Espaillat Announces Uptown Rally Against Dominican Xenophobia

UPDATE: 11:55 A.M., Wednesday

Rep. Adriano Espaillat's office told Patch that after significant community interest in the rally against Dominican xenophobia, they are rescheduling it from its originally announced time and location of 3 p.m. Sunday at the Plaza de la Americas at 651 West 175th Street.

Espaillat's office is expected to reveal the updated scheduling details for the event later on Wednesday. Patch will update this article when they do.

Espaillat deleted his tweets from Tuesday night announcing the Washington Heights rally against Dominican xenophobia on Sunday.

At 11:07 a.m. on Wednesday, he tweeted out a similar statement that does not reference a rally.

Acts of xenophobia against the Dominican community and its leaders are increasing throughout New York City – and it’s simply unacceptable.

My full statement: ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/7xfUKgIDpG
— Adriano Espaillat (@RepEspaillat) October 27, 2021

WASHINGTON HEIGHTS, NY — Late on Tuesday night, Rep. Adriano Espaillat announced a rally in Washington Heights this weekend to take a stand against the increasing "acts of xenophobia against the Dominican community and its leaders in New York City."

Espaillat took to Twitter to announce the event for Sunday at 3 p.m. at the Plaza de la Americas at 651 West 175th Street.

He sent the tweet out shortly after Republican mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa falsely claimed that Upper Manhattan Council Member Ydanis Rodriguez was not a citizen of the United States.

Rodriguez was born in the Dominican Republic and has been a U.S. citizen since 2000.

"Acts of xenophobia against the Dominican community and its leaders is increasing in New York City — and it's simply unacceptable," Rep. Adriano Espaillat tweeted. "From attacks on Ydanis calling him undocumented, calling members of our media "corrupt," and saying we don't deserve to call our neighborhood Little Dominican Republic, "Quisqueya Heights" - these are all manifestations of it, and they must end."

From attacks on @ydanis calling him undocumented, calling members of our media “corrupt”, and saying we don’t deserve to call our neighborhood Little Dominican Republic, “Quisqueya Heights” – these are all manifestations of it, and they must end.
— Adriano Espaillat (@RepEspaillat) October 27, 2021

Espaillat's reference to "calling members of our media 'corrupt'" comes one day after a report from THE CITY revealed that his campaign committees have paid nearly $15,000 to Spanish-language bloggers in exchange for hundreds of flattering articles.

The bloggers did not disclose in their writing that Espaillat was paying them. The arrangement was legal, but ethically questionable, according to THE CITY, which did not use the word "corrupt" in its report.

The report focuses on the blog Zabala al Dia, which is devoted in part to Dominican readers in Upper Manhattan.

Espaillat also mentions the ongoing debate about the congressman's previous resolution to change the name of Inwood, Washington Heights and Hamilton Heights to Quisqeuya Heights, which is one of the names in the Taino language for the island that is now Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

After months of feedback from the community, Espaillat revised the resolution earlier in October to no longer change the neighborhood's names, but still honor the contributions of Dominicans to the community.

We are united – and we won’t be fractured by racist attacks like these.

Join us this coming Sunday, October 31st at 3pm at the Plaza de las Americas, located at 651 West 175th Street.

We simply won’t stand for it, and we won’t be silent.
— Adriano Espaillat (@RepEspaillat) October 27, 2021