Before reading Berger’s: “The World in a City,” I already knew that New York was a conglomerate of multiple races and cultures. One would have to essentially be blind not to see the diversity. New York is after all the city where everyone wants to come, visit and sometimes reside permanently. However, the way in which Berger characterized New York really put into context on another level just how dynamic and welcoming the neighborhoods of New York are.
From the initial chapter, Berger really summed up New York with the passage, “New York can be viewed as an archipelago, like Indonesia a collection of distinctive islands, in its case its village like neighborhoods. Each island has its own way of doing things, its own flavor, fragrance, and indelible characters. But, as a result of the roiling tides of migration and the unquenchable human restlessness and hunger for something better and grander, most of these neighborhoods are in constant, ineluctable flux.”
When I read the previous passage, I was reminded of when Joe Salvo talked about the effects of net migration in and out of various neighborhoods. It is truly surprising and interesting how the demographic of a neighborhood that was formally dominated by one race becomes more ethnically diverse or populated with another group. For example, by looking at Astoria today, no one would have known that Greeks previously dominated it. Today they only consist of 8.6% of the current population in Astoria. Now, the neighborhood simply within a two-block radius consists of a “veritable souk, with shops selling halal meat, Syrian pastries, and airplane tickets to Morocco, driving lessons in Arabic, Korans and other Muslim books.” You really get a sense and a piece of multiple cultures. However, this isn’t the case solely in Astoria which is why New York is such a great place to be.
By living at the dorms, I have access to any food of my choosing. I can walk within a three-block radius and find Chinese, Spanish and Italian food. My only question is, in neighborhoods where there is an initial dominating ethnic enclave, what are the factors that contribute to this group picking a particular neighborhood? How long do homogenous enclaves last in New York before a neighborhood diversifies?
-Ashley Haynes
