Immigration in New York
History
394: class and Urban Culture in America
Beal,
Thomas. Prof
Clevend
Rogers
History
394
I was
born 23 years ago in the Dominican Republic, an island located in the Greater
Antilles. There is a saying from my country that goes "Mi tiera mi
corazon" meaning my country my love, which explain exactly how I felt
about the Dominican Republic. To me the Island of Santo Domingo is the greatest
in the World; there are beautiful people, gorgeous weather and all the mangoes
I could have eaten. Then one day my parents gave me the bad news, they were
moving to this place called New York, they told my brother and me that they
would send for us later. That was 12 years ago and now here I am living in New
York, the greatest city in the world, next to my Santo Domingo. When I was
younger New York seemed as big as the world, I often heard my parents talked about
how New York had so many jobs, and was the richest place in the world. I could
not wait to see how this place was. No
one told me that New York had a crime rate higher than the Empire state
building, no one told me that certain New Yorkers would hate me because of my
color, no one told me how New York eats one of it's children, for every orphan
it took in.
As a
first generation immigrant this topic is dear to my heart, because I know it
first hand. This paper will deal with the history of immigration in New York,
specifically the later part of the twentieth century. I will look at the
history of this great city and how it impacted us, and how Immigrants have
contributed to its mystique, color and vibrancy. I will also discuss specific
neighborhoods, the people who live there, and their impact on the economy. I will also discuss the recent
anti-immigration trend like Proposition 187.
The
middle colonies had a well-earned reputation for cultural diversity, and no
colony or town was so racially and ethnically mixed as New Amsterdam, founded
by the Dutch in 1625. The Netherlands permitted so many non-Dutch to settle
there, because few Danes desired to leave their country. Thus the Dutch East India Company recruited
settlers from a number of European countries and transported African slaves. In
1664 the British seized New Amsterdam and renamed it New York, the city
retained its remarkable mix of people. It is only fitting that New York would
become the most diverse city in the world.
At
the turn of the 20th century, New York was and is still is the preeminent
American city and Gotham
represented the "new
metropolis." there were millions of European Immigrants coming to New
York, the city was at its peak. Men like Rockefeller, Carnegie and others help
turn the city into a bustling Metropolis. Immigration was the epicenter of New
York. Since the colonial period much of New York's growth has resulted from
immigration, both from other States and from abroad.
Before
the American Revolution the Dutch, English, Scots and Germans were the primary
settlers; they were followed in the first half of the 19th century
by New Englanders spreading across developing Parts of upstate New York and
into Westchester and northern long Island. The influx of European immigrants came
first from Northern and Central part of Europe and later from southern
countries. While often not educated, they came in large numbers; Italians came
by the millions, next were Jews who came from Russia, Poland and Romania. This
great migration included significant numbers, among them Ukrainians, Slovaks,
Poles, Croatians, Serbs and other Slavic Groups. Beginning with so little and
facing a considerable amount of prejudice, many immigrants found life hard in
New York.
They
were jammed into foul-smelling tenements Apartments, sometimes four or five in
a room; it's seemed
that
the more things change the more they remained the same. Under such conditions, disease or poor
health was common. Slowly they began to improve their standard of living. Many
immigrants were still not satisfied with the social and political agenda of the
mainstream politicians, some began to organize and form local clubs to voice
their opinions.
So
immigration to New York went as follow between the periods of 1607 to 1832 the
majority of immigrant were of Scottish or Irish decent, they mainly migrated to
New York because of the potato famine that killed over a million people. It was
not until the 1840's did wave and wave of immigrant were deposited on American
shores from practically every country in Europe. The tide began to change after
1890, when the majority of immigrants were from Southern and Eastern Europe.
These people included mostly Italians, Russian Jews, Greeks, Slavs and Eastern
European Jews. The one thing that these immigrants had in common, was they were
all dealing with economic and social hardship from their homelands. Most of
them were looking for political freedom, religious tolerance and economic
opportunities, one of these groups were the Russian Jews who migrated in
massive numbers due to widespread
persecution.
Progroms were started, Jewish villages were terrorized and growing civil
restrictions severely cut down the amount of opportunities available to
Jews. To them America (New York) with
its tradition of religious tolerance, came calling. By the 1920's Jews in New York City began to move into the School
system. By World War II, Jews, Italians, Greeks, Poles and others were steadily
moving up into politics. After World
War II, Europe was devastated, and face economic ruin. Most of these people
also faced social hardships.
