The beginning of Chapter 2 introduces an how and where the immigrants lived. Thomas Kessner, an immigrants, could not live outside the borough of Manhattan. All the jobs were in Manhattan – so he had to be close to that source if there were any new opportunities or job openings. The commuting time would be too long as well; it just wasn’t practical for an immigrant to live far away from where the jobs were, which were in Manhattan. So, this brought on the crowding of immigrants in Manhattan, particularly the lower east side. Nowadays, living in Manhattan is reflective of having money. With the commute time cut down, more immigrants can live outside of the Manhattan. Although the lower east side (particularly Chinatown) is still cheaper than the rest of Manhattan, it is still more expensive than living in the other boroughs. I find it interesting that with the development of technology, the groups that live in the boroughs switched.

Foner describes the clear distinction of racial neighborhoods of the Italians and the Jews, even though they might be geographically next to each other. It’s interesting that “a block that may have been ethnically mixed in 1905 was almost certainly in a transitional stage, soon to be dominated by one group in 1925”. This reminded me of the conflict theory in which “diversity fosters out-group distrust and in-group solidarity” when blocks were rarely shared by Italians and Jews; it was always one or the other group. It’s vastly different than today, in Berger’s reading whereas Ditmas Park has residents of different ethnicities living right next door to each other. In Ditmas Park, there was never a majority of one ethnicity, but groups of minorities. Foner speaks of how Jacob Riis would still be turning in his grave at the site of the immigrants still living in squalid housing, but in other aspects, we have come a long way since segregation.