Uptown Block Named After Dominican Community Leader

WASHINGTON HEIGHTS-INWOOD, NY — Community leaders and local officials celebrated the life of a longtime Northern Manhattan activist by renaming a Washington Heights block in his honor.

The newly-named Rafael A Estevez Way was unveiled Sunday on West 183rd Street between St. Nicholas to Audubon avenues. Estevez was a community leader and advocate for Uptown's Dominican-American residents since he moved to New York City in the late 70s, those honoring him said.

Estevez balanced full-time work in construction with numerous activist causes. The advocate was a founder of the annual Dominican Day Parade — which now draws crowds of thousands to march through Manhattan — and the Dominican-based charity "Corazones Unidos."

Estevez's influence can also be felt in numerous places around Northern Manhattan. As president of the parent's association at PS 132 he led the effort to have it renamed after Dominican founding father Juan Pablo Duarte. Estevez also worked with neighborhood institution Yeshiva University to help the school redesign a portion of Amsterdam Avenue into a park for students and community members.

"He was a genuine activist and a special human being, who always exhibited great compassion and a strong desire to help anyone he could, particularly the less privileged and disadvantaged in his community. He was a pioneer in spearheading the advancement and fostering the progress of Dominicans in the United States, especially those residing in the Northern Manhattan communities," City Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez said in a statement.

Estevez was born in Santiago, Dominican Republic in 1939 and died in June 2012.