Astoria has always been known for its ethnic diversity. While it’s known for its large Greek community, changes in Astoria’s ethnic population and generational trends have become apparent, especially with the Greeks. The changes in the generational makeup of Greeks and its growing ethnic diversity over the years is due to various reasons such as the economic collapse of Greece as well as the growing affluence of Greek-Americans. This is apparent not only through statistics but in the businesses in the neighborhood as well.
We can see the changes in the population size of the Greek community in the Census.
Here is the data on the number of people with Greek ancestry in 1980:
Greek Ancestry in Astoria, 1980 Census. Photo courtesy of Infoshare.
The first table shows that there were 21,415 people that identified as Greek in 1980 (Infoshare)74. This is approximately 12.3% of Astoria’s population at the time. Based on the Census, the reporting shows that Greek ancestry ranks second after Italian ancestry (16.7%) in the most common ethnicity in Astoria (Infoshare)74. Of course, there are also people who reported mixed ancestry, making it possible that there are more Greeks that lived in Astoria at the time.
The next table below shows a section of the population by ancestry of Astoria from 2007-2011:
Greek Ancestry in Astoria, 2007-2011 Census. Photo courtesy of Infoshare.
The two tables show that there has been a decrease in the number of people reporting Greek ancestry living in Astoria. This can be explained for a variety of reasons. As the Greek community in Astoria continued to thrive, later generations became more affluent and moved to neighborhoods like Bayside and Long Island (Ekman)75. In fact, from 1980 to 2011, the people with Greek ancestry increased from 3,742 to 7,146 (Infoshare)74. The two tables below demonstrates this population change:
Greek Ancestry in Bayside/Little Neck, 1980 Census. Photo courtesy of Infoshare.
Section of population by Ancestry from 2007-2011:
Greek Ancestry in Bayside/Little Neck, 2007-2011 Census. Photo courtesy of Infoshare.
This information suggests that, along with its population naturally growing, more Greeks must have moved into Bayside, possibly from Astoria.
In addition, Astoria has become more multiethnic, especially the Pakistani, Egyptian and Ecuadorean communities. You can see this with the growth of various restaurants of different ethnicities appearing in Astoria (Ekman)75.
Bubba’s Bistro in Astoria, New York. Photo taken on March 27, 2015 by Hilly Bachiry
Fresca Tortilla, Tex-Mex Express in Astoria, New York. Photo taken on March 27, 2015 by Hilly Bachiry.
While it seems that the population of Greeks in Astoria has been decreasing due to decreased immigration and lower birth rates, economic difficulties in Greece have also resulted in an increase in Greeks in Astoria (Seiradaki)76.
Due to the economic collapse in Greece’s in the recent years, immigration from Greece to America has risen. Since Astoria’s known for its Greek community, Greek immigrants are more likely to move to there, increasing the number of first generation immigrants living in Astoria. In fact, about 5,000 Greek immigrants moved to Astoria in 2013 compared to 2,000 in the past decade (Bogos)77. The Immigration Advocacy Services in Astoria, which assists newcomers in completing residency paperwork, reported that the number of Greek clients they worked with had risen by 50% in 2011 (Seiradaki)76. Additionally, other immigrants also enter the country illegally, possibly increasing the possible number of first generation immigrants in Astoria (Davidson)78.
This recent immigration of first generation Greeks and later generations leaving Astoria suggests that more people living in Astoria are first generation Greeks rather than the later generations.
However, what is still puzzling is how despite the slight increase in immigration to the U.S. in the recent years, the Census still shows a steady decrease in the population of Greeks living in Astoria. From 1980 to 2011, the number of Greeks living in Astoria has gone from 21,415 to 14,367, a difference of 7,048 people (Infoshare)74. Although part of it may be due to the later generations of Greek-Americans leaving the neighborhood, the arrival of first generation immigrants may, oddly enough, also be a contributor to supposed decreased population. While immigrants have come into Astoria, many of them don’t know English; they can’t communicate with Census workers or don’t even complete the Census (Koster and Kussin)79.
Therefore, despite the increase in first generation Greeks residing in Astoria, the Census displays a significant decrease in the number of Greeks there are because people actually recognized as part of Astoria are leaving the place.
– Hilly Renana Bachiry
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