What strikes me the most about Joe Salvo’s presentation is the fact that the foreign-born are a significant portion of the population. I always knew that many immigrants came to New York in search of a better life than in their previous countries. But I never realized that many of the immigrants actually stayed in New York City. My parents came to New York in the 80’s. However, they moved to Westchester since their family lived there. That’s the story of all my aunts and uncles as well. I never really spent time in the city until I came here for college, so I was pretty oblivious to the fact that many foreigners reside in New York City.

 

New York City is considered to be the “melting pot” of New York and the country for that matter. Salvo’s presentation shows that the percentage of foreign born in the five boroughs range from 20 to nearly 50 percent of the total population in each borough. Many of you might think it’s not a big deal, but for someone who grew up out of the city in a town where the foreign- born is a miniscule portion of the population, it’s pretty impressive.

 

A great defining characteristic of New York City is the diversity of the population. Well, everyone knows that. Maybe that’s why many people immigrate here versus other potential cities. Who wouldn’t want to be a part of the greatest city in the world?