The most populous Dominican neighborhoods in the United States may soon be recognized as historic areas by the National Register of Historic Places.
To prepare for this designation, the City College of New York’s CUNY Dominican Studies Institute has created an interactive digital map showing a high concentration of Dominicans in Washington Heights.
This map is already available for public use.
The proposed designation has gained support from the Historic Districts Council (HDC), which advocates for historic buildings and communities in New York City.
HDC has included Washington Heights on its annual list of historic neighborhoods requiring preservation attention.
Ramona Hernández, CUNY DSI director and a sociology professor at CCNY’s Colin Powell School for Civic and Global Leadership, explains that the Dominican presence in New York City dates back to 1613, with the arrival of Juan Rodriguez.
Today, northern Manhattan is known as the oldest cultural heartland of the Dominican people in the U.S.
The proposed historic district includes sections of Washington Heights, from 155th Street to Dyckman Street.
It is an area where Dominicans have lived for close to a century, establishing a prominent economic, cultural, and political presence.
The CUNY DSI is the nation’s first university-based research institute devoted to studying people of Dominican descent in the United States and other parts of the world.
Click here to see the interactive map.
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