New York changed significantly with the turn of the millennium. Two-term Mayor Rudolph Giuliani was a Republican in a historically Democratic city who wanted to reform the city’s liberal social policies to coincide with the nation’s more conservative ones. He was successful despite leading the city into turmoil for eight years. He was still seen as a good mayor for his response to the fall of the Twin Towers and for keeping the crime rate down. New York became known as the Contentious City. New Yorkers were not prepared for the physical and psychological effects of 9/11, and labeled the city as the Wounded City. With the efforts of Mayor Michael Bloomberg, the city regained its title as the Resilient City as the economy started to work its way back up.
As a West Indian woman experienced, New York is a place where one could meet and interact with people of many different cultures and take part in their cultural events. The population surged as a result from the 1965 immigration reform with an influx of more numerous immigrants from the Caribbean, East and Central Asia, Latin America, and Russia, making New York the Immigrant City. Anthropologist Nancy Foner notes that although Dominicans, Chinese, and Jamaicans make up most of New York’s immigration, combined they only comprise 30 percent of the total immigration. There are over 110 different languages spoken in Gotham.
Russian Jews found their way to Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, where many Eastern European Jews had settled, after the fall of the Soviet Union. Although they were met with some challenges, they were city dwellers who had the skills, education, and support from the community to overcome the difficulties.
The Chinese found their way to Chinatown in Lower Manhattan, where they were isolated for a long time. They were barred from most occupations and struggled to survive working in restaurants and laundries. After the immigration quota was increased, Chinatown’s population boomed. Fortunately, the garment industry needed workers, but unfortunately, the work exploited the Chinese, making them work in sweatshops for little pay. Wealthy, educated immigrants from Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Shanghai chose not to live in Chinatown and were known as “Uptown Chinese” as opposed to the “Downtown Chinese.” These uptown dwellers still influenced Chinatown by buying up real estate and pushing out the Cantonese dialect and making room for Mandarin. Two other Chinatowns sprung up in Sunset Park, Brooklyn and Flushing, Queens. After being allowed to become citizens in 1943, the Chinese got involved with New York’s political life, electing City Councilman and comptroller John C. Liu.
Latinos were faced with the dilemma of mixed identity. Puerto Ricans and Dominicans found themselves torn between embracing their American side and maintaining their Latino sides. To combat this, they travelled frequently between the States and their home countries. Dominicans settled in Washington Heights and upper Manhattan and Corona, Queens.
West Indians embraced their different cultures and celebrated pan-ethnicity. While Haitians celebrated their French culture, most West Indians emphasized their British ties to distinguish themselves from African Americans. Unfortunately, West Indians found themselves tied to African Americans based off the darkness of their skin instead of their ethnicity.
