Nearly all the way uptown, a group of students got off the second to last stop on the A train to tour the neighborhood of Inwood. Inwood is the quiet neighborhood that is northernmost on the island of Manhattan. Properly beginning at Fort Tryon Park and Dyckman Street, the beginning of the neighborhood tour, which was actually still in Washington Heights, almost didn’t feel like part of New York City. On the quiet and drowsy Saturday morning, the streets and sidewalks were deserted save for the occasional jogger or dog walker. As the class began walking further uptown, the residential areas were all filled with Dutch-looking architecture clad in ivy and surrounded by trees. There were even “castle” style residences as we neared the river, occupying land were actual castles once stood.

Eventually the last of the upper residential areas of what had actually been Washington Heights led onto Fort Tryon Park. As our professor pointed out, most of the people we had seen up until this point were white. There wasn’t much diversity, but that was going to change once we actually reached Inwood and Broadway.

However, first we had to get through the park.

Fort Tryon Park is also located in Washington Heights. It’s a large park, around 66.5 acres. The park has many beautiful trees and flowers, as well as an amazing view of the Hudson River.

The Cloisters are also located inside the park. The Cloisters are a branch of the Metropolitan Museum of Art that is home to medieval art, sculpture, and architecture. Much of this architecture, including the castle that houses the collection, was removed from genuine European sites and reassembled into the museum, stone by stone.

Once we got through the park, we could finally claim to be in Inwood proper. Inwood begins after the park and at Dyckman Street. Inwood, though historically an Irish neighborhood, has been transformed into a predominantly Dominican neighborhood. Although there are some remains of old Irish traditions, the Dominican influence on Inwood is palpable. East of Broadway, the population of Inwood is majorly and distinctly Spanish-speaking, as opposed to some of the western and riverside areas.  Inwood also has some historical sites of interest—The Dyckman farmhouse, for example, still stands at the corner of Broadway and 204th Street. The Dyckman farmhouse is the oldest farmhouse in Manhattan. It was built in the 1700’s on what used to be Dutch farmer William Dyckman’s 100-acre farm. The Farmhouse, claimed as a historical site in 1920, was opened as a museum in 1916.

Once we reached 208th Street and Broadway, the change in atmosphere became evident. Hispanic music was playing, and Hispanic businesses and people lined the streets. One could really tell that the population was thoroughly Spanish here, and that businesses were geared to cater to Hispanic people. Not just businesses, but even people running for office clearly courted the Hispanic vote with Spanish music and advertisements in Spanish. Of course, no tour is complete without some real practical experience, so the class stopped at an authentic Ecuadorian restaurant to sample the fare. Ecuadorian food varies widely from coast to mountain, and this restaurant was clearly of coastal descent. The class sampled fish-based dishes and chicken based dishes (bollos), made out of the staple plantain. There were also tostones (fried plantain), maduros (fried sweet plantain), and bolas de verde (plantain balls with cheese). The class also drank one of the favorite Ecuadorian drinks: Jugo de mora, or blackberry juice. Ecuadorian juice is famous for its distinct flavors: besides blackberry, other famous Ecuadorian juices are maracuya(Passion fruit), naranjilla, and tomato de arbol (Tomato). The food was an excellent ending to the day, and the entire class enjoyed the cultural dishes.

All in all, the day was a success. Many of the students had never been that far uptown, or even knew of the existence of the neighborhoods and streets we walked through. It was another amazing demonstrator of how diverse the city of New York can be.

In the early 1900s, Bensonhurst’s population consisted of a majority of Italians and Easter European Jews. Up until the mid-20^th century, there was a steady flow of Italians into the Brooklyn neighborhood and Jews began to leave by the 1950s. From then until today, Bensonhurst is predominantly Italian-American.

In Williamsburg/Greenpoint, the majority of the population consisted of Eastern European Jews and Poles, respectively. Since the beginning of the 20^th century many Jews resided in Williamsburg, as for in Greenpoint, Poles began to move in towards the second half of the 20^th century. Today both neighborhoods are gentrified and the populations of the two Brooklyn neighborhoods are much more diverse.

