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My grandmother does not leave her neighborhood very much and I do not have all that much contact with my relatives that still live in Trenton. Hence why I am asking here.
Que pasa Loco. I am not in trenton itself but I am at the outskirts of town. I think I would've stayed back in TN this state is boring no wonder I am moving.
Well, 80% white in what neighborhood? Not where I grew up. EVERYONE was some shade of tan or brown. In grade school we called it a big pretzel. All brown with some white sprinkles on top. lol
RobRiguez, that's true, but we're in a diverse state. There are huge swaths of this country where they've never seen anything darker than Martin Sheen.
I grew up in Trenton during that time. On the same street. Trenton was a wonderful place, truely diverse. The Puerto Rican community was prevalent at the time because we along with the small group of Cubans were the only Latinos in town. Most everyone's parents worked in the factories (GM, Bayer, GE, US Steel, etc.). We had social clubs, local pubs, corner stores, all owned by Boriqua's coming in from PR. We played in the streets until 9pm. Our community was close nit, low key and policed our own. Trenton began to fall apart about 1979 when all the facotries began to close, later in the 1980's city taxes were levied, properties began to decline. Puerto Ricans worked hard to assimulate and moved on as the children of that era began graduating from school (High and College) and wanting more. Most parents of that time returned to PR for awhile and then returned to the outskirts to be close to their grandchildren.
Then "screem" what you like, "Where the jews at?" , "Where the Italians at?" etc.... I don't have a problem with it. I remember a thread on this board asking "Where have all the italians have gone?" , no one through a fit. Go ahead show off your patriotism or ethnicity, just keep any bigotry to yourself. Then you'll hear "screeming".
I actually started a thread called "Italian-American Towns in New Jersey" because I would looking for old-school Italian communities. I received many helpful posts on that thread helping me in my search, and I'm more than happy to help this person find a nice Puerto Rican neighborhood.
I myself, am interested in different ethnicities and cultures. I like Latin culture a lot, especially Puerto Ricans. I feel that it is good to be proud of your ethnic heritage (although there are many posters on this forum who have critisized me for that). But they are all just a bunch of condescending people who think they are sophisticated (that's the only phrase I can think to describe them without using vulgar language).
Anyway back to the point. What I noticed in my search for Italian neighborhoods is that Italian-Americans become absorbed into American culture, forgetting their roots. That's why Italian neighborhoods dissapear. Puerto Ricans though have a tremendous amount of pride, and they do not let their neighborhoods die. I think that the number one ancestry in New York City is Puerto Rican, especially in the Bronx. But if you're looking for Puerto Rican communities in New Jersey, Newark is the most obvious place. There's a good number of Puerto Ricans there, as well as in nearby Belleville, which used to be a huge Italian community.
NJ's Puerto Rican population has decreased a lot in recent years. Paterson, Passaic, and Elizabeth have lost a good amount of their Puerto Rican populations to nearby suburbs or other states. Puerto Ricans in Passaic are virtually non-existent. And don't be fooled by the so-called Puerto Rican Restaurants in these cities. They are run by Mexicans/Central Americans who cook substandard versions of Puerto Rican cuisine. I only now of one authentic Puerto Rican restaurant in Paterson and the owner is selling and moving to another state this year.
Hartford CT - highest concentration in the Northeast. Trust me.
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