Governor Hochul Celebrates Annual Dominican Day Parade and Highlights Recent Efforts to Strengthen Ties Between New York and the Dominican Republic

 

Governor Met With President Luis Abinader of the Dominican Republic To Discuss Opportunities For Economic And Cultural Collaboration

Announces Banco de Reservas de la Republica Dominicana Approved to Open Representative Office in New York, First-Ever in the United States

Highlights $1.5 Million For Dominican Studies Institute At City College (CUNY DSI)

Signs Legislation S.4329-A /A.3935-A Authorizing Department of Motor Vehicles to Allow People to Exchange Their Valid Overseas License for a New York Driver’s License If Agreement Is Reached With Foreign Government

Ahead of the Dominican Day Parade, Governor Kathy Hochul today celebrated New York’s Dominican community and highlighted the close ties between New York and the Dominican Republic. Governor Hochul met with Dominican President Luis Abinader, announced that the Dominican Republic’s largest commercial bank was approved to open a representative office in New York, highlighted $1.5 million in State funding for the Dominican Studies Institute at City College and signed new legislation allowing the Department of Motor Vehicles to reach agreements with governments outside the United States that could allow individuals to exchange their driver’s licenses.

"New York wouldn't be New York without our Dominican community," Governor Hochul said. "Today and every day, I am so grateful to the Dominican community for their work in making New York State a better place and will continue to work to ensure that New York remains a great place for Dominican Americans to call home."

Governor Hochul met with Luis Abinader, President of the Dominican Republic as well as Congressman Adriano Espaillat and other Dominican officials. The leaders had a productive conversation, discussing the many opportunities for cultural and economic collaboration between New York State and the Dominican Republic. Governor Hochul expressed her commitment to be a strong partner to the Dominican Republic and to the large Dominican population that calls New York home.

To strengthen the bond between the Dominican Republic and New York, the Department of Financial Services has approved a license for Banco de Reservas de la Republica Dominicana, or Banreservas, to open a representative office in New York, their first-ever office in the United States. Banreservas is the largest commercial bank in the Dominican Republic and provides a wide range of critical banking services and financial products, including remittance services. The office will serve as a hub to build community and business connections between the Dominican Republic and New York City.

Banreservas joins over 120 foreign and wholesale banking institutions with assets of more than $2.7 trillion that have been licensed by the department. The approval of this representative office, located in Upper Manhattan at 2420 Amsterdam Avenue, puts Banreservas in the world’s financial epicenter and enhances the deep economic ties between New York State and the Dominican Republic.

Home to nearly one million people of Dominican descent, New York State has been working to strengthen the bond between the Dominican Republic and the United States. The Dominican Studies Institute at City College (CUNY DSI) is the nation's first university-based research institute devoted to the study of people of Dominican descent in the United States and other parts of the world. This year, Governor Hochul announced that CUNY DSI will receive $1.5 million to support ongoing operations and initiatives to preserve the culture and history of Dominican New Yorkers.

Additionally, Governor Hochul signed Legislation S.4329-A /A.3935-A which authorizes the DMV to enter into agreements with governments outside of the United States to allow new residents from those countries to exchange their valid license for a valid New York driver’s license, without passing any knowledge or road test. The DMV must determine that the other country in the agreement has a “comparable licensing process” including knowledge and road testing.

The law sets requirements for the agreements, including that the exchange would only apply to drivers over the age of 18; that it would apply only to standard licenses, not commercial licenses or motorcycle licenses; and that parties to the agreement must confirm through designated officials that the applicant has a valid license to exchange. License reciprocity would be subject to the timing of the executed agreement between DMV and the foreign government.