Ethnic Population & Diversity

Many characteristics of a neighborhood can attract or repel people, including the safety of the neighborhood, the people, the income level, the stores available, and much more. 70% of the residents were born in America and 30% are foreigners, who mainly emigrated from European and Asian countries. Brooklyn’s population experienced a dramatic increase in the last decade.  The population of white people living in Brooklyn grew by 38,774, while the Asian population soared, grew by 75,838, an approximate 30% increase. In contrast, the population of African Americans decreased by almost 50,000, mainly from neighborhoods such as Crown Heights, Flatbush, Prospect Gardens, and Bedford. Borough Park in particular is experiencing a gradual increase in Chinese residents. Even though it is still predominantly a Jewish neighborhood, over 79,000 Asians moved to Brooklyn in the last decade, and the Chinese appear to be slowly integrating themselves into this neighborhood. Many of the small stores in Borough Park have names written in Hebrew, which reflect how great the population of Jewish people is in this neighborhood. However, near the borders of the neighborhood, there are some Chinese owned stores, which shows the small influence and mingling of the Chinese. Reasons for this Asian boom can include the affordable housing, safety, transportation access, diverse businesses, and availability of schools. Brooklyn serves as an affordable alternative to Manhattan’s soaring housing costs.

Despite the increase of Chinese residents, Barry Spitzer states that it will not threaten the dominant Hasidic Jewish population: “The Asian community is increasing in Borough Park from Eighth Avenue down… they’re actually moving into Sunset Park.” Since the Chinese are moving south to the thriving Asian community in Sunset Park, Mr. Spitzer stated that there are and will be no tensions between the two different cultural groups.