"NEW" LATINA/O MIGRATION: LATINA/OS IN SUBURBS

BY STUDENT

New York City is one of many cities known for having a fast growing population of Latinos/Hispanics throughout history. Mike Davis stated how New York City has undergone “Latinization”, Davis talks about the 2000 Census which is the start of this Latino growth in the population. In the 2000 Census there was 35,305,818 who identified themselves as either Latino/Hispanic; meanwhile, in the 2010 Census there were 50,477,594. In my blog post I will be focusing on the New York City population and their growth within the past 20 years. According to the 2010 Census survey there is 8,175,133 Latinos/Hispanics living in New York City. The Latino/Hispanic population in New York City has been facing many difficulties recently due to white’s moving back into the city, leading to gentrification. Gentrification is when people of high income move into low income neighborhoods that they then reform till low incoming people can no longer afford to live there. It has been noticed that Latino’s are now moving out of Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens, and are moving into different parts of New York City such as Staten Island and the Bronx, more specifically Fordham and Hunts Point. In my blog post I will discuss how the Hispanic/Latino population become a majority in the Bronx.

The Latino/Hispanic population in the Bronx was 53.53%, which is more than half of the total population in the 2010 Census. The Bronx population has proven to continue to grow throughout the years(has proven to have significant growth) Gentrification can be one of the many reasons as to why the population keeps growing drastically. Based on the census data from 2009-2013, there was a total of 31,506 people who moved from one of the other four boroughs into the Bronx. There were also Bronx residents that left the county through this time period, there was a total of 16,904 people who left and moved to one of the other four boroughs. Fordham are one of the many places that has yet to be gentrified, there have been reports of more Latinos moving into this neighborhood. I have noticed a lot of Latino/Hispanic families move into my neighborhood. Although my family has not been directly affected by this “movement” we are being affected indirectly. Growing up in Fordham I have observed that it is a predominately Hispanic/Latino neighborhood. According to the 2010 Census the Hispanic/Latino population in Fordham was 70.2%. The other 29.8% of the population was majority Black/African Americans which were 26.0%, 1.5% were whites, and the other 2.3% of the population was either Asian or other (Murphy, 2016).

Hunts Points is a neighborhood found in the South Bronx. There are currently 20,305 residents living there according to the 2010 Census data. Hispanics/Latinos make up 74.6% of the population followed by 22.2% of Blacks/African Americans, the remaining 3.2% were either Asians or other. Mario Chasi is one of many small business owners that were gentrified out of Willets Points, Queens. The City Council decided to remove these small business and release them by expensive housing. According to sources this neighborhood had about 225 Latino owned business alongside about 1,700 Latino workers (Bagil, 2016). Hunts Point has become one of the many new homes for these small business. Based on the observations and research I have come to the conclusion that it will very hard for the Bronx to undergo the process of gentrification because the Latino/Hispanic make up most of the population.

U.S. Census Bureau. (2012). Population of Bronx County, New York: Census 2010 and 2000 Interactive Map, Demographics, Statistics, Graphs, Quick Facts, Retrieved from http://censusviewer.com/county/NY/Bronx

U.S. Census Bureau. (2010). Geographic Data Source; Neighborhood Tabulation Data, Retrieved from http://maps.nyc.gov/census/#

Bagli, C.V., (October 6, 2016). Auto Shop Owners Forced Out of Willets Point Struggle to Rebuild in the Bronx. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/07/nyregion/auto-shop-owners-forced-out-of-willets-point-struggle-to-rebuild-in-the-bronx.html?_r=1

Murphy, J., (March 25, 2016). UrbaNerd: Are Other Boroughs’ Gentrification Refugees Fueling Bronx Growth. City Limits, Retrieved from http://citylimits.org/2016/03/25/urbanerd-are-other-boroughs-gentrification-refugees-fueling-bronx-growth/

Davis, M. (2000). Magical Urbanism: Spicing the City. Verso, 2000.

"NEW" LATINA/O MIGRATION: LATINA/OS IN SUBURBS

BY STUDENT

In 6^th grade I moved from Westchester, NY to Hampton Bays, NY where I experienced a dramatic change in environment. While living in Long Island, I was exposed to a Latino/Latina movement like no other. You may read a book, newspaper article or hear a story about how many Latino/a individuals migrated to the U.S, but you will NEVER understand unless you lived in an area where the migration took place. I was fortunate enough to live in an area where thousands and thousands of Latino/a individuals migrated. Hampton Bays is a small town in Suffolk County, which is an affordable place in the Hamptons. This small location is surrounded by some of the richest towns in the country, like Southampton, East Hampton etc. This unique location attracted the Latino population because it was a place where they could reside and start restaurants, work blue-collar jobs for high pay and live a great lifestyle.

