FatmiraCurovic
Professor Aries
IDC3001H
Bensonhurst: An Influx Marked by a Journey of Social Integration
Bay Parkway – a community that can be characterized as bustling with business and people. This statement could not have made decades ago, when the population consisted of Italians and small businesses. As the community became more dense, migrants started to pour into the area and these small businesses started to transition into corporate chains. This influx of migrants affected factors like social structure, housing, and employment. The sum of these factors results in the undergoing of a change in demographics of the larger community of Bensonhurst that envelopes Bay Parkway.
Dating back to colonial times, the Bath Beach area actually had settlers of elite status. The region was mainly farmland, and by 1889, the “exclusive community” was purchased and became Bensonhurst (Benardo, Weiss 2006). A few later, in 1916, the Bay Parkway stationwas said to have been “located in a vibrant Italian neighborhood with lots of old world flavor” (NYC Subway 1916). Today, Bensonhurst is the region bordered by 14th Avenue and Bay Parkway that is “rapidly changing as new immigrants – particularly Chinese families flock to the area” (Warshawer, 2014).
In looking at Brooklyn as a whole, the most creative analogy is the “Brooklyn Horseshoe” from the Newest New Yorkers. The pattern of high immigrant neighborhoods is similar to the shape of a horseshoe in that diversity is displayed starting from the west. Chinese and Latin American immigrants dominate the western neighborhood. By the South, the Chinese still manage to make a presence along with European residents. The “Horseshoe” makes its turn as the neighborhood go north, with a constant prevalence of Chinese and Europeans.
Influx of Immigrants
While the “Horseshoe” clearly depicts variety among different geographic regions in Brooklyn, the 2010 Census reports that the borough is home to more whites than any other borough. Since the 2000 Census, the population of Brooklyn has grown by 39, 400 residents, but the white population has decreased by 21%. To narrow in on the area of Bath Beach, there has been a general population growth of 4.8%. As of 2010, there are approximately 5,000-9,999 white residents in the area of Bath Beach, a decline of 5-10% since 2000. While the area used to be made up of whites, the demographic majority has shifted since the white population has decreased (Census 2010).
More recently, the Newest New Yorkers reports that as of 2011, 30.9% of Brooklyn residents are foreign born, the majority of them being Chinese immigrants. Shifting from the white population, Asians now make up on third of the population of Brooklyn. The Chinese population has grown by 68% in Bath beach, with the total amount of Asian residents being 10,000-19,999. In addition to reporting that Bensonhurst is the largest immigrant neighborhood in Brooklyn, the Newest New Yorkers also states that Bensonhurst is the top neighborhood for immigrants born in China and Hong Kong, surpassing the immigrants settling in Chinatown, Manhattan. In fact, Chinatown’s Asian population dropped by 15%, according to the 2010 Census.
The influx of Chinese residents is seen as “new working-class immigrants” (Robbins 2015). In the New York Times“With an Influx of Newcomers, Little Chinatowns Dot a Changing Brooklyn”, Liz Robbins reports that Chinese immigrants would rather move into Bensonhurst than Chinatown, to speed the process of integration into American society. Mark Treyger, city councilman from Brooklyn, also says that the Chinese come to Bensonhurst for more space and affordable housing. They also come for the schools, as the schools allow Chinese children to receive an education with the rest of society. Another interesting fact that may be less influential in the migrants deciding to move to Bensonhurst is that fact that the number eight is seen as a lucky number in Chinese culture because it symbolizes wealth (Robbins 2015). These Chinese immigrants are therefore settling along Eight Avenue, serving as a motivating factor.
According to the 2010 Census, Brooklyn “accounted for one half of the total citywide loss of black population”. This loss was 121,600 residents, and it was due to out-migration rather than natural causes. The black residents were normally situated in northern neighborhoods of Brooklyn, but in the Bath Beach area, there are less than 5,000 residents since 2010. However, in the small amount of residents that exist in that area, there has been an increase from about 200 to 600 (NYC Census Fact Finder). Similar to the black population, there are also less than 5,000 residents in the Bath Beach area. In general, there has been as small population growth (less than 2%) for Hispanics in Brooklyn, but this growth (about 60%) is becoming concentrated in Southern neighborhoods like Bensonhurst. Much of the Hispanic population is moving outwards to boroughs like the Bronx and Queens (Census 2010).The Census data concludes that Brooklyn maintained its status as the most populated borough. With an increasing diversity, there are always influxes of different racial groups. In the past decade, the Chinese population is most noteworthy as being the ones to migrate inwards while the black population is being lost significantly.When analyzing population growth using Census data, the NYC Department of City Planning has stated that the flaws apparent in gathering this data include record keeping since much of the data does not correspond to administrative data. This data is also an undercount due to the undocumented levels of outmigration.However, the causation for this migration must still be explored.
