I was amazed by the fact that by 1910, more people lived in Manhattan than in thirty-three states. This also made me wonder how come production did not move to other states where more land was available. This would have brought some immigrants out of New York to other states as well and maybe resulted in better living conditions for them since so much more land would have been available. It is understandable that if the factories that supply more jobs stay in New York, no one will go anywhere, but it is still surprising that no visible effort was made by other states to really expand their factory businesses.
Also, I wonder what is a “shtetl” that was mentioned.

“A place that measured our success by our skill in getting away from it” is a really descriptive quote. Though it still raises a question for me, since the neighborhood this is talking about, Brownsville, is described like a Jewish area that is a lot like an exclusively Jewish town, why would someone who lives there want to go away from it? I felt like maybe the close ethnic communities where people understand each other’s customs would be more appealing in terms of network and social interaction. It sounds like, especially for a recent immigrant, being around people like themselves would make their lives easier. They also wouldn’t have to worry about things like discrimination based on their culture or recent immigrant status.