An ethnic heritage lesson for my neighborhood:
Astoria started out with the traditional immigration patterns of NYC (Dutch/German followed by Irish and then Italians). Apparently in the early 1900s there was a significant Jewish population, although we don't see too many of the remnants of that today - although I did learn that there is a synagogue a few blocks away that has been around since 1925! Will be checking that out soon and will report back!
In the 1960s many Greeks immigrated to Astoria and gave Astoria the distinction of having the largest Greek population outside of Greece! They are still a very common ethnic group in the area despite the growth of other ethnic groups in the recent decades and, as I've mentioned, there are many Greek restaurants, bakeries, cafes, and Greek Orthodox churches in the area.
By the mid-1970s the Arab population grew from pretty much all of the countries in the middle east (Lebanon, Egypt, Syria, Yemen, Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria) and they concentrated in what is now known as Little Egypt. Finally, in the past two decades there has been an influx of South American and eastern European immigrants from Brazil, Albania, Bulgaria and Bosnia. Not to mention the young professionals who have migrated from Manhattan :)
Pretty interesting make-up, right?!
Astoria started out with the traditional immigration patterns of NYC (Dutch/German followed by Irish and then Italians). Apparently in the early 1900s there was a significant Jewish population, although we don't see too many of the remnants of that today - although I did learn that there is a synagogue a few blocks away that has been around since 1925! Will be checking that out soon and will report back!
In the 1960s many Greeks immigrated to Astoria and gave Astoria the distinction of having the largest Greek population outside of Greece! They are still a very common ethnic group in the area despite the growth of other ethnic groups in the recent decades and, as I've mentioned, there are many Greek restaurants, bakeries, cafes, and Greek Orthodox churches in the area.
By the mid-1970s the Arab population grew from pretty much all of the countries in the middle east (Lebanon, Egypt, Syria, Yemen, Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria) and they concentrated in what is now known as Little Egypt. Finally, in the past two decades there has been an influx of South American and eastern European immigrants from Brazil, Albania, Bulgaria and Bosnia. Not to mention the young professionals who have migrated from Manhattan :)
Pretty interesting make-up, right?!
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