; 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