I found it interesting that Foner expounds upon the myths and realities regarding where American immigrants live.  Oftentimes, immigrant stereotypes stem from misconceptions about their living conditions.  Foner’s incorporation of Jacob Riis’ How the Other Half Lives further reiterates the stereotype that immigrants live in squalor and filth.  After visiting the LES Tenement Museum, I now have a better understanding of the living standards that Foner is referencing.  The immigrants of today, however, live in middle class areas; Foner attributes this difference to the fact that they arrive with more skills, and can therefore take on jobs that support such standards.  It thus becomes clear that the new wave of immigrants is more diverse in terms of class, as well as ethnicity.

A new trend among today’s immigrants is to move right in into the suburbs rather than the city first; Foner takes note that today’s immigrants are “not on the fringes” (55) of the affluent neighborhoods into which they are moving.  Further, the creation of polyethnic neighborhoods has largely prevented the formation of neighborhoods that are predominantly inhabited by one particular ethnic group.  “Little India” in Jackson Heights, as Foner details, is simply an amalgamation of businesses rather than residents.

I also found it interesting that commuting in New York was difficult, slow, and long, prior to the opening of the subways.  Today, I take it for granted that the trains are efficient – most of the time!

– Immigrants now live in more residentially dispersed areas, necessarily with coethincs; this stands in stark contrast to the “residential segregation” (40) present in 1920.  How do the residents of such neighborhood get along with their new neighbors?