In interviewing Lin Paik, the owner of The Millinery Shop in the East Village, I was struck less by the way that she has had to weather the changes in the neighborhood and more by the way that the neighborhood has weathered changes like her. In the few years since Lin’s bespoke hat and headwear store opened up, the census tract in which the store resides has not changed drastically. In 2015, there were 8,947 residents, most of whom are between the ages of 18-24 or 25-34. 81% of the residents of the census tract are white, and 74% of them are doing well financially (median income of $85,338, which would be defined as upper-middle class). The majority of residents of that particular census tract are in non-family households (80.2%) and rent their apartments as opposed to owning (92.9%). In 2010, the population of this small tract was 8,651, 76.5% of whom were white. Although the majority of the population was also in the 18-24 or 25-34 age bracket, in 2010 the population skewed younger than it did in 2015. These could be many of the same people who merely aged over the 5 years in between. Much like in 2015, the majority (81.3%) of people in the area live in non-family households. There is no income information for this census, but since the other demographic information is so similar it is reasonable to assume that the median income of people in that region are roughly the same. These demographics indicate that in the period of time that The Millinery Shop has been in business, the region has not changed that much.

However, the East Village has undergone massive changes that allowed the current feel of the neighborhood to exist. In 1990, the racial and living situation demographics were fairly similar to 2010 and 2015, although there were slightly fewer white people (77.5% of the population) than in 2015. However, the most interesting indicator of change over the 25 years between 1990 and 2015 is the median income. In 1990, the median income of the census tract was $30,154, which translates to about $57,637.18 adjusted for 2015 inflation. The average wealth of a neighborhood is a very important indicator of the character of the region and truly defines what businesses can take root there. If we go back even further to 1970, we see drastically different demographics. The population of that particular census tract is quite a bit smaller (7,922, about 1000 fewer individuals than in 2015) and the living situation was vastly different. Instead of the majority of people living in non-family households like in 2015 (80.2%), 68.3% of people in 1970 lived in family households. Perhaps of a result of this, there is a wider age distribution in 1970 than at any point since. Instead of the vast majority of the population being young adults, there were far more middle aged people and children. Additionally, there was a wide spread in the incomes of the people who lived there, although most people made between $10,000 and $25,000 ($61,086.86-$152,717.14 in 2015 dollars) per year.

Although demographics do not offer a complete picture of the character of a neighborhood, it does tell us some things. A fancy, creative shop like Lin’s likely could not have existed in the 70s or 90s in that location. In the 70s, the people living there may have been able to afford bespoke hats but with most people in the neighborhood being members of a family, there may be less demand for bespoke items. A bit later in the 90s, the demographics of people shifted more towards young, single people who may have interest in such a unique or creative form of expression, but the median income of the people living there likely was not high enough to support a business that specific. Demographics do not tell why changes in a neighborhood occur, but they can help to track the results of these changes. The East Village had to change a lot to allow businesses like the Millinery Shop to thrive, and it will likely continue to do so.