Author: Will Zeng

I’ve generally thought that real estate was a thing that everyone in the world discussed and it was surprising to hear today that outside of New York, nobody really talked about it. Nobody really talked about, for example, property values or had strong opinions about which material was best for building: Brick or shingles (Bricks are obviously the better choice, they’re (1) more aesthetically pleasing and (2) far more durable). To be clear, people outside of New York City probably do talk about their properties but not over Sunday brunch as the way we do here. New Yorkers seem obsessed over their real estate and for good reason.

I think New Yorker’s obsession with real estate comes in part from the meaning that many of the streets seem to impart. To buy a home or more realistically, nowadays, a small apartment in New York is to buy a part of history. Some streets are just dripping with history. I was walking home the other day and I walked down Third ave. At a certain point, Third ave, after Delancy, changes into the Bowery. On either side of the street, I noticed in the windowstills of shops and buildings on the street was posters by the Friends of the Bowery that highlighted the buildings, theatres, homes, which once stood there. I clearly remember that in what was now a group of art galleries on an affluent block, flanked by condominiums and high rises, was a poster talking about the first theatre that showed Vaudeville acts that stood once right on that very ground! Much further down the block, near where the Five Points used to be, once stood another theatre that was designed with beautiful, huge greek columns, and wide balconies, designed to entice wealthy patrons but ironically the theatre was ignored like the plague by the rich who preferred prettier theatres uptown and was rather beloved by the poor immigrant groups that lived nearby, First the theatre, at the corner of Canal and Bowery, was patronized by large crowds of German immigrants, who in turn gave way to Italians, then Jews, then finally closed when the last Chinese finally left the theatre. What stands there now is a Chinese Dim Sum place and an ugly parking garage. The streets of New York are just dripping with historic meaning.

When New Yorkers discuss real estate, they’re discussing the lives, the days, the laughter, the smiles, the tears, the blood of those people that have lived on the same land. New York is a place where so many people have walked, so many people have lived and the history, unlike many other places, is so well-known and so well-loved.

****So there was something interesting said in the discussion on Wednesday: The idea that initially German and Irish and Italian immigrants to America were seen as some kind of ‘other’ but in time after generations and decades, they became part of the larger ‘white’ society. Why haven’t African-Americans grown to be considered white? How long will it take for Hispanics, Asians, or Muslims to be considered white? First, let’s assume that being considered white is a good thing after all being white gives you privilege, it gives you acceptance.

This might seem like a dumb question but consider looking into what ‘white’ really means in America. It means privilege. It means acceptance. Being white is still very much tied to the idea of being American. Yet if the term was stretched a little in the 19th century to include those groups of Germans and Irish, who were at the time seen as undesirable, why hasn’t that happened with other immigrant groups?

I don’t think this is a race issue. I mean it is to an extent but I feel like the privileged in America need people to be superior to. In the old wave of immigration, the scapegoats were Jewish and Irish immigrants. They were seen as dirty, job-stealing, pagans. In the newer wave of immigration, the scapegoats were Chinese, Puerto Rican, and other Hispanic immigrants. They were seen as dirty, job-stealing, pagans. And today our scapegoats are Muslims, in particular, Syrian refugees. They are seen as dirty, job-stealing, pagans. I have hope that progress will be made in America in the next few decades or so that one day Asians, Hispanics, and African-Americans will be given the same privilege and acceptance as white Americans. However, the scapegoats of the next decades, as we are seeing today with our president, will probably be the Muslim-American population. I have faith that America is moving towards being a more accepting country as shown by history despite whoever is in the White House.

****Note: Sorry I thought I posted this on Friday but I accidentally saved it as a draft. I’m posting it now.