Racial Tensions
These varying ethnicities of the residents of Bensonhurst interact daily, which means that social issues like racial tensions and sexism are bound to be prevalent. Due to these tensions, crime and violence has also spurred in the neighborhood.In Andrew Sullivan’s article, “The Two Faces of Bensonhurst”, he explores the tensions present in 1990. He captures the essence of a multiethnic company in one sentence: “Blacks mingle with whites and Hispanics in Asian-run stores” (Sullivan 1990). Since the Italian residents lived in Bensonhurst before the Chinese immigrants, they were unwelcoming towards the new wave of immigrants. Many of the Italian residents refused to sell their homes to Asian buyers like Stanley Ng, who is now a part of the Citywide Council of High Schools and has been living in Bensonhurst for 15 years (Jankiewicz 2014).
Racial slurs still circulate the neighborhood, and there is noticeable conflict between the white Italians and the blacks. Many of the black residents in Bensonhurst live in the Marlboro projects, and there seems to be a “massive barrier” (Sullivan, 1990) between the projects and the rest of Bensonhurst that is “pushing these people out” (Sullivan, 1990). In the projects, there has been increasing crimes, violence, and drug use (Sullivan 1990). Because of the racial tension, crime rates, and a clear barrier between the blacks and the whites, this may be a reason for the outmigration of blacks that has left a few number of residents in the Bensonhurst area.
This racial tension between blacks and whites escalated in 1989, when a group of white males shot Yusuf Hawkins, a black teenager who had been walking home with his friends. The motive for this murder was discrimination against race, and this act was a tragedy that marks the epitome of racism in the Bensonhurst community (Anderson 1990). In a more recent event, a group of teenagers has targeted Chinese-owned businessesas they come in to steal from customers and destroy the products for sale (Silberstein 2015). Councilman David Greenfield sums up the attitude that the Italians should have towards this immigration: “Discrimination against anyone is unacceptable. However, this discrimination against hard-working Chinese-American owned businesses is even more reprehensible,” said the councilman. “Local businesses are the backbone of our community. We are fortunate to have hard-working people come here from around the globe to improve their lives and our communities” (Silberstein 2015).
Business
The hub of Bensonhurst’s commercial businesses is at Bay Parkway. In the observation of a single commercial block, the stores were dominated by Chinese ownership. The chosen block consisted of small businesses, while the neighboring block was more commercial because it had banks and fast food restaurants. The establishments on our block between Bay 30th and 31st were three retail stores, two bakeries, two restaurants, two spas, a deli, a supermarket, and a design studio. In considering the nationalities of the owners of these establishments, 9 of 12 were Chinese. The other three nationalities of the owners were Italian, Indian, and Turkish. Oddly enough, these three establishments that stood out were grouped together at the corner of Bay 30th.
The few Italian businesses that remain in the area to this day are those that have thrived for the past few decades. Small businesses like King of the Sausage and Queen Ann Ravioli are remnants of a neighborhood that once had only a few stores at all. As the ethnic groups shifted, the Italian businesses started to lose customers as many of the Italian residents “migrated to Staten Island or New Jersey” (Nelson 2011). Co-owner, Tony Turrigiano, of King of the Sausage says, “Thirty-five years ago, there were five of us on the avenue” (Croghan, 2014). While there were few stores during the time of the store’s opening, Bay Parkway has become more commercialized today. Sam Tsang, a resident of Bensonhurst who had previously lived in Chinatown, explains that he moved to Bensonhurst and decided to open a business because there is less competition compared to a neighborhood like Chinatown that is packed with similar businesses (Robbins 2015). Instead of closing down, other businesses have chosen to accommodate to the shift in population by hiring employees from diverse backgrounds to prevent communication barriers (Nelson 2011).
Housing
To accommodate for this great increase in Chinese populations, the number of housing units has increased in Brooklyn, especially in the area of Bath Beach. Brooklyn actually had the highest increase of total housing units by 69,427 (about 11%) since 2000. The household sizes have also increased in the area of Bensonhurst West near Bath Beach, especially those occupying seven or more people (NYC Census Fact Finder).From 2002 to 2005, there was an additional 1,200 housing permits that were approved (Scharfenberg 2006).
Because of the density of the area and the increasing commercialization of schools, restaurants, and retail stores, the landscape of Bay Parkway has definitely changed. Real estate has changed to accommodate for the influx of migration. For retail buildings, business owners are looking at higher rent prices (Croghan 2014). As for residential buildings, Chinese immigrants are attracted to the low rents in single-family houses. In fact, the demand is so high that immigrants are willing to “pay a finder’s fee of as much as $5,000 to secure an apartment” (Robbins, 2015).
Quality of Life
Bay Parkway is distinguishable by its train tracks of the D line that run about 25 feet above the sidewalk. Another feature that has always remained constant since I could remember is the building structure. Due to zoning regulations and the limitations of the train tracks, all the buildings are two floors and about 20 feet wide. These regulations are preventing the building of new projects like the recent of boom of condominium apartment complexes (Scharfenberg 2006).
