ALIANZA DOMINICANA NEW HEADQUARTERS

           New York, NY—On Friday, February 8^th, Kenneth J. Knuckles, President & CEO of the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone Development Corp. (UMEZ), joined by elected officials and representatives from Columbia University Medical Center and the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) helped break ground for the new 48,000 square foot, six-story Alianza Dominicana headquarters building in Washington Heights. 

           The Triangle Building will be constructed on the triangular lot on the intersection of Audubon and St. Nicholas Avenues and 166th Street.  The building will house for-profit businesses and non-profit community services.  In addition, the Triangle will be the home of the first Dominican/Latino cultural center in the United States, the Casa Afro-Quisqueya Cultural Center.  

Alianza Dominicana is the most comprehensive Dominican community development agency in the US and the leading authority on Dominican-Americans, the second-largest Latino community in New York State.  With 15 different sites in Northern Manhattan and the West Bronx and a budget of over $12 million, Alianza annually services more than 20,000 individuals citywide.

In addition to $2.5 million in funding from UMEZ, the Triangle Building is backed by a public/private partnership that includes major institutions such as Columbia University Medical Center and the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC).  The Triangle Building was designed by the famed architectural firm of Davis Brody Bond Aedas, partially financed by BPD Bank, and under construction by IBEX Construction.

            Knuckles said, "Since its inception in 1987, Alianza Dominicana, Inc. has established an outstanding and unparalleled track record in working to revitalize distressed neighborhoods through a range of programs and services that improve the lives of the Dominican community in Washington Heights. Now, with this new building, with several new and enhanced amenities, the organization will be able to do its work even better.  We are proud of our involvement in making it possible and wish Alianza Dominicana continued success in the future.”

            The project is also made possible thanks to the support of various elected officials including and foremost, NYC Councilman Miguel Martinez, Congressman Charles Rangel, State Senator Eric T. Schneiderman, U.S. Senators Hillary Clinton and Charles Schumer, Manhattan Borough President Scott M. Stringer and NYS Assemblyman Herman “Denny” Farrell.