Also
after the war Congress and the president modified the restrictions they had
installed in the 1920's to curtain the flow of immigration, making it possible
for a growing number of Immigrants to come to America. Specifically European
Jews that were trying to escape the Anti-Semitism that was rampant in Europe. A
group Known as the new immigrants also came. New immigrants are usually
considered to be those who have arrived since 1965, but it is not just the date
of their arrival that makes them different from "old" immigrant who
came in record numbers at the turn of the century.
Old
immigrants were overwhelmingly Europeans whereas today's new arrivals come
Mainly from the third world,
especially the West Indies, Latin
America and Asia. The Majority of
Immigrants in the 50's, 60's came mostly from Asia. These Asian immigrants had knowledge of the United States gained
from American troops stationed overseas, with the advent of technology and
modern communication it became relatively easy to come to the U.S.
The
first were Korean immigrants, they were usually medical professionals or war
bride from the Korean War, although not many they formed a large part of the
Korean immigrants living in New York City.
Other
Asian immigrants were mostly from the Philippines and East Asia; of the post-
1945 immigrants no group was so well educated as Asian Indians were. By 1990,
they were practicing medicine and thousands more were computer experts,
scientists, or engineers. Some also went into business operating newsstands or
owning motels and restaurants in the city.
However after the war Mexican Immigrants began entering the United
State. Other Hispanics also began making the Journey north, they were
Guatemalans, Nicaraguans, and Salvadorans, many of these new Immigrants would
settle in Queens.
Around
the middle of the 20th century the majority of the people that came
to New York, were primarily from Latin America and Asia. Haitians were also starting
to enter the country. When some of their bids for political Asylum were denied,
they began to enter illegally. My father is Haitian and he had the misfortune
to live not only under a cruel dictatorship, but also the poorest country in
the Western Hemisphere. English speaking West Indian nations, such as Jamaica,
and Trinidad and Tobago, also sent growing numbers of immigrants to the United
States after 1965, as did the Spanish speaking Dominican Republic. Today the
people that immigrate to New York in the largest numbers are mainly from these
countries: Mexico, China, India, The Dominican Republic, Vietnam, Jamaica and
Korea and some others in smaller numbers. There has also been a steady increase
of immigrants from the former soviet block countries. As I mentioned before,
the vast majority of today's immigrants are from the Caribbean and what would
classify as the third world. Most of these immigrants live in enclaves around
New York City.
Like
the immigrants of the past, these new immigrants frequently formed communities
of their owned, with Three-Quarters of them settling in New York. They listened
to foreign language and Radio programs and read ethnic newspapers and
magazines. Muslims from Pakistan and the Middle East and Korean Christians
revitalized Many Protestant Churches. Many of the new immigrants opened
restaurants and shops catering not only to their fellow countrymen, but also to
Americans. Immigrants have revitalized
many decaying neighborhoods. These next
paragraphs will explore four specific neighborhoods and the impact that the
immigrants had on them.
The
first significant immigrant community is flushing, Queens. Walking down Main street or Roosevelt
Avenue, one is immediately struck by the liveliness of this neighborhood. There is an enormous retail
center in the middle neighborhood making Flushing one of the fastest growing
neighborhoods in New York City. Many long time residents have observed that
this place was actually run down in the seventies with its high Commercial
vacancies. On first impression it is easy to see that the majority of Flushing
residents are of Asian decent. There are many signs advertising in Korean, and
crowds of people conversing in Korean. Although Koreans form the majority, upon
closer observation one starts to realize that the ethnic makeup of the
businesses are quite mixed. There is a
concentration of Indian and Pakistani stores on Main Street, Korean stores on
Union Street, and Chinese businesses on Roosevelt Avenue.
The
next is East Flatbush, a neighborhood I know well and one of the busiest
commercial areas in Brooklyn. Its recent immigrants are predominantly from the
Caribbean Islands of Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana and Haiti, among
others. During the 1940's and 1950's the majority of the people that reside in
these Brooklyn residences were mostly Italian and Jewish with small contingents
of Polish and Western Europeans. Today the majority of these neighborhoods are
of Caribbean descent.
The area is primarily
residential, with two major commercial strips on Church Avenue and Nostrand
Avenue. These streets are filled with a variety of businesses such as clothing,
music stores, and restaurants. Flags are displayed outside the stores to
welcome others. Today the area has many community services set up to help new
immigrants feel at home. East Flatbush is also the home of the West Indian
Labor Day Parade, the city's longest parade outside Manhattan. From the locally
owned "dollar" cabs, money transfer services, to active churches and
clubs, East Flatbush pulsates with life accentuated with the musical sound of
Soca, Reggae and Compas.
