New York, NY —
The immigration bill being debated in Congress will have huge consequences for millions of New Yorkers. For residents of Greenpoint , Brooklyn, the proposed revisions are only one of several changes they’re dealing with. For years Greenpoint, was like a Polish village of ethnic stores, banks and churches.
Today, however, it’s one of New York’s trendiest and fastest growing neighborhoods. The boom picked up in May 2005, when the City Council approved the rezoning of the Williamsburg/Greenpoint waterfront. With newcomers pouring in and rents soaring, old-time Polish residents are being forced out. As part of our series Feet in Two Worlds, Ewa Kern-Jedrychowska of the Polish Daily News has more.
Feet in Two Worlds is a project of the Center for New York City Affairs at The New School, linking public radio and ethnic media, and reporting on New York’s immigrant communities.