Officials Break Ground on New Juan Bosch Plaza in Highbridge Park

Officials Break Ground on New Juan Bosch Plaza in Highbridge Park

November 17, 2011 6:20pm | By Carla Zanoni, DNAinfo Reporter/Producer

Highbridge Park will soon have a new plaza named after the Dominican writer and former president Juan Bosch once construction is completed in mid-2012. (Parks Department)

WASHINGTON HEIGHTS — Community officials gathered in the rain Thursday to commemorate the ground breaking of a new Highbridge Park plaza slated to open mid-year 2012.

Plans for Juan Bosch Plaza, named for the author and former president of the Dominican Republic during the 1960s, have been officially underway for five years but officially broke ground Thursday in the Fort George section of Washington Heights after years of searching for the ideal spot for the plaza.

“We’re moving forward and I am so proud to be here,” said Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez, who helped fund the $500,000 project through the City Council. The new plaza is part of the Parks Department's $97 million ten year restoration of Highbridge Park, which includes the restoration of the landmarked High Bridge.

Elected officials and representatives from the Dominican Republic who were in attendance during the groundbreaking said the new plaza, including the Dominican Ambassador to the United States, said the new plaza would celebrate the immigrant spirit of Washington Heights.

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