; 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