For the past twenty years the Dominican community in Allapattah has been working on the little Santo Domingo project, but it hasn't really gotten anywhere. In January of this year Commissioner Gort of city of Miami District 1 gave The Aracena Foundation the project so that they can over see it. It is his hope to help the Dominican community have their representation in a community that was built by them, the same way he helped oversee The little Havana Project. As Dominicans, we should all feel obligated in making this cause a reality. In 1980 the McDuffie riots happened and turned Allapattah into a ghost town. All of the stores on 36th St. and up 17th ave closed and never opened again. A few years later a large influx of Dominicans came and rebuilt this ghost town and made it what it is today. The beauty salons, Quisqueya Travel, La Placita Dominicana, Club Tipico Dominicano, Dominican Promotion, Madrigal Express and La liga de softball Juan Pablo Duarte was started at Comstock park, which later became Juan Pablo Duarte Park. Dominican's brought stability back to the Allapattah community that had been abandoned by everyone else. Today Allapattah is being faced with gentrification, just like many other communities in our country. Wynwood which is our neighboring community was once home to a large Puerto Rican population in Miami. Today in 2019, there is n't one Puerto Rican flag left in a place that was once so rich with the Puerto Rican culture. The only thing left is the name of the park, Roberto Clemente, and who knows how long that will last. As Dominican's we must keep our culture in Allapattah alive. We can not allow our community to be the next Wynwood. Our community will change on our terms, and to benefit our community members. Please join us to make this goal a reality. Support The Little Santo Domingo project.