The president of the UBA said that they will support Dominican politicians in NY regardless of the party, although they have never given them the necessary support.
Radhames Rodriguez, president of the United Bodegas of America (UBA), said Thursday morning that of the 20,000 wineries in New York City, 12,000 are owned by Dominicans.
In an interview with Diario Libre USA, Rodriguez expressed that the bodegas are essential businesses in the different localities where they are located, and that they need the help of the authorities to be able to overcome the difficulties they face on a daily basis, such as the high cost of rents and the situations of violence that occur in their surroundings.
“We always have a lot of problems with rents, because they increase them excessively and we don’t have anyone who can solve that. It seems that the owners have very good relations with the authorities and they turn a blind eye,” said Rodríguez.
In spite of everything, this businessman, owner of several warehouses and related businesses, believes it is necessary to support Dominican politicians in New York and those who wish to be part of the city council after the next elections.
“We have never had that great support from the politicians that exist in New York. I think we are living historic moments in this city, where a large number of Dominicans are aspiring to political positions, and I think it is very important that we support them no matter what party they belong to,” said the bodeguero.
He assured that the number of Dominican candidates for political office in the Bronx has increased dramatically and that “we no longer have only Ydanis Rodriguez or our congressman Adriano Espaillat” to represent them, and he considers that there are very good candidates in both parties.
“There is a large number of Dominicans campaigning and who are also struggling to obtain a place in the state, and what we want is to be well represented by them, and perhaps at that time we can have better help in relation to all the difficulties that we small traders face,” says the Dominican.
Sale of Dominican products
The president of UBA indicated that the amount of Dominican products sold in the bodegas has increased significantly and that they are not only consumed by Dominicans, but also by people of other nationalities.
“In my case, I have warehouses in places where not many Puerto Ricans and African-Americans live and they buy everything from guarina cookies to Dominican oil, which is now being imported a lot,” he said.
Radhamés explained that the country has a large market in New York, since articles from other continents arrive in the city, which are also produced in the Dominican Republic and could be used.
“We have always discussed this case with the authorities so that Dominican products can arrive in greater quantities here and that the country brand is more exposed. We can say that there are products such as pineapple, which arrive from Iceland and I would say that they have nothing to send to the one produced in the DR, hopefully the authorities take that into account,” said the winemaker.
Source:
