what's the Puerto Rican American population like in NYC? (Ridge: crime, unemployment)

[katalin]

I really liked the previous thread talking about the Mexican population in NYC but I am curious about the Puerto Rican American population

[SobroGuy]

This is the Cliff Notes version:

They have been here since the early 1900s and first settled in Brooklyn and Manhattan. There was a big migration in the 1950s which brought hundreds of thousands which settled across the city, and especially the Bronx. There was also a substantial population which settled in present day Lincoln Center, and this was the inspiration for the "West Side Story". The manufacturing sector's collapse in NYC around 1970 hit the population particularly hard as many were unskilled laborers and ultimately were not prepared for the changing economy. Unemployment skyrocketed, crime increased, and these communities failed on every level. What you really see today are the remnants of this economic and social collapse of the community...many of the ones remaining are the least capable, least educated...those who "didn't make it out."

Since that time they have migrated to cities throughout the east cost, and are now moving to suburban areas en masses, specifically Central Florida (Orlando area), and Pennsylvania. There are still quite a few remaining here, however the population is dwindling, as is their political power, as other Hispanic groups, especially Dominicans, are close to overtaking their numbers.

The new growth for the population is away from NYC and to Central Florida...where they are opening up businesses and exerting political influence. It is a major shift and one that will ultimately effect out national landscape as Florida is a swing state, and the more PR it becomes, the more likely it will swing Democratic and could tilt the race. Very interesting things happening with this population..major economic and political transformations are happening...

[katalin]

So which part/neighborhood is the highest population?

[anon1]

Don't disagree with what Sobroguy said for the most part, but I think that because he lives in an area concentrated with low-income PR's he doesn't see that the decline of PR's in certain neighborhoods isn't so much due to the exodus of PR's from NYC but more in part due to the increase of the middle class Puerto Rican population moving to a number of different working to middle class areas across the city... Areas like Pelham Bay in the Bronx, Park Slope in Brooklyn or any number of areas in Queens like Woodhaven, Ridgewood, Glendale or Maspeth... Again like Sobroguy said, there are a number of Puerto Ricans that have moved to areas like Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Massachusetts, NC, and Florida but the Puerto Rican population is still the highest in the country and it remains as the number one hispanic group in the city... Until the time comes when that no longer is the case which is probably sooner rather than later, to say that the PR populationis dwindling is a little out of whack...

To answer your second question the areas that have the highest concentration of Puerto Ricans in no specific order just based on the eye test would go like this... Again (I know the city well but cannot vouge for statistics so you can verify the numbers with other people who are more knowledgeable than I am about this topic)

Mott Haven, Bronx
Hunts Point, Bronx
Pelham Bay, Bronx
Spanish Harlem, Manhattan
Lower East Side, Manhattan (specifically towards Aves C and D)
Southside, Williamsburg
Bushwick, Brooklyn
Cypress Hills, Brooklyn
Park Slope, Brooklyn
Woodhaven, Queens
Ridgewood, Queens
Glendale, Queens (Especially along the Ridgewood/Bushwick border)
Maspeth, Queens (Moreso along the Ridgewood border)

[SobroGuy]

I agree with that Anon..it was just a brief synopsis. If you go to alot of middle class neighborhoods in the Bronx especially, you will see PRs represented there also and they are a growing part of these communities.

[katalin]

I go to ny a lot and I see more and more south Americans. And yes there's a lot of Puerto ricans moving here to Allentown or to poconos. I was just in Brooklyn last week and I hardly saw Puerto ricans but again I was driving on flatbush ave until j st.

[SobroGuy]

Katalin I don't know what you mean by hardly seeing any...we don't wear name tags! We come in all colors, shapes, sizes, and looks..as black as Wesley Snipes, and as White as Santa Claus.

But yes there are lots moving to Pennsylvania..I have lots of family in Bethlehem, Reading, and Allentown who moved from the Bronx.

[anon1]

LOL... exactly @ Sobroguy... Apparently we have a sign on our forehead that distinguishes us... @ katalin the reason you didn't see them around there is because Flatbush has never been an area dominated by Puerto Ricans... It has always been majority black and the other hispanics that you see there usually are dominicans but in small numbers. There's a few south americans moving in around there but not as much as other areas like Bushwick or East Harlem...

[katalin]

I am very good at distinguish for the most time. But anyway you guys gave me a lot of good info keep it going.

[njnyckid]

I've been wondering about the PR population in Sunset Park. I've read they used to dominate that neighborhood but Mexicans now have overtaken it. Are there still any significant number of PRs in SP?