New York, NY--On Sunday, March 9th, 2014, Council Member Ydanis Rodriguez will join the family of Sgt Jose Enrique Ulloa to co-name a street in Washington Heights in his honor. Sgt. Ulloa, known to friends and family as "Ricky," was killed in Sadr City, Iraq in 2008 by a roadside Improvised Explosive Device. Sgt. Ulloa was born in the Dominican Republic but came to the United States, growing up in Washington Heights.

 

After graduating from Washington Irving High School in New York City, Ricky signed up for the Army, eventually to be stationed in Germany as a truck driver for the 515th Transportation Company. In 2005, when an undermanned separate unit was scheduled to ship out to Iraq, they asked for volunteers from Sgt. Ulloa's company. He was the only person to raise his hand. It is for this courage and dedication to his country that Sgt. Ulloa's name will now have a permanent place in Washington Heights on the corner of 177th Street and Audubon Avenue.

 

Council Member Rodriguez, who put the bill forward to secure this co-naming in Sgt. Ulloa's honor, will be joined by NY State Senator Adriano Espaillat, NYS Assembly Member Gabriela Rosa and NYC Council Member Mark Levine. Sgt. Ulloa's family will be on hand to celebrate and remember his life.

 

What: Street Co-naming Ceremony for Sgt. Jose Enrique "Ricky" Ulloa

 

Who: Family of Sgt. Ulloa, Council Member Ydanis Rodriguez, State Senator Adriano Espaillat, Assembly Member Gabriela Rosa, Council Member Mark Levine

 

Where: West 177th St. and Audubon Avenue, Manhattan, New York

 

When: Sunday, March 9, 2014. Noon.