NEW YORK — A delegation of Dominicans from New York, led by Congressman Adriano Espaillat, the country’s first immigrant elected to the U.S. Congress, rang the bell Monday to open the session on the Nasdaq market, to mark the 179th anniversary of the independence of the Dominican Republic.
After the bell, in which the Minister of Finance, José Vicente, participated, together with the representatives of his country in Washington and New York, images of the Dominican flag and the emblematic character of the carnival, Diablo Cojuelo, paraded on the gigantic Nasdaq screen in Times Square.
The Dominicans, many carrying their flag or dressed in the red, blue and white colors of their national emblem, continued the celebration at the consulate, where a tribute was paid to Espaillat.
Once at the Consulate, the Minister of Finance praised the Dominican community, describing its members as “heroes” who do not forget their country. “They live with one foot here and the other there”, and despite all kinds of vicissitudes in the United States, they do not forget to send funds to their loved ones, he stressed.
“Dominicans have been an important presence in New York politics. Through their hard work, commitment and dedication to their communities, they have managed to become influential leaders and an example for many generations,” the consul said. Eligio Jaquez.
Espaillat, who before Congress was a member of the Assembly and then a state senator in New York, also thanked the first Dominicans who paved the way and recalled his grandparents who settled in 1950 in Upper Manhattan. , a neighborhood that has now become the Dominican neighborhood par excellence.
Highlighting the progress of the community, he recalled that two years ago six young Dominicans were elected to the municipal council. “We need more in the state legislature,” said the Dominican, first elected to the state assembly in 1996.
“It’s been a long road (to Congress), but I’m satisfied,” he said.
The city’s mayor, Eric Adams, joined the independence celebration with the commissioner of the Ministry of Transport, the Dominican Ydanis Rodríguez, to unveil the name of a square, on Dyckman Street, between the avenues Broadway and Seaman, in Upper Manhattan, such as Quisqueya Plaza.
In this act, Rodríguez announced an allocation of $7 million for the improvement of this public space, surrounded by restaurants, mostly owned by Dominicans, a park and a few steps from a metro station.
This is a street that was closed during the pandemic to be used by restaurants to serve the public and has become a meeting point for the community. Then it became a permanent place in 2021 and from today with this very Dominican name.
Last year, Espaillat introduced a resolution in Congress to change the name of the Washington Heights, Hamilton Heights and Inwood areas to Quisqueya Heights and become a “cultural center for Dominican-Americans nationwide.”