and trailblazers.
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