New York City The Melting Pot

New York has always been a city of immigrants. From 1840-60, Germans and Irishmen came over in droves, and beginning in 1890, Greeks, Italians, Lithuanians, Poles, and Russians poured in through Ellis Island, bringing with them exotic foods and misspelled names. The US Congress restricted immigration in the 1920s, and the Great Depression brought it virtually to a halt. Still, internal American migration continued to bring new residents. When Jim Crow laws restricted African-American life in the South, the city’s black population swelled. The 80s and 90s brought new immigrant populations from throughout the globe. Immigrants came from China, the Dominican Republic, Guyana, Jamaica, and the former Soviet Union.

Chinatown, Harlem, the Jewish Lower East Side, and Little Italy are the most famous ethnic neighborhoods of New York. In addition, lesser-known enclaves are scattered throughout the five boroughs. In Queens, Astoria hosts a large Greek community. Flushing’s Main St. could just as easily be located in Seoul, South Korea. Israeli eateries abound on Queens Blvd. in Forest Hills, and Jackson Heights bustles with Indian and South American populations. In Brooklyn, an Arab community centers around Atlantic Ave. in Brooklyn Heights. In Crown Heights, West Indians and Hasidim tentatively rub elbows. Brighton Beach, dubbed “Little Odessa,” boasts a lively Russian enclave, and Bensonhurst offers a more authentic taste of Italian-American culture than Manhattan’s Little Italy. In the Bronx, Belmont also hosts an Italian community. Finally, the South Bronx, home to many African Americans and Latinos, is the birthplace of hip hop.