Washington
Heights, in Northern Manhattan is a mostly Hispanic community, with the
majority being from the Dominican Republic. Today the Heights, as its residents
know it today, is a community bustling with life and entrepreneurship. It is
full of restaurants bodegas, botanicas, barbershops, and local Dominican owned
livery companies. The shopping centers are on 181 Street and the Inwood
section. As these newcomers achieve higher education, they advance to work in
professional and managerial positions. Not too long ago, several public schools
opened in the neighborhood. These will help Washington Heights' new residents
further expand their potential while continuing to build the local economy.
Woodlawn
in the Bronx is a community quietly tucked within the Woodlawn cemetery to the
south, Van Cortland Park to the west, the Bronx River Park way to the East and
Westchester County to the north. It is a heavily Irish neighborhood. They will
often be seen playing Soccer and Rugby on a Saturday in Van Cortland Park. The
neighborhood is filled with local pubs, stores and nicely kept houses. These
details reveal the variation in ethnic composition among New York City counties
and suggest the different ethnic flavors offered throughout the city.
Queens
has the largest population of foreign born.
It is also the most ethnically diverse.
The population of Queens include large numbers of Italians, Chinese,
Koreans, West Indians and, clearly, South Americans. Brooklyn contains West
Indians-likely many Haitians as well as Dominicans, Jamaicans, and other
English speaking West Indians, and a relatively large number of Russians. The
population of the Bronx is composed of both old and new immigrants. The Bronx
has a large proportion of Italians, Irish, Hispanics and West Indians.
Manhattan is the home of many Chinese and Dominicans. Staten Island is home to
the smallest number of foreign-born among New York counties but is also the choice
for both early and recent immigrants.
The foreign born population is primarily Italian, but also contains
relatively high proportions of the new Asian groups, particularly Koreans and
Philipinos. As in the past, New York
City continues to be one of the major receiving centers for new immigrants in
the country. The question is “Why New York?” For one the availability Of
Employment Opportunities in New York City draws new immigrants to the
region. New York is also appealing
because new immigrants do not stand out.
The city has a rich history of immigration, with many different groups
living in close proximity to one another. Some groups come to New York in large
numbers because of historical patterns of immigrant settlements. They feel a
sense of security in an already established community, and are attached because
of the closeness and history they share. These reasons make New York a very
appealing place for foreigners.
New
York stands out as "the" Immigrant City in the United States. It has
history as the port of entry for immigrants since the establishment of Ellis
Island and still attracts a major share of the nation's new arrivals. What is unique about New York City's
immigrant population is its heterogeneity. New York is more ethnically diverse
than any other immigrant city in the United States. Plus most of the immigrant
population is represented in large numbers. Los Angeles is most likely second
in immigration, with the majority being of Mexican and Asian descent, with
fewer Europeans, and especially smaller numbers of West Indians and South
Americans. In New York City there are sizable numbers of nearly all European as
well as most Asian, West Indians and Latin American nationalities. New York's Hispanic residents include
immigrants from the Caribbean, Central, and South America as well as citizens
from Puerto Rico. Ethnic diversity, as a result is the expectation in New York,
a fact of life, as it were. This is
welcoming for many immigrants. The large numbers of immigrants in so many
groups, coupled with settlement patterns, mean that New York neighborhoods
provide hospitable environments. These settlements draw immigrants here in the
first place, and they offer safety, security, and comfort to newcomers once
they arrived-a kind of home away from home.
These third World Nationals have and
continue to contribute to New York's and the United States economic development
after 1960. Ethnic neighborhoods provide economic opportunities in the form of
clientele and, in some cases, workers for immigrant enterprises. Large
immigrant concentrations have spawned small businesses that serve the need of
new arrivals. These businesses range
from Soviet styles restaurants and pastry shops along Brighton Beach Avenue and
Haitian and Jamaican bakeries and groceries in East Flatbush. Queens is also
home to Korean beauty and barbershops. Whether they are performing menial jobs
in hotels, garment shops, or restaurants or cleaning office building, these
workers are becoming an essential asset to the community. There are also many
professionals making up this group. After 1970 a growing number of doctorates
in mathematics, computer science, physics, chemistry and engineering were
awarded to immigrants. Oneonta State is a good example; professors like Dr
Freeman, Koddermann, Singh, Li, Malhotra, Van Hewveln are all immigrants to
this country.
