Pesso’s Italian Ices is very well-known in the Bayside neighborhood. Although there are many surrounding ice cream chains like Baskin Robbins, which is only six blocks away, and Ralph’s Famous Italian Ices, which is a mile away, Pesso’s is the social center for the diverse community where people not only eat, but also meet up and socialize. Especially since there is a middle school nearby, many students would walk six blocks to hang out at Pesso’s. On Sundays after church, people would go across the street and conveniently enjoy their ice cream. And especially at night after dinner, Pesso’s would be the go-to spot for dessert. Since there is a growing Asian population in Bayside, it has become the hub for Asian immigrants and Asian-Americans, and these people are vital to the business’s growth.
For the past decades, there has been a striking demographic change in the Bayside community, a shift of races within the area. According to the graphs below, the total population of Asians has immensely increased from 1980 to 2013. In comparison to the left graph, the orange graph on the right evidently demonstrates the trend that Bayside’s Asian community is growing. In addition to new immigrants, residents from surrounding neighborhoods are moving in. In fact, according to the New York Times article, “Bayside: A City Suburb With Enclaves,” by Alison Gregor, “in the last two decades, Korean- and Chinese-Americans have been its fastest-growing ethnicities, many moving east from the Flushing area.”
Comparison of the Asian population in 1980 and 2013- Source: Social Explorer
In addition, there has been a considerable increase in the number of foreign-born, naturalized citizens from 1990 to 2013. The image below depicts how over the twenty-three years, a great number of people have immigrated to Bayside, and a huge amount of them are most likely Asian.
Comparison of foreign-born naturalized citizens in 1990 and 2013 – Source: Social Explorer
As a matter of fact, in 1990, there were about 228 immigrants residing in Bayside, 111 of which came from Asian countries. And in 2002, there were 242 immigrants with 129 people who emigrated from Asia. This is over 50% of the total number of immigrants! This trend can be seen by the tables generated below from Infoshare.
Number of immigrants by race in 1990 – Source: Infoshare
Number of immigrants by race in 2002 – Source: Infoshare
While researching other race populations in this neighborhood, it was extremely interesting to see how many Whites are moving out while Asians are moving in. This implies at a progressive change of the major races in the Bayside community. In fact, according to the aforementioned New York Times article, Bayside was settled by English land grantees in the 1600s, so the area evolved into a neighborhood that appealed to affluent Irish-American, Italian-American, and German-American families by the mid-1900s. Thus, Bayside was a predominantly white neighborhood until there was a massive influx of Asian-Americans moving in for the past two decades. The tables below illustrate this piece of history, detailing the race populations in Bayside. From 1980 to 2010, there was a significant decrease of Whites living there. The number of White residents dropped from 24,162 to 15,688. In 1980, they composed 88.6% of the population, while in 2010, they were 54.9% of the population. Furthermore, there was a tremendous increase of Asians. They made up 3.1% of the population with 841 people in 1980, and they made up of 35.3% of the population with 10,088 people in 2010.
The inundation of Asian immigrants and Asian-Americans and the outflux of White residents over the past few decades have made the Bayside community more diverse than ever. Due to this change, there has been a shift in the cultural undertones. Diversity may unnoticeably affect the residents because they experience casual interracial contact. This ultimately reduces negative stereotyping and threat towards the “outgroups.” There was no notable increase in diversity seen by Gidon Pesso, the ice cream shop owner. He said that, “in terms of nationality, everybody comes here.” This is probably because ice cream brings everyone from any background together. Even so, the residential area surrounding Pesso’s might not have had a major demographic change, but the whole Bayside area has. The data represents the entirety of this neighborhood, and not the small part of 35th Avenue. Then again, this increase in diversity has positively contributed to Gidon’s business. It connects strangers, whether they were White or Asian, with their common love for frozen dessert.
Population by race in 1980 – Source: Infoshare
Population by race in 2010 – Source: Infoshare
Bayside has always been a pretty affluent neighborhood. From wealthy English land grantees, to Irish-, Italian-, and German-American families, to Asian-Americans and Asian immigrants, the neighborhood today resides upper-middle-class families. According to Social Explorer, in 1980, the median household income (in 1979 dollars) was about $20,439. And in 2013, the median household income (in 2013 inflation adjusted dollars) was about $69,183. So almost everyone can afford Pesso’s ice creams and Italian ices. In fact, a small cup of ice-cream holds to be around $4, so purchasing these ices should not be a problem for many residents.
Pesso’s is mostly surrounded by houses, but if you walk 6 blocks down, there are many businesses on Francis Lewis Boulevard like pizzerias, supermarkets, nail salons, bagel stores, fitness clubs, and delis. As shown by Google Maps below, Pesso’s is positioned in a residential area, as opposed to a commercial one. Along 35th Avenue and 203rd Street, you can see only detached, single-family houses, rather than other business storefronts.
Aerial view of Pesso’s Italian Ices and its neighboring area – Source: Google Maps
The building of Pesso’s itself was a law office in 1980, which could be seen by the image below. Gidon noted that he bought the store from a friend, which was also a local ice cream parlor, but did not last as long as Pesso’s has. It is striking how over four decades, this building has transformed from a law firm into a long-established ice cream shop. Pesso’s and the previous ice cream store must have been one of the very few dessert places in the area.
Building of Pesso’s in 1980 – Source: NYC Department of Records
Pesso’s storefront – Source: Google Maps
According to the information acquired by the graphs and tables, there has been a shift in population in the neighborhood of Bayside. A lot of Asian immigrants and Asian-Americans are moving in, while many Whites are moving out. Although the racial assortment of residents in Bayside has changed, Pesso’s has not changed; rather, it has improved to meet people’s desires. It continues to create new, unique flavors and to maintain its customers’ happiness.
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