; Whereas three-time Most Valuable Player (MVP) Alex Rodriguez and four-time Major League Baseball All-Star Dallin 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, Félix Sánchez’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 Hernández, 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