Yes, hurricanes and storms are almost always "no shows" here in Santo Domingo. A venezuelan once told me that DR is blessed, because everytime they say a hurricane is coming, it never comes. I guess there's a reason for that, and i think that the cordillera central mountain range has alot to do with it. Also Santo Domingo is in a very akward geographical position for storms that prevents us from recieving a direct hit.I find it interesting that Santo Domingo almost always gets spared the worst from hurricanes. There is a reason that the city has survived so well historically.
Of course there are honorable exceptions like David and Georges and more recently Noel, but in general they are few and far apart.
Florida and the Bahamas get the business far more often than DR. I wonder if its because they are located in the subtropical temperate zone (outside the tropic of cancer) and the coreolis effect is stronger the farther north you go (which would explain why storms tend to be so disorganized here in the caribbean).