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Honestly I have no idea if WH and the Bronx are gay friendly or not, but I will say that your logic (hispanic families won't accept gays) doesn't hold true in Jackson Heights, which is heavily hispanic and also heavily gay. How do you explain that one?
Washington Heights and the Bronx house mostly lower-income Hispanics. Jackson Heights has a LARGE contingent of professional, middle income Hispanics, many of which are young, gay males. Also, Jackson Heights is NOT overwhelmingly Hispanic (and the Hispanics tend to be from a variety of countries, instead of just from Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico), as it is a very diverse neighborhood. These demographic difference are pretty key to understanding why gays/lesbians feel more comfortable in Jackson Heights.
Washington Heights and the Bronx house mostly lower-income Hispanics. Jackson Heights has a LARGE contingent of professional, middle income Hispanics, many of which are young, gay males. Also, Jackson Heights is NOT overwhelmingly Hispanic (and the Hispanics tend to be from a variety of countries, instead of just from Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico), as it is a very diverse neighborhood. These demographic difference are pretty key to understanding why gays/lesbians feel more comfortable in Jackson Heights.
Actually, I said heavily hispanic, not overwhelmingly hispanic. I believe that holds true. 75% of the conversations I hear during weekday afternoons on the sidewalks and in stores in JH are in Spanish. That percentage does shift at 6pm weekdays and on weekends when the professionals who work in Manhattan return home, but still, I stand by my word choice.
But the gist of what you are saying makes sense in the context of this thread and I am not disagreeing with that.
Yeah, Jackson Heights is more diverse. You have different hispanic groups, you have many asians, a good number of whites etc....also the income there is much higher.
In Washington Heights and in most Bronx neighborhoods, the hispanic population is 70-80%. And that's really all you see. The last 20-30% is blacks. The poverty rate is much higher in the above neighborhoods too. For example, all my life here I have never seen a gay couple. And most of the people I run into disagree with that lifestyle.
Im sure if I go to the Village, I would see more gays in one day than I've seen in my entire life in the Bronx. They also either live the gay lifestyle, or if not gay, have become tolerant to it.
If we're going to recommend the Heights and the Bronx...then whats stopping us from recommending East NY and Brownsville?
If we're going to recommend the Heights and the Bronx...then whats stopping us from recommending East NY and Brownsville?
Well, the NY Times hasn't written an article about gays moving to Brownsville yet like they did for the Bronx, so I guess we should hold off on that recommendation til the NY Times says so.
Well, the NY Times hasn't written an article about gays moving to Brownsville yet like they did for the Bronx, so I guess we should hold off on that recommendation til the NY Times says so.
I would guess in areas like Bushwick and Bed-Stuy, there are a handful of gays. Just because many hipsters tend to be gay.
I think the city overall is pretty accepting of gay people. Maybe some neighborhoods are more accepting than others. But NYC is gay-friendly for the most part.
I see gay couples all over the Bronx. Mostly lesbians. I see different Lesbian couples at least 2 or three times a week in Fordham.
Neighborhoods where one ethnic group tends to dominate heavily probably are not the most accepting. Hence why a JH, would probably be more welcoming than a WH. But Washington Heights can be diverse. The strips along Riverside and Fort Wash, are like another world.
But I'd gather that JH in the 80's or early 90's when it was more heavily Colombian would be about as gay-friendly as Wash Heights is now.
Last edited by NooYowkur81; 10-01-2008 at 11:06 PM..
Washington Heights and the Bronx house mostly lower-income Hispanics. Jackson Heights has a LARGE contingent of professional, middle income Hispanics, many of which are young, gay males. Also, Jackson Heights is NOT overwhelmingly Hispanic (and the Hispanics tend to be from a variety of countries, instead of just from Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico), as it is a very diverse neighborhood. These demographic difference are pretty key to understanding why gays/lesbians feel more comfortable in Jackson Heights.
There are probably more middle class people in JH. But its probably a lot closer than you realize. WH has had middle class people in Riverside and Fort Wash for years, and last time I checked the going rents in these neighborhoods are pretty similar.
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