Over the past 15-20 years, there have not been many new Greeks coming into Astoria, Queens. However, with the recent decline in the economy in Greece, many people have decided to move out of Greece and into Astoria (Davidson)63. Most people who are moving in are young professionals ages 20-35 looking to make money and send some back to their families back home. However, it is getting harder to move to the United States without having family members already living here because one needs a network of immigrants in order to establish a place to live and find a job. Though there may not be an impending mass wave of immigrants moving to Astoria, there are many new Greek immigrants coming to Astoria looking for economic prosperity.
Photo taken from goempiremovers.com
Many of the Greek newcomers who come to Astoria find comfort in the fact that Astoria is like a “little Greece”, and that they can improve their financial situation and send money back home to their families in Greece. George Hatzopoulos, a Greek immigrant to Astoria interviewed in The Daily News, says that he has opportunities in Astoria that he would otherwise not have in Greece. He works two jobs and interns at a music company in Long Island City. He is able to rent an apartment, own a car, and pay tuition for community college. He also sends money back to his immediate family in Greece. “I’ve been doing things I could never possibly do in Greece,” he says. Dimitris Pinos, manager of “Mediterranean Foods” in Astoria, says that he sees ten people walking in each day asking for job applications(Bogos)64. This shows the influx of Greek immigrants looking for work to beat the rough economy that they encountered in Greece.
Dimitrios Pinos, manager of Mediterranean Foods in Astoria. Photo taken from NY Daily News
The Queens Chronicle shows clear verification that there are many new immigrants coming into the United States: “Immigration officials say the number of Greeks seeking legal residence in the United States is at a five-year high. Nine hundred forty-nine Greeks were granted permanent resident status by the Department of Homeland Security in 2011, an increase of 27.3 percent over 2010. That number does not include Greeks who have yet to acquire permanent status, who enter the country illegally or who already possess a green card and are returning to the United States after years of living in Greece” (Davidson)63. Though this is a generalization that refers to the total Greek Immigrants that live in the United States, many of them move to Astoria. On our visit to Astoria, we heard many different languages, however, one of the most common languages that I heard was Greek. It seemed as if every store we passed was appealing to Greek customers because of the Greek flags in the windows. This shows that there are still many Greek immigrants coming into Astoria.
Someone who moves to the United States often needs help from a family member who is already in Astoria to help the rest of the family move here(Chaudhuri)66. Greeks are quick to help out other Greeks in order to make this happen. “Astoria continues to be a beacon of hope for many Greek immigrants,” says The Daily News64. Whenever the Greeks hear there is a new Greek immigrant, they try and help them out as much as they can. The camaraderie for the Greek immigrants is particularly high, which is why Greeks continue to move in. In the picture below, people from the Greek community are preparing turkey to give to people in soup kitchens for Thanksgiving. They say that they wish they could do the same for their families back home in Greece, since that is where they need it most (Zakiros)65.
Greek men help feed people from local soup kitchen for Thanksgiving. Photo taken from Pavementpieces.com
It is clear that there is a rise in Greek immigration to Astoria based on the different newspaper articles and what we saw in Astoria. George Hatzopoulos clearly is a success story based on what it says about him in The Daily News. Many other papers also write on the influx of Greek immigrants to Astoria, showing the change that results from it in the past five years. As the economy in Greece falls and rises, we well most likely see the immigration form Greece to Astoria fluctuate once again.
-Rebecca Tepp
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