After 1945, immigrants appeared to be
assimilating even faster than did earlier generations. One of the reasons is
that there is a mass compulsory public school system that fosters
Americanization. The development of a mass culture in music, television, the
movies and consumer products also had an impact. In some ways the new immigrants had a head start when it come to
assimilation into American society.
A
nation of immigrants, this is what the United States has called itself-with
pride! But attitudes are changing. A disturbing trend against new and recent
immigrant is surfacing around the country.
In California, for example, voters recently approved the controversial
proposition 187, which would limit immigration and reduce government benefits
for newcomers from other countries to that state. There are also Senate and
House of Representative bills under consideration to slow the immigration
influx.
On the
federal level the same thing is happening, the bi partisan president's
Commission on Immigration Reform is advocating a severely reduced cap on legal
immigrants. Bills have been introduced to withhold public assistance to legal
immigration. People are even suggesting
that automatic citizenship be denied to native-born children of
none-naturalized U.S citizens. There should be a huge awareness of the vitality
of positive contribution immigration has and is making to the U.S Economy. Or
how they're building back languishing neighborhood-through entrepreneurship and
an infusion of new life, color and activity.
New York City's
population today is roughly 30% foreign-born. They have settled in all parts of
the five boroughs with strong concentration in certain areas. As a result of
the waves of Immigration over the past decades, New York City contain residents
from over 200 countries, speaking 115 different languages. Wherever they've
settled in New York City, immigrants have brought with them a new spirit and
dedication that have led to the establishment of thousands of new
businesses. Immigrants can be found
operating local groceries, fruit and vegetable stands, news stands, restaurants
and other businesses that New Yorkers now depend upon for their daily needs.
Many of these businesses owners that start small become highly successful in
building up their businesses. Others have also become important players in the
broader sectors of the economy, such as textiles and information technology.
Countless immigrant neighborhoods in New York City have benefited from the
economic activities of immigrants, as well as from their cultural and social
contributions. For over 200 years the United States has benefited from the
arrival of immigrants who have brought new infusion of energy, innovation and
enterprise. They have been the backbone of our country's past and are the key
to our successful future.
Despite
the economic contribution of these latest newcomers, many Americans worry that
immigrants would not assimilate and would take jobs away from Americans, or end
up on welfare.
These
charges have proven to be untrue. Uneasy Americans worried that immigrant would
not assimilate. To some extent this is true, but this is more complicated than
it seems. The fact that new immigrants are influenced by New York and broader
American context does not mean that their former tradition and values have to
be replaced by "American" customs and ideas, Or that they become
homogenized in the so-called "melting pot" of New York. Immigrants do not have to wipe out the old
to be fully assimilated or socialized into the new. The old and the new blend in many ways in response to
circumstances in their new home, a kind of New Yorkization process. New immigrants come with memories of the
past. Some will stay the same, but some will undergo changes that are
inevitable. But as immigrants come to term and began a mild transformation, so
do native New Yorkers.
The
most obvious change is how the city is itself changing, within, as well as
beyond its own neighborhoods. The sound and spices of recent immigrants have
added to the cultural and culinary life in the city. Restaurants and groceries
stores run by the newcomers have exposed New Yorkers to new cuisines and foods,
broadening their taste for Chinese, Indian, Vietnamese, Caribean, French, and
Japanese cooking.
Musically,
new immigrants have had an influence.
Jamaicans, for instance, have helped to popularize reggae in the
city. Salsa, a native dance of Puerto
Rico, along with Cuban, Dominican, Panamanian and Colombian influence is very
popular in the New York music scene. There are ethnic theaters, parades and
carnivals that have also emerged. While these events draw heavily immigrant
audiences, they also attract and broaden the cultural horizons of old New Yorkers.
Way before New York became New Amsterdam; the City had a long history of attracting immigrants. No city in the world is quite like New York. New York City is the quintessential immigrant metropolis. New York has long been the traditional point of entry for immigrants coming to America. The culture and the social geography of much of the city have created Successive Diverse immigrant groups. New York City is flourishing in the 1990's when many other cities are not doing so well. One of the many reasons I think has been the arrival of record numbers of immigrants. Immigrants are settling down and revitalizing their neighborhoods in order to capture the American dream.
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Brendel, Christine. Modern Immigration. Amawalk, New York: Golden Owl Publishing Co., 1998.
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Berrol, Selmacantor.
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