Abinader pledges government support for Dominican Historical and Cultural Museum in New York
New York.- President Luis Abinader said Friday that the Dominican government will explore ways to support the completion of the Dominican Historical and Cultural Museum in New York, a project designed to preserve and showcase the history and cultural contributions of Dominicans in the United States.
During a visit to the museum project, Abinader asked Congressman Adriano Espaillat and the management team to provide the project’s plans, design and a detailed financial request outlining the resources needed to complete the work.
The president described the museum as an initiative with historical, educational and tourism importance and said his administration would evaluate different options to support its completion.
“Send me what you need and we will contact you and Adriano to find ways to do it,” Abinader told those overseeing the project.
Museum to preserve Dominican history in the United States
Espaillat highlighted the museum’s importance to the Dominican community in New York and explained that it will be located in an area of Upper Manhattan and Inwood that forms part of the district recognized as the Dominican District in the Federal Register of Historic Districts.
The congressman said the area is home to a large Dominican population and estimated that approximately 500,000 Dominicans live between the western Bronx and Upper Manhattan.
The museum initiative dates back more than 20 years, when Espaillat first proposed its creation. The Institute of Dominican Studies later took up the project with the goal of developing an institution dedicated to preserving Dominican history and culture in the United States.
The project has institutional support from the City University of New York (CUNY) and is being developed as a university museum.
Museum project has raised US$38 million
According to project organizers, approximately US$38 million has been raised for the museum through contributions from government authorities and elected officials at different levels in New York.
The planned facility will feature five exhibition halls and spaces dedicated to different aspects of Dominican history and culture.
Among its planned features is a permanent oral history project that will collect testimonies from Dominicans who helped establish families, institutions and communities in the United States.
The museum will also include a children’s library focused on preserving the Spanish language, as well as spaces dedicated to baseball, Dominican sports, music and other cultural expressions.
Organizers say the project is intended to give younger generations of Dominicans born in New York and elsewhere in the United States an opportunity to learn about their heritage and the contributions of previous generations.
