; 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 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