The American Fact Finder contains census data on individual PUMAs from 2008 to 2010. The information we looked into is the Caucasian ancestry in the two PUMAs. According to the American Fact Finder, Williamsburg/Greenpoint (PUMA 04001) and Bensonhurst (PUMA 04017) have a population of more or less 143,092 and 167,537, respectively. For Williamsburg/Greenpoint, the largest population is Polish, with 15,952 residents, followed by 9,683 Italian residents. Bensonhurst, on the other hand, has a total population of 34,497 Italian residents, making them the majority in Bensonhurst, followed by 11,872 Russian residents. For each division of the population there are estimated margins of error, which are taken into consideration, but the data appears to be accurate when taken into account of the past immigration history of the two PUMAs.

We also looked at the economic characteristic of the two PUMAs. The civilian employed population 16 years and over in Williamsburg/Greepoint is 13,926 and in Bensonhurst it is 70,365. These numbers are very close. Both in Bensonhurst and Williamsburg/Greenpoint, the majority of the population works in educational services, health care and social assistance. The data once again is very similar, with 13,926 residents of Williamsburg/Greenpoint working in that category, and 12,812 residents of Bensonhurst.

Neither of us really know New York like the others in our class, so choosing a neighborhood was a little difficult for us. What we ended up doing was picking a fairly familiar area common to us, which is the area around City College. One thing we noticed that stood out was the amount of people asking us to help them out with some change. We decided to look into that aspect of the neighborhood. Here are our findings:

After years of cultural and economic success during the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920’s and 30’s, Harlem and the general region surrounding Harlem hit rock bottom as crime rates, mortality rates, and poverty increased.

In the 1970’s, Harlem and the general region surrounding Harlem was in its worst condition ever. The last of those who were able to escape poverty moved out in search of safer and more economically-well homes and schools, making the already impoverished region even worse. Central Harlem lost a third of its total population in the 1970’s because of house abandonment. In the 1990’s, however, conditions started improving. National franchises such as The Body Shop, Ben and Jerry’s, Starbucks, etc. started opening stores in the area. Also, crime rates started decreasing as law enforcement improved.

Now, the percentage of families and people whose income in the past 12 months that is below the poverty line in Hamilton Heights, Central Harlem, and Washington Heights is now, 22.5%, 25%, and 20.9%, respectively. Although these numbers are higher than the average New York City’s average of 16.2%, they are an improvement from the late 1900’s. As expected because of the poverty rates, people in 20.2% in Hamilton Heights, 21.7% in Central Harlem, and 30.5% in Washington Heights have had food stamp/SNAP benefits in the past 12 months.

We suspect many people in Hamilton Heights, Central Harlem, and Washington Heights are living in poverty or are low-income families or people because of their educational attainments. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, those with college degrees earn $1.3 million more than those with high school diplomas. Also, according to a report called “The Big Payoff: Education Attainment and Synthetic Estimates of Work-Life Earnings,” those with a bachelor’s degree earn $2.1 million in their lifetimes, and those with a master’s degree earn $2.5 million in their lifetimes.  

If we examine this table, Hamilton Heights has the largest composition of people with college education, followed by Central Harlem, and Washington Heights. Similarly, Hamilton Heights has the highest mean income, followed by the other two neighborhoods. The usage of foods stamps follows this trend by having the highest rate in Washington Heights, and being lowest in Hamilton Heights. While the true picture is much more complicated, these figures seem to give some credibility of the correlation between education and income levels in these neighborhoods.

Coney Island is the westernmost barrier island of Long Island, stretching for approximately four miles. It is an artificial peninsula, connected to Brooklyn by a landfill. The neighborhood of Coney Island started off as a Dutch settlement known for its abundance of rabbits from which the name “coney” is derived from.  In the 1800’s, it was a popular natural park until several structures began to be built at the turn of the century. These structures were ultimately demolished in order to make room for a boardwalk and easy beach access. In the 1940’s, Robert Moses opposed plans for making the area one of entertainment and proposed building residential housing; a proposal that ultimately resulted in a fusion of both ideas – 18 to 24 story housing project were constructed while the amusement park the area is known for was continuously expanded. The construction of Ocean Parkway and the completion of the Stillwell Avenue subway station ushered in a diverse settlement of commuting workers. Today, the neighborhood is home to several beaches including Sea Gate, which is one of two of New York’s only gated communities – the other one being Breezy Point located in the Rockaway neighborhood of Queens. They are very similar socially; the average family and household size for both the Rockaways and Coney Island is about three people. About forty percent of people in the households are the owners and about fifteen to twenty percent are spouses of the household owners. With regards to demographics, the Rockaways have a nearly 1:1 ratio of white to black people, while Coney Island has a ratio of 4:1. Although the Rockaways have a majority Irish population and Coney Island has a majority Russian population, both share a strong population of Italian people, close to six or seven percent. Most people living in either “beach community” are within the ages of 25 and 54, and over seventy percent of the entire population is over the age of 18.

