Walther Delgado Way (Manhattan)
Present name:None
Location:At the southwest corner of 207th Street and Post Avenue
Honoree: Walther Delgado (d. 2012) was born in the Dominican Republic and came to New York's Washington Heights when he was 11 years-old. He saw a neighborhood with much promise but plagued with inequality and lack of access to education, housing and economic development. He made it his life mission to fill the gap through community actions. He was on the steering committee that founded both Alianza Dominicana and the Audubon Partnership. Alianza Dominicana was an agent for change in the community in the 1990s. It offered the first drug treatment program in the neighborhood, access to immigration lawyers, and so much more. The majority of his efforts, however, were spent on launching the Audubon Partnership based in Inwood, which allowed residents of Washington Heights and Inwood access to development services through lending and business advocacy classes. His goal was to teach residents how to help themselves, so that immigrants could create a fruitful, sustainable, and equitable livelihood. In 1998, the federally financed Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone provided his organization with a $750,000 revolving loan to fund commercial development within Community Board 12. As a result, many small businesses were begun which still function today. From 1998 until 2002, he served on the community board and eventually as the board Chair. In 2003, he helped create Sherman Creek Park. (Rodriguez)
LL:2021/14