As this migration took into effect the Hampton Bays area and surrounding towns had reacted in many ways to the movement. Some of the key topics I would like to discuss are education, small businesses, competition and discrimination. First off, as the Latino/a population began to triple in Hampton Bays, the environment had adapted pretty quickly. Each day you would see more and more family style restaurants being started, frequent landscaping companies coming out of the woodwork. During class discussion, we often talked about how the education system for Latino/a’s were not great, often due to unqualified professors and lack of funding. In Hampton Bays they gave many individuals whom lived near the border (mostly white) the opportunity to chose to attend Westhampton Beach High School or Hampton Bays. I had made the decision to go to WHB because it was ranked one of the best public high schools in the state. Hampton Bays High School is about 70% Latino/a, which is majority. Do you believe this option to attend Westhampton indirectly led to segregation among high schools?

I want to discuss how the town and environment has adapted since the Latino/a migration to Hampton Bays specifically. The purpose of this blog post is to empower you with real life experiences and encounters of the Latino/a migration and the perceived effect on the community. Many of the local businesses that were started by the Latino/a experienced many struggles throughout. In East Quogue(next to Hampton Bays), there was a Latino named Mr. Alfaro who was an owner of a auto repair shop. The man had to petition to the Zoning Board of Appeals to allow him to continue operations. “The ZBA rejected that petition, ruling that such a business did not conform to the area’s village business zoning, although other auto shops, such as Mr. Mees’s, are located nearby”.  Mr. Alfaro claimed that the ZBA ruled against him because he is Latino. Do you believe race contributed to the ZBA’s decision to reject Mr. Alfaro’s petition?

Bossetta, Brian. "Hampton Bays Man Can Proceed with $25 Million Lawsuit - East Quogue." - 27east. The Southampton Press, 10 Dec. 2008. Web. 15 Nov. 2016.

  

LATINA/OS TAKE CENTER STAGE: CENSUS 2000

BY C.M


Between 2010 and 2015 Florida’s population has grown by 1.46 million people. The Latinos represents 51% of this growth. Within those five years Florida's Latino population grew 18% overall. The Latino population grew over six times faster than the non-Latino whites and over twice as fast as the Blacks in Florida. The city Miami in Florida has been affected the most by the growth of the Latino population. Over one third of this population growth (more than 250,000 people) occurred in Miami. However Miami is not the only city in Florida seeing a growth in Latino population. Cities all over Florida are seeing this growth and the Latino population is not only affecting Florida Socially. They are now affecting Florida politically as well.


The Latino population makes up approximately 25% of Florida's overall population. The Amount of Latino people who are voting in Florida are steadily increasing. They now make up 17% of the voting population in Florida. Since George Bush was reelected in 2004 majority of the voting Latino population in Florida has stopped voting Republican. Miami-Dade county is 66.7% Latino which gives them highest Latino population in Florida yet they had the lowest voting rate in the 2014 midterm Elections. So why aren’t all of the Latino’s voting? Young people of color (Latinos and Blacks) don’t vote as much as their White peers not only in Florida but in America all together. Some of the Latino population in Florida can’t vote because they don’t have their citizenship but that doesn’t account for all of the Latinos who don’t vote. One out of five Black people will not be able to vote in Florida due to a Felony conviction. Not to mention the Black people who won't vote because they feel their vote doesn't count which is something I’ve heard many people say in my community growing up. After being marginalized in America for so many years it’s easy for voters of color (mainly Blacks and Latinos) to lose interest in politics. However that it is an unhealthy trend that needs to change and is steadily changing in Florida.


With the 2016 presidential election coming up the Latino vote will be a crucial factor in the outcome of which presidential candidate wins Florida. The Republican Candidate Donald Trump will be going against the Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton. But a recent online survey of Latino voters by Florida International University’s Steven J. Green School of International & Public Affairs and mobile Hispanic advertising company Adsmovil show that the Latino population is overwhelmingly against Trump. Perhaps it’s because he referred to the Mexican American Immigrant population as rapist, drug dealers, and other negative things. Maybe it's because he wants to spend 25 BILLION dollars on a wall that will separate the United States and Mexico. Maybe it’s because he flirts with women by “grabbing them by the pussy” (which I thought was considered sexual assault). Regardless the Latino population in Florida does not like Donald Trump and I think it’s safe to say the Black population in Florida does not like him either. However 20% of Florida's population is 65 or older and this is the most reliable voting group. Hopefully they aren’t stuck in their “traditional” ways in wanting America to be how it was when they were younger. If they are then Trump may be the perfect candidate for them.


http://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/state-politics/article87250257.html
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/election/article95076927.html

LATINA/OS TAKE CENTER STAGE: CENSUS 2000

THE 2000 CENSUS AND LATINO ASSIMILATION IN THE U.S.

