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Well, it's not just a matter of perceptions, but also what happens in reality.
Take a neighborhood in Brooklyn like Canarsie. It went from mostly White to mostly Black. The crime rate decreased in almost every category (murder, assault, robbery, etc) by a significant amount, and yet you still have people talking about how crime has gone up and so on. At best, people will say that it's remained the same, but very few people will say it has improved as more Black people moved in, when in reality, that was the case.
Is this a joke? There is a murder, robbery and/or violent crime every week on the cover of the Canarsie Courier. The schools in Canarsie went from some of the best in the city to some of the most deplorable and unsafe, to the point where SSHS was closed down. There is rampant gang activity in the elementary schools, the projects are infested with drug dealers and Rockaway Parkway and Avenue L are shells of what they once were.
I love this ridiculous argument. What a crock. Yes my great, great grandparents came here generations ago, but they did so LEGALLY. I have no problem at all with LEGAL immigrants in this country, as a matter of fact I support reform, so much of the legal immigration red tape can be removed. Am I upset at politicians? You bet. Im upset at them for not actively enforcing immigration law and securing the border. Bottom line Republicans want them for cheap labor and Democrats want them for easy votes, period so nothing gets done. Path to citizenship? Great, lets reward law breakers and encourage more to join them and break the law. Great Idea.
Seems Immigration has always been an issue:
The derogatory term ‘wop,’ an acronym for ‘With Out Papers,’ would be stamped on the forms of these unfortunate Italian immigrants, and officials would call out, ‘We have another “wop.” Send him home
So then wouldn't it have the same impact out in Long Island if Mexicans moved out there in large numbers? It's in the NYC area. Maybe that's the solution. Bring on the Mexicans!
I was actually surprised to learn that a large percentage of the Hispanics on Long Island are Salvadoreans rather than Mexicans. (In fact, they outnumber Mexicans by a sizable amount). So it's the same thing here, just with a different group, and it depends on what type of attitudes they have as to whether it'll result in an improvement in the area or not.
The Mexican population on LI or even NYC is not very high compared to other areas. EL Salvador, Honduras, Ecuador, Colombia, and the DR are much more prevelant populations here.
Is this a joke? There is a murder, robbery and/or violent crime every week on the cover of the Canarsie Courier. The schools in Canarsie went from some of the best in the city to some of the most deplorable and unsafe, to the point where SSHS was closed down. There is rampant gang activity in the elementary schools, the projects are infested with drug dealers and Rockaway Parkway and Avenue L are shells of what they once were.
It has, in every conceivable way, become worse.
Not really. It was the white ghetto (what my Mom called it) back then. Now it's black middle class. It's only worse now if you're white. Crime stats have declined dramatically. We just didn't fear white on white crime. My walks to school through "the lots" in Georgtown never failed to turn up less than 3 or 4 stolen, stripped and burned cars and my friend and I found a dead body on the way to elementary school. We also had race riots. Not as many of those post white flight. And SSHS was a hell hole all the way back to
'79. Armed police started in '82 (Truant Patrol Unit) and metal detectors came a few years later. South Shore's problems were the projects encroaching along Ralph Avenue and the eastern migration from East New York and Brownsville. Canarsie got it too but prop. values in Canarsie have remained high and the Russians taking over Starrett has helped.
But even with all that, I'd still not vouch for Canarsie as a top neighborhood to live in NYC. It's pretty rough. Oddly I was goofing w a friend from there (he lives on LI but still has his dental practice there) recently and when our antics at Seaview Park came up he said I wouldn't believe how nice it is now. He claims they have fixed up most of the stuff that was in heavy decline in the 70's and 80's.
Last edited by mongoose65; 12-19-2012 at 01:31 PM..
The derogatory term ‘wop,’ an acronym for ‘With Out Papers,’ would be stamped on the forms of these unfortunate Italian immigrants, and officials would call out, ‘We have another “wop.” Send him home
Thats interesting..I always heard Mexicans described in more derogatory forms - like "wetbacks" (probably something from a Family Guy episode ).
As a Hispanic, I have to giggle at some of the responses on this thread. My parents immigrated from South America (not Argentina/Venezuela/Chile/Ecuador) and moved to Queens where I grew up. My husband was born and raised in Long Island and now we are looking at areas to move into next year (since our house was in Sandy's flood zone and we want non-flood zone housing), and some of the areas we are tinkering with are East Meadow, Wantagh, Bellmore and Merrick. We are both professionals with above avg incomes, and while on outward appearances *could* be mistaken for Mexican/Salvadorean descent, we are anything BUT.
In 15 years, this whole gentrification thing will stop- its like when the Italians came to NYC in the 40s and 50s and people still called them "guineas". Does anyone even remember such derogatory words? Hispanics are no longer just hispanics anymore - we are all blending together to form just 1 identity - AMERICAN.
Thats interesting..I always heard Mexicans described in more derogatory forms - like "wetbacks" (probably something from a Family Guy episode ).
As a Hispanic, I have to giggle at some of the responses on this thread. My parents immigrated from South America (not Argentina/Venezuela/Chile/Ecuador) and moved to Queens where I grew up. My husband was born and raised in Long Island and now we are looking at areas to move into next year (since our house was in Sandy's flood zone and we want non-flood zone housing), and some of the areas we are tinkering with are East Meadow, Wantagh, Bellmore and Merrick. We are both professionals with above avg incomes, and while on outward appearances *could* be mistaken for Mexican/Salvadorean descent, we are anything BUT.
In 15 years, this whole gentrification thing will stop- its like when the Italians came to NYC in the 40s and 50s and people still called them "guineas". Does anyone even remember such derogatory words? Hispanics are no longer just hispanics anymore - we are all blending together to form just 1 identity - AMERICAN.
What?
You mean you're not looking to go gentrify Wyandanch?
You mean you're not looking to go gentrify Wyandanch?
I dont know much about Suffolk neighborhoods. Is Wyandanch worse than Hempstead/Roosevelt/Uniondale? I'd be concerned with just general crime stats vs demographics.
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Bring on the Mexicans! 
).
