Dominicans Like the Island Manhattan, Smoke on Your Pipe and Put That In
There may be a minor revolution under way in our city’s Latin American population, according to new census data reported in the News. For the first time ever, the Dominican Republic is poised to overtake Puerto Rico as the No. 1 provenance of New York Latinos. (Overall, Latinos account for 28 percent of the NYC population and are the dominant ethnicity in the Bronx). The new figures show the number of “Nuyoricans” dropping from 2004 to 2005, while the Dominican stats are on the rise. An auxiliary article describes the first front already ceded by the Puerto Ricans — the city’s 13,000 Hispanic bodegas, which are now almost entirely Dominican-owned.
Whither Puerto Ricans? It seems they’re following the arc of any other immigrant group that’s stayed in the city for a while: disappearing into the middle class and moving out, be it to the Long Island suburbs, upstate, New Jersey, or back to Puerto Rico. At least, though, this revolution appears to be a peaceful one, with no hard feelings between the two Latino groups. For instance, when Puerto Rican candidate Fernando Ferrer ran for mayor, he drew more support from the city’s Dominicans than from his compatriots. Of course, he still lost.
Latinos on the Rise in the City [NYDN]
Dominican Dominance at Bustlin’ Bodegas [NYDN]
neighborhood watch
Carroll Gardeners Fight the Good FightCarroll Gardens: Volunteers MoveOn into vacant Carroll Gardens apartment, using it to call voters round the country. [Brooklyn Papers]
Kensington: City drags its feet in building playground, kids sad. [NYDN]
Lower East Side: Cronkite Pizzeria and Wine Bar helps hipsters indulge their inner child and their repressed adult by serving up cotton candy and affordable wine. [Gothamist]
Park Slope: Sharing is caring, and drivers and bikers will soon be splitting Fifth Avenue. [Streets Blog]
Prospect Heights: From ghetto to glorious: New bodega management patches hole in wall and actually stocks what its customers want, which is beer and cigarettes. [Daily Heights]
West Village: Ye Waverly Inn reopens, with better lighting and a new mural but sadly, when these photos were taken, no Graydon. [Eater]
Williamsburg: Breast-feeding has come to the ‘Burg, and the nabe’s okay with it. But not quite as okay as lactating moms would like. [Brooklyn Record]