The 2000 census reveled a dramatic increase in the Latino population within seven of the ten largest cities in the United States. Two of them include New York and Los Angels.  The Latino population surpassed Blacks in New York and Blacks and non-Hispanic whites in Los Angeles. Now that the Latino population has become the minority-majority in these major cities, it is said that the Latino population will be 25 percent of the U.S. population by 2050. I think it’s safe to say that the migration of Latinos originates from pull factors from their home country. With this I will pose a question, how is the Puerto Rican migration to New York similar to the Mexican migration to Southern California? In this blog post I will argue that the pull factors in both Puerto Rico and Mexico were similar and with that these populations along with other Latino populations refuse to assimilate to mainstream U.S. culture.

The migration of Puerto Ricans in the early 20^th century was primarily due to economic issues on the island. Puerto Ricans saw New York City as the jackpot for employment as the unemployment rate rose to alarming levels. After the U.S. annexation of Utah, New Mexico, Texas, and California, Mexican citizens left these new U.S. areas and moved to Mexican territory. New mining and agriculture industries attracted Mexican migrant laborers. The Mexican revolution later increased the flow of migrants, many of which left rural areas to seek employment. Today, Los Angeles and New York are ranked metro areas with the largest Latino population between 2000 and 2010.

The change in the Latino population in the United States is not chiefly due to migration. Mexican and Puerto Rican migrants being in the United States for decades definitely calls for cultural diffusion. Mexican, Puerto Rican, and other Latino groups were concentrated in areas of the United States (Mexicans to Southern California and Puerto Ricans to New York City) and established barrios similar to the ones their homeland. According to Samuel P. Huntington, fertility rates are the highest among Latinos in the United States. Latinos start families in these areas for decades and therefore prevents the total assimilation to U.S. culture for generations.

Work Cited

1. Davis, Mike. 2001. Magical Urbanism: Latinos Reinvent the US Big City. Ch. 1

2. Steinhauer, Jason. 2015, March 11. The History of Mexican Immigration to the U.S. in the Early 20th Century [Web log post]. Retrieved from https://blogs.loc.gov/kluge/2015/03/the-history-of-mexican-immigration-to-the-u-s-in-the-early-20th-century/

3. Sanchez Korrol, Virginia E. 1994. From Colonia to Community: The History of Puerto Ricans in New York City. Ch. 2 [31]

 

LATINA/OS TAKE CENTER STAGE: CENSUS 2000

Growing up in Elmont, New York you see a range of ethnicities living in one town. However to my knowledge there were not that many Latino people in my area let alone Salvadorans. When going to my high school there were some Latino’s there but I was one of the only Salvadorans. However while in this class I found that Long Island has a fast growing Salvadoran population, which recently became the biggest Latino group in Long Island. Also, Salvadorans became the fifth largest Latino group in the United States. So my question is, how much has this population grown and why?

My mother explained that people had to leave El Salvador because there was a lack of jobs and from generation to generation they were sold on the dream that there are tons of job opportunities in the United States. Another reason is because of the Civil War that started in 1980. She said that everyone was feared because you had one of two options: to join the guerillas or to join the army. People would walk around their towns and the government, who had murdered people, would put their heads on sticks standing on the street. No one seemed to be safe, which is why the majority of her friends from her town immigrated to the United States. Over twenty people that she went to high school with lived either next to her or the town over.

Due to these reasons, there has been a large increase in the Salvadoran population all over the United States. Now in Long Island there are over 54,000 Salvadoran residents. In the 2000 census it showed that there was 817,336 foreign born Salvadorians in the United States. Even though I did not see a large population of Salvadorans in Elmont, there is a large percentage in West Hempstead, Hempstead, and Freeport, etc. Andy Hardy, in Magical Urbanism, describes where he relocated to after moving from his hometown as similar to where he grew up in. This is understandable because people moved to areas where they tend to know others or have similar culture with. That is the reason why my family came to Long Island and presumably many others. The Latino population will continue to grow with wanting to have more job opportunities and to live the “American Dream” and that has shown in the 2000 census with the population being at 35,305,818 to then in the 2010 census with the population at 50,477,594. However, all these numbers could have an increase because many undocumented immigrants would not want to answer the survey in order for their protection. This information gives us a closer idea to the population numbers in Long Island and throughout the United States.

"The Hispanic Population: 2010 - Census." Accessed November 3, 2016. http://www.census.gov/prod/cen2010/briefs/c2010br-04.pdf.
"The Hispanic Population 2000 - Census." Accessed November 3, 2016. https://www.census.gov/prod/2001pubs/c2kbr01-3.pdf.
@longislandwins. "Which Immigrant Group on Long Island Is the Largest? - Long Island Wins." Long Island Wins. 2016. Accessed November 03, 2016. https://longislandwins.com/news/national/which-immigrant-group-on-long-island-is-the-largest/.
Davis, Mike. Magical Urbanism: Latinos Reinvent the US City. London: Verso, 2000.