The Rockaway area of Queens is located in the Rockaway Peninsula, which connects to the South Shore of Long Island.  It began in the 1800’s as two separate villages know as Holland an Hammels, which were incorporated into the borough of Queens at the turn of the century. In the early 1900’s, much like Coney Island, Rockaway was home to an amusement park. A subway line was extended into the neighborhood and, coupled with the building of the Marine Parkway Bridge and the Cross Bay Veterans Memorial Bridge, executed by Robert Moses in the 1930’s, attracted a permanent commuter resident population to the area. In the 1950’s, the 13 story Hammel Houses were constructed, ushering in a diverse population of commuting workers similar to those settling in Coney Island at the time. Today, the commuting population remains in the two neighborhoods and many of those workers have similar jobs. Approximately thirty percent of the populations of these two communities work in the education service, health care, and social assistance fields. Since that time Rockaway and Coney Island have seen similar statistical trends in the economic, housing and demographic categories and are two parallel beach communities today. Most of the income falls within the range of $35,000-$99,000. The majority of family income lies between $35,000-$75,000 (two “census” brackets of income data). The Rockaways do have a higher percentage of people attaining income within the higher bracket of the overall range ($50,000-$75,000), while Coney Island has a higher percentage in the lower bracket ($35,000-$49,999). Much of both populations live in homes that are worth from either $300,000-$499,999, or $500,000-$999,999; the majority of these homes were built between 1960-1969. Both neighborhoods are pleasant beach communities and are a unique taste of New York City.

During the years between 2006 and 2010, certain neighborhoods in Queens have seen a significant increase in the Hispanic population. These neighborhoods include Glendale , Ridgewood, Middle Village, and Maspeth (PUMA# 04110) as well as in Woodhaven and Kew Gardens (PUMA 04111). These towns have shown a fifteen to twenty-five percent increase in the Hispanic population. The American Community Survey (ACS) has specific data on those of Mexican, Puerto Rican, and Cuban descent, but aggregates the rest of the population into a group “Other Hispanic or Latino.” By looking at annual census reports on income levels and educational attainment in these regions and the trend between years, we can get a clearer idea of why there was an increase the Hispanic population and their socio-economic impact on these communities.

Using Social Explorer (2010 Census Tract PL94), we mapped the population change of the ethnicity we chose (Hispanic) in each tract of New York City. From this map, we were able to choose two zones with the most significant increase to compare using social and economic data from the census website. It’s important to note that Social Explorer’s census tract data spans from 2000 to 2010, however, ACS data is only available as early as 2006.

2006 Data

In PUMA 04110, census data shows that 79.4% of the 25 or older population had a high school degree or higher, while 19.9% of this population had a bachelor’s degree or higher. The mean household income was $61,613 and the median was $50,477.

In PUMA 04111, census data shows that 78.6% of the 25 or older population had a high school degree or higher, while 23.6% of the population had a bachelor’s degree or higher. The mean household income was $62,045 and the median was $52,722.

In terms of educational attainment and average household income, the two regions are strikingly similar, the high school attainment difference being only ~1% and the mean and median income difference being only ~$2,000.

2010 Data

In PUMA 04110, census data shows that 78.6% of the population (25 or older) had a high school degree or higher. 20.5% of the population had a bachelor’s degree or higher. The mean household income was $65,710 and the median was $53,913.

In PUMA 04111, census data shows that 77.5% of the population (25 or older) had a high school degree or higher. 25.5% of the population had a bachelor’s degree or higher. The mean household income was $66,577 and the median was $54,522.

The similarity between the two regions remains the same, with a slight decrease in mean and median income difference (~$1,000, down from ~$2,000).