Residents have complained that the increasing number of condos is ruining the quality of the neighborhood. In a personal interview with RolandaHasangjekaj, resident of Bensonhurst for 18 years, she also mentions that “the neighborhood has gotten dirtier over the years; there’s more garbage and pollution in the air”. District manager of the community board at Bensonhurst, Marnee Pavia, has expressed the increasing need for street conditions to be improved (Warshawer 2014). By 2017, there’s also a plan for the building of a trash-processing plant in Bensonhurst (Warshawer 2014). Residents have shown concern over the level of pollution that the plant might bring, which may cause health problems. The density of the area is also another factor that contributes to the dangers in safety of the area. On a positive note, the focus on small business draws away from night life and the neighborhood is fairly quiet (Scharfenberg 2006).
Education
Since education is a motivating factor for Chinese immigrants, it is surprising to note that the majority of students in the public schools aren’t really Chinese. Compared to the New York average of educational attainment, 40% of Bensonhurst have an education level less than high school (City-data). Also in Hasangjekaj’s interview, she notes that while the residents of the community are Chinese, the majority of the student body population in her high school was mainly Italian. For those few students that are Chinese, there are remedial English classes offered. In 2002, less than half of the students met the standards for the entire academic year. By 2006, test scores had increased, but scores for standardized testing had still remained fairly low (Scharfenberg 2006). Many Chinese students have great success with admissions into specialized high schools; specifically more than 50% of students that attend specialized highs schools are Asian (Spencer 2012). This influx of Chinese students into schools with renowned reputations is called “Asian-ifacation” (Spencer 2012). This explains the contrast between the Chinese residents in the community and the Italian students in schools.
Culture
While Chinese bakeries and noodle shops have taken over, the Italians still try and manage to retain pride for their culture. The Italians have flags outside their homes and businesses, and there is a feast called the Santa Rosaliathat takes place annually. This feast has been a tradition for the past 70 years. However, since the Chinese have immigrated and the Italians have moved out, there have been less festival-goers, and the feast was threatened to be cancelled. Although the feast hasn’t been completely cancelled as of yet, the route of the feast was shortened in 2014 due to sanitary and parking complaints (Katinas 2013). Less attendees and modifications to a feast that’s been a tradition for several decades denote how extreme this shift of migration really is.
The general assumption for a motive to immigration is to build a better life by moving to a different place. Although this may be a strong motive for many immigrants, there are so many other factors that can cause a major demographic shift as displayed in Bensonhurst. The Chinese migrants seek to open new businesses and start a community separate from their ethnic roots, unlike Chinatown. They hope to find new ways of social integration through businesses and education. Meanwhile, existing racial tensions between whites and blacks pushed the black population out of Bensonhurst. Today, the majority of the blacks that remain in Bensonhurst live in the projects. As for the Italians, many of the small businesses have closed down, and those that still exist are losing business as the residents have moved into different boroughs.
Trying to characterize the area of Bay Parkway is like characterizing a mosaic of racial identities. The “Italian-American enclave for much of the 20th century, strong remnants of that identity remain, but its demographics are rapidly changing as new immigrants—particularly Chinese families—flock to the area” (Warshawer 2014).Bay Parkway captures the essence of multiethnic communities who have settled and created small businesses. It is the perfect example of how time takes its natural course and plays a major role in the development of a community.
Works Cited
1. Anderson, Lorrin. "Cracks in the Mosaic." National Review 25 June 1990: 36-28. Print.
2. Benardo, Leonard, and Jennifer Weiss. "Southwest Brooklyn."Brooklyn by Name: How the Neighborhoods, Streets, Parks, Bridges, and More Got Their Names. New York: New York UP, 2006. 139-51. Print.Pages 139-151
3. "Bensonhurst Neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York (NY), 11214, 11223, 11204, 11230 Detailed Profile." Bensonhurst Neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York (NY), 11214, 11223, 11204, 11230 Subdivision Profile.City-Data.com, n.d. Web. 20 May 2015.
4. Croghan, Lore. "'King of the Sausage' Reigns on 18th Avenue."'King of the Sausage' Reigns on 18th Avenue. Brooklyn Daily Eagle, 18 June 2014. Web. 08 Mar. 2015.
5. Jankiewicz, Eric. "Once Shunned, Chinese Population Booms In Bensonhurst And Dyker Heights - Bensonhurst's News Blog." Bensonhurst Bean. N.p., 08 Jan. 2014. Web. 20 May 2015.
6. Katinas, Paula. "Changes Coming to Bensonhurst's Santa Rosalia Feast." Changes Coming to Bensonhurst's Santa Rosalia Feast. Brooklyn Daily Eagle, 18 Nov. 2013. Web. 20 May 2015.
7. Nelson, Katie. "Asian Boom in Brooklyn." NY Daily News.N.p., 15 Sept. 2011. Web. 20 May 2015.
8. Robbins, Liz. "With an Influx of Newcomers, Little Chinatowns Dot a Changing Brooklyn." The New York Times. The New York Times, 15 Apr. 2015. Web. 20 May 2015.
9. Scharfenberg, David. "An Old Neighborhood Grows Up Again."The New York Times. The New York Times, 19 Aug. 2006. Web. 08 Mar. 2015.