{"id":360620,"date":"2026-09-30T09:22:43","date_gmt":"2026-09-30T09:22:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/360620\/"},"modified":"2026-09-30T09:22:43","modified_gmt":"2026-09-30T09:22:43","slug":"dominican-president-luis-abinader-makes-historic-visit-to-brooklyn-brooklyn-paper","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/360620\/","title":{"rendered":"Dominican President Luis Abinader makes historic visit to Brooklyn \u2022 Brooklyn Paper"},"content":{"rendered":"

History was made Sept. 24, when Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso \u2014 the first citywide Beep with Dominican roots \u2014 welcomed Luis Abinader, president of the Dominican Republic, to Brooklyn Borough Hall, celebrating the longstanding ties between the Dominican Republic and Brooklyn, which is home to more than 100,000 Dominican residents.<\/p>\n

The visit marked the first official state visit by a Dominican president to Brooklyn. About 200 Dominican-American Brooklynites filled the historic courtroom on the second floor of Borough Hall. Reynoso, the son of two Dominican immigrants, said he was \u201cincredibly\u201d honored to welcome President Abinader to Brooklyn.<\/p>\n

Reynoso was born and raised in Los Sures, a Williamsburg neighborhood with a large Dominican population.<\/p>\n

\"\"Dominican-American Brooklynites were excited to welcome President Abinader to Brooklyn. Photo by Gabriele Holtermann \"\"Dominican-American Brooklynites were excited to welcome President Abinader to Brooklyn. Photo by Gabriele Holtermann<\/p>\n

In recognition of the Dominican diaspora\u2019s contributions to Brooklyn and to commemorate President Abinader\u2019s visit, Reynoso declared Sept. 24, 2026, D\u00eda del Orgullo Dominicano, or Dominican Pride Day, in Brooklyn.<\/p>\n

\u201cPresident Abinader\u2019s visit affirms what the Dominican Diaspora has long understood\u2013that Dominicans play an essential role in shaping the culture, economy, and identity of Brooklyn,\u201d Reynoso said. \u201cI am tremendously grateful to President Abinader for making history as the first Dominican President to visit our borough, and I am proud to declare today as D\u00eda del Orgullo Dominicano as we continue to strengthen the bonds between Brooklyn and the Dominican Republic.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Brooklyn Borough President Reynoso presented Dominican President Abinader with a proclamation. Photo by Gabriele Holtermann \"\"Brooklyn Borough President Reynoso presented Dominican President Abinader with a proclamation. Photo by Gabriele Holtermann<\/p>\n

Reynoso highlighted the Dominican Republic\u2019s growth during Luis Abinader\u2019s presidency. Abinader, a businessman with a net worth exceeding $70 million, according to Bloomberg L\u00ednea<\/a>, was first elected in 2020 and won his reelection bid in 2024.<\/p>\n

The Brooklyn Beep said that since 2020, the president has worked to eradicate hunger, improve security and drive investment to develop the Dominican Republic\u2019s economy.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom the Santiago Monorail to the Plaza de la Bandera Tunnel, you are creating new infrastructure to improve lives, unite Dominicans, and usher in an era of modernity that our parents only dreamed of,\u201d Reynoso told Abinader.<\/p>\n

President Abinader, who was in town for the 81st Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), where he delivered his speech<\/a> on Sept. 23, spoke about the achievements and successes of Dominicans living in Brooklyn.<\/p>\n

He thanked them for the support they provide to the Dominican Republic through \u201cremittances, investments, and aid to their families,\u201d assuring that his country will always be grateful to the community abroad.<\/p>\n

According to a research study<\/a> by the CUNY Dominican Studies Institute, 700,000 Dominicans live in New York City, making it home to the largest Dominican community in the United States.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are proud of you, of your achievements, and of your successes,\u201d Abinader stated.<\/p>\n

\"\"Dominican President Luis Abinader expressed his pride in the achievements and successes of Dominican-Americans. Photo by Gabriele Holtermann \"\"Dominican President Luis Abinader expressed his pride in the achievements and successes of Dominican-Americans. Photo by Gabriele Holtermann<\/p>\n

The president recalled his family ties to New York and said he was all too familiar with the lives and hard work of the diaspora. He highlighted Reynoso as an example of the advancement achieved by new generations of Dominicans and noted the diaspora\u2019s growing participation in business, institutions, politics and culture.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know what you have done, and I also know how U.S. officials speak of and admire the Dominican community for its contributions, its entrepreneurial spirit, and its progress,\u201d Abinader said. \u201cI am so glad I came to Brooklyn.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jes\u00fas V\u00e1squez Mart\u00ednez, the consul general of the Dominican Republic in New York, also attended the visit. He noted that Abinader\u2019s presence in Brooklyn reaffirmed close ties with a borough where thousands of Dominicans have built homes, established businesses, created jobs and contributed to economic development.<\/p>\n

Abinader and V\u00e1squez Mart\u00ednez described Reynoso as the embodiment of the aspirations of the many families who came to New York seeking a better future for their children before presenting him with a commemorative plaque.<\/p>\n

\"\"Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso welcomed President of the Dominican Republic Luis Abinader to Brooklyn for a historic visit celebrating the deep ties between the borough and the Dominican community. Photo by Gabriele Holtermann \"\"Dominican President Abinader greets Dominican Americans at a historic visit to Broooklyn. Photo by Gabriele Holtermann<\/p>\n

Dominican American Brooklynite Julio Herrera told Brooklyn Paper that the visit was the culmination of decades of hard work and sacrifice by the Dominican diaspora.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a Dominican who is born and raised in Brooklyn, and for I think for myself and the community at large, it is. It is very, for lack of better words, vindicating to see the contributions of the Dominican diaspora be fully recognized, and it\u2019s important that no matter if we\u2019re first, second, third generation, you know, we always remember our roots and what connects us,\u201d Herrera said.<\/p>\n

Brooklyn High School of the Arts student Sasha Marte Suarez had the honor of singing the Dominican and American anthems. She told Brooklyn Paper she was \u201cshocked\u201d when she learned she would perform in front of the Dominican president.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was confusing, but it just felt exciting, just so nice and exciting to be part of something with my culture because I\u2019m extremely proud of it,\u201d said Marte Suarez, who was born in the Dominican Republic.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"History was made Sept. 24, when Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso \u2014 the first citywide Beep with Dominican…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":360621,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[98,13005,21313,100,99,134012,134013,134014,134015,13779,134011,134016,9,24,12,370,63],"class_list":["post-360620","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-brooklyn","tag-brooklyn","tag-brooklyn-borough-hall","tag-brooklyn-borough-president-antonio-reynoso","tag-brooklyn-headlines","tag-brooklyn-news","tag-dominican-american","tag-dominican-diaspora","tag-dominican-president-luis-abinader","tag-dominican-pride-day","tag-dominican-republic","tag-du00eda-del-orgullo-dominicano","tag-jesu00fas-vu00e1squez-martu00ednez","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-news","tag-newsletter","tag-nyc"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/360620","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=360620"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/360620\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/360621"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=360620"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=360620"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=360620"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}