From 2006 to 2010, PUMA 04110 displayed a 0.6% increase of those with a bachelor’s degree or higher, while PUMA 04111 displayed a 1.9% increase. As the percentage of population with college degrees increases, we would expect the mean and median income to increase as well. This is in accordance with the above data. PUMA 04110’s mean and median incomes increased by $4097 and $3436, respectively, while PUMA 04111’s increased by $4532 and $1800, respectively. The increase in median income in both of these PUMA regions provides an immigration incentive for low and medium-income families seeking better income opportunities. An influx of low and medium-income families, however, can also correspond to an influx of non-high school-graduates, which has a negative impact on the percentage of high school (or higher) educational attainment, as we will see.

Despite the increase in bachelor’s degrees, over the four years, there was a decrease in the number those that attained a high school degree or higher. This is a very strange phenomenon because one would expect that with an increase of those completing a college degree, there likely would not be any or negative change in the the number of those who had attained a high school diploma. A possible explanation for this strange occurrence could be that there was an influx of people who did not attain a high school degree or higher. A non-constant population would allow for this to happen, under the fact that if one attains a college degree, they must also have a high school degree.

Given this census data and the fact that the mean and median incomes continue to increase in these two PUMAs, we expect that the the trend of hispanic immigration (and increase in percentage of total population) will continue to increase into the future.

Midtown Manhattan, including neighborhoods Chelsea and Clinton, has some interesting housing trends.  About 60% of all property is worth over half a million dollars.  Although most housing units are rented, an overwhelming majority of residents pay over $1500 per month.  Interestingly, over 70% of Chelsea/Clinton’s residents live in a housing unit that includes 3 rooms or less.  In general, about 47% of all “houses” consist of only 1 bedroom and 20% consist of 2 bedrooms while 25% consist of “no bedrooms”, also known as studio apartments.      In other words, it is more common to live in an apartment with no bedrooms than one with 2 bedrooms in this neighborhood.  This came as a surprise as Chelsea is not a college neighborhood where it would be typical to have very little families and more people living alone.  To find out what kind of people live there, we decided to take a look at the social aspect of the neighborhood.

Though a majority of Chelsea residents are native to the U.S., 26% (over a quarter) are foreign born and of these foreigners, only 45% are naturalized citizens.  In addition, 11% of the population (both native and foreign) was living in another country 1 year ago.  From this, it seems that though diverse, a significant part of Chelsea/Clinton residents are people working and/or constantly moving around.  Using Social Explorer’s map, we found that unlike nearby neighborhoods, such as the Upper West Side, which are 60-80% white, Chelsea consists of a much more diverse population, about 60-30% white.  This led us to conclude that the non-white population in Chelsea is primarily non-married and contributes greatly to the neighborhoods non-married population.  Basically, a major reason for Chelsea/Clinton’s lack of families is the working, white-collar immigrant population living there.

As mentioned before, the white population is the dominant group to compose Chelsea/Clinton. Currently, however, there has been a heavy influx of Asian population immigrating into the community, according to the New York Times Census.  A distinct social element of both these ethnic groups is that those who live with another person almost always live with a non-relative (not including a non-married partner).  In other words, a person is more likely to be living with a roomate than with a spouse or child. Again, nonfamily households outnumber family households by more than a two to one ratio, as more than a majority of the residents are unmarried. This further explains why 1-bedroom/no bedroom apartments are the most common units since the number of married couples living in this neighborhood is sparse.

Another important social aspect to note is that more than 2/3 of Chelsea/Clinton’s inhabitants have an undergraduate degree or higher and a staggering 93% of all citizens have a high school education as well.

It is therefore reasonable to understand that the majority of Chelsea’s residents have white-collar jobs such as management, business, and science occupations. These statistics can now explain why residents are able to afford such high valued real estate along with the fact that most do not have to divert their resources to raising a family. Consequently, this predominantly educated district displays an assimilated and well-backgrounded body of workers.

Seeing housing from a social perspective helps us paint a picture of the people who live in Manhattan’s neighborhood of Chelsea/Clinton.  Like the rest of New York City, this neighborhood houses a unique and diverse population.  However, Chelsea is also shown to have a particular group of people making up a large part of its community: A well-educated, working, and non-married population (composed of both native and foreign).

Flushing

Bayside and Flushing, two neighborhoods that are fairly close to each other but differ in a lot of categories. Flushing is an area dominated by people from Asia. As you can see from the table below, 54.6% of the total population is foreign born. Since most of the people are foreign born, they might have trouble finding high paying jobs because of language barriers, cultural assimilation etc. The median household income is rough $52,000. Also about 50% of the people living in this area have gone to some sort of college, and 38% have at least one degree. Overall, Flushing is a very diverse neighborhood that is still developing into one of the major areas in the city.

