Cuesta Brava board of residents is on a media tour to tell about the blatant environmental violations taking place as developers seek to build a major residential project in area off limits. Cuesta Brava is a northern Santo Domingo province residential area located with magnificent views of the Isabela River.
The residents complain that the City Hall of the National District (ADN) and the Ministry of Environment have bent in favor of the developers, despite the violation to the laws.
The Cuesta Brava Neighborhood Association, located in Arroyo Hondo, appealed to President Luis Abinader on Monday, 16 June 2025 to intervene and halt the “environmental disaster” occurring in the area. This disaster, they assert, is caused by the cutting of trees and the extraction of gravel and other materials for the construction of “Balcones de la Rivera,” a 144-apartment project that includes a commercial plaza.
The association stated their distrust of the investigation announced by the Environmental and Natural Resources Prosecutor’s Office. They cited multiple instances where they contacted the agency, but their complaints went unaddressed.
They are demanding the immediate halt of the project and a proper environmental impact study.
“That investigation should have been conducted before the construction of over 100 apartments began,” the organization stated, expressing that its members fear for their lives.
“They are destroying the green belt with the authorities’ permission,” they denounced.
The association also pointed out that the Urban Planning Department of the National District City Council (ADN) granted the project operators an “irregular permit.” They argue that regulations for Cuesta Brava only permit the construction of single-family homes.
The residents are urging Abinader to stop the ecological disaster in Cuesta Brava.
“The Ministry of Environment must demand an environmental impact statement to mitigate the environmental damage and to reforest the trees cut down on that hill, which no one inventoried and which they cannot continue to fell,” demand members of the Cuesta Brava Neighborhood Association.
They demanded that the “ADN revoke this land use permit, which is violating current regulation 02/2023 of the territorial planning plan.”
“We demand that the work be stopped immediately and that the developer present an environmental impact study in accordance with the regulations,” expressed the residents of Cuesta Brava.
They argue that this construction will cause serious damage to sensitive natural resources such as the Manzano river stream.
“The economic interests of a single developer cannot override the well-being of an entire community that will be affected, and not only the community but also all the biodiversity that thrives in this area, which had to flee in disarray, with nowhere to nest,” they explained.
They added that “if that hill is leveled, you are eroding the bank of the Manzano stream, putting it at risk, because that hill serves as a dike and prevents our homes from flooding.”
The organization stated that its directors fear for their lives due to intimidation tactics.
They reported that, recently, two trucks with armed guards carrying long guns arrived at the site in a threatening manner.
They insisted that President Abinader must intervene in the case because the “Ministry of Environment is not resolving anything.”
Read more in Spanish:
El Nacional
Diario Libre
17 June 2025