PLACE OF BIRTH
Total population 251,278 +/-7,484 251,278 (X)
Foreign born 137,133 +/-5,499 54.6% +/-1.2

WORLD REGION OF BIRTH OF FOREIGN BORN
Foreign-born population, excluding population born at sea 137,117 +/-5,495 137,117 (X)
Europe 13,629 +/-1,449 9.9% +/-1.0
Asia 97,093 +/-4,709 70.8% +/-2.0
Africa 1,064 +/-419 0.8% +/-0.3
Oceania 28 +/-33 0.0% +/-0.1
Latin America 24,985 +/-2,627 18.2% +/-1.7
Northern America 318 +/-154 0.2% +/-0.1

Bayside

Bayside, a neighborhood to the east of Flushing, is dominated by whites unlike the majority of the population in Flushing. Approximately, 56% of the people in this region are whites and 35% are Asians. Unlike Flushing, only 40% of the population is foreign born and out of those, 85% came after the turn of the century. This means that the people in this area have assimilated with the American culture and hold high paying jobs. The median income of Bayside is roughly $72,000, about $20,000 higher than flushing. As a result, people in this area can take advantage of many resources that are not available in the Flushing area. 65% of the people have gone to college, and 48% of those have at least one degree. Bayside is one of the most prosperous neighborhoods in New York City.

PLACE OF BIRTH
Total population 118,499 +/-4,128 118,499 (X)
Foreign born 48,540 +/-2,707 41.0% +/-1.7

Screen Recording

Schools and older generations have repeatedly told us about the tough lives of immigrants in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Cramped apartments, shortage of money, child labor, disease, and long hours defined immigrant life. Until our visit to the Tenement Museum, we relied on our imaginations and textbook photographs to “see” what life for immigrants was like. Our visit to the Tenement Museum showed us that the lives of immigrants back then were quite different than the lives of immigrants today.

Stepping into the preserved tenement on 97 Orchard Street, we first saw the banister stairway to the rest of the apartments. A trip up the stairs brought us to the apartments of the Levine and Rogarshevsky families. The insides of these apartments mingled with our expectations, both surprising and conforming with them. The rooms were indeed small and cramped. It is hard to imagine people living as they did.  We saw how the rooms were cramped, and each room had to serve at least two purposes–a workplace and kitchen. Children also slept four to one couch. Though they had gas and lighting, the modern concept of a bathroom didn’t exist back then, and even cold running water was a luxury. The immigrants lived rather densely, 7,000 to a block; the photograph of the busy market square was rather alarming. At the same time, the apartments had their own distinct human elements such as books, a hat rack, dolls, and a Sabbath table.

The immigrants’ work was just as inconvenient as their home. Without knowing English and having desirable skills, they had to work long hours just to get by. What surprised us in the Levine household’s case was that he worked in his crowded home, under horrible lighting. Mr. Levine had to work by piece. Children too, were not exempt from work. Contributing as much as 30% of the family’s wages, their effort was necessary for the family’s survival. Often this work was at factories, crowded with other workers without the chance for negotiating better conditions. The Triangle Factory fire best demonstrates the extremes of their working conditions.

Today though, the lives of immigrants are not as unbearably challenging. They still live in neighborhoods among their own people, however their standards of living have improved. Modern apartments have adequate living space as well as both electricity and running water. No longer do they work sixty hour weeks in unhealthy or dangerous conditions. They are have less hours per day and are protected by minimum wage. Children are free to pursue their education without being pressured into the conditions of their parents.

The comfort and economic mobility we experience is unique to our time and we should not take for granted what we have now. At the same time, these immigrants should be admired for being about to make their lot in life seem live-able and homely in spite of their condition.

The Tenement Museum was a great “eye opener” for me. I came into the tour expecting a display of various different aspects of tenement life in a museum building, filled with photos and various artifacts giving a very impersonal insight of the time. Once we stepped into 97 Orchard Street, my superficial “museum expectations” were left at the door.

The first thing I noticed were the tiles, which were very reminiscent of large apartment buildings I’ve seen visiting relatives and family friends as a child. Never have I associated this type of flooring with tenement housing or the era in which they existed. The original staircase railing was also present, and seemed to be the sturdiest structure in the building when holding it as we walked up the stairs, creaking eerily.

The hallway was small and cramped, but the rooms were fairly sized, just like the old apartments my family used to visit. However, it was soon revealed that many people, even whole families resided in these tiny rooms. The first was an empty room, with one window. Outside it’s doorway was another, smaller room, and a kitchen, and then the hallway back to the stairs. Inside these two rooms, several people eat, slept, and lived.

The second room was a replication/restoration of how the room was set up during the time a family actually lived in this tenement housing. The cramped space was divided into three smaller rooms, a bedroom, a kitchen, and a workspace. The workspace had various aspects of a small clothing factory. In this room, the man of the family would have workers doing various jobs in manufacturing clothing. Many people would be in this room working quickly and trying to produce as much as possible in their 12+ hour days, being that they were paid by piece produced.

In the kitchen, there was a stove, an ironing board, and a crib, all within close proximity. Coming from a household where small children were not allowed near a stove, even when the gas was off, this was greatly alarming. We were told that the mother would be here pressing the clothes while tending to the baby, clean up after the workers left while tending to the baby, and then cooking dinner for the family while tending to the baby. Almost makes today’s definition of “Super-Mom” an understatement (Just kidding Mom!). But all these events took place in this small room where so many people lived and worked.

The next, and last, room we saw to was from a family who lived in the building a bit later in time. This room appeared a big larger, but was actually smaller in area than the previous space. But without all the work materials present, it felt more like a home. There was a kitchen area, and a dining space, and a common area. They had little showpieces on the mantle. There was also a sofa, but wasn’t only used for sitting; three to four boys would sleep on this sofa, with their heads on the seats and their legs on chairs, every night. The only remotely similar experience I ever had would be sleeping beside two of my cousins when they spent the night, and that was on a bed. Electricity existed in this home and less labor was done within the household, but the family didn’t have, at least by our definition, a perfect life. They still would have to go out to work, and share a small living space between many people in the family.

Stepping into the first floor hallway of 97 Orchard Street, we immediately noticed the kind of living conditions that those who lived in the building went through. The hallways were tight and dilapidated. The walls had floral patterns carved in and small hanging paintings, the flooring was honeycomb tiled, and the design of the ceiling gave a false sense of home and security. The stairs were composed of shaky, creaking wooden planks that were deemed a fire hazard.

The first thing to stand out in the family’s apartment was the coal-powered stove. Imagining it being used, a thick cloud of smog would fill the air, along with an unimaginable amount of soot that would be inhaled by everyone inside. In front of the stove was an ironing board where someone worked while the mother would be cooking. The ironing tool was heavy and seemed awkward to use in such a cramped space. Next to the stove and ironing board was a baby crib, which, although unsafe, was the easiest way for the mother to keep an eye on the baby while continuing her housework duties. The apartment, doubling as a dress factory, was inhabited at least by eight people: the parents, several children, and two hired young women who assisted in the dress making. It was astonishing to learn that many of these hired women might be  abused by their employers and had no choice but to stay due to the scarcity of work available in contrast to the plethora of job-seekers.

Utilities were non-existent in the apartment. Oil lamps were used for light during evenings. Water was supplied via a central location on the ground floor for the entire building. The limited supply of even the most basic necessities made life in the tenement buildings extremely dejected and melancholic. Only during the Saturday Sabbath was life more enjoyable; the mother would clean the house and the family would be able to enjoy a good meal together and pray for the future. During these years, Jewish immigrants generally remained in their enclave in the Lower East Side and strongly held onto their cultural customs and identity.

The second family apartment we visited provided a view thirteen years into the future. Although the space was a few square feet smaller than the first, it actually felt more spacious. The home did not serve as a factory, so there was more space for more leisure items such as a large couch, dumbbells for exercise, and souvenirs from fun places like Coney Island. In comparison to the first apartment, more natural light entered the rooms, allowing for a livelier atmosphere. By the time this family was living here, there was electric lighting in the building. Despite having available electricity, however, they themselves would not touch the light switches due to Jewish observances. Instead, they asked other tenants to do it for them. By this time, many of the Jewish immigrants were beginning to assimilate into American culture while keeping many of their traditions.