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Bensonhurst
Photograph by Robert Madden, National Geographic
Editor's note: Watch tonight's final episode of "The '80s: The Decade That Made Us" on the National Geographic Channel.
Just across the Upper Bay from Ellis Island, Brooklyn has historically been a convenient stop for first-generation immigrants to the United States.
They're drawn by entrenched pockets of ethnic groupings—neighborhoods known for retaining traditions, foods, and language from the old country. Brooklyn's a place where an immigrant can feel comfortable making the transition. And many stay, further solidifying the enclaves.
In 1983, when these photos were published, most of Brooklyn's neighborhoods were less about cartographic perimeters than old-country affiliations. Many of Brooklyn's neighborhoods continue to be drawn on ethnic lines, but the dominant ethnicities are shifting in some places.
It's largely a case of ethnic groups expanding. The 2010 U.S. Census revealed the highest percentage of foreign-born New York City citizens on record.
In this photo, teenagers show off their Trans Am in Bensonhurst, which after World War II became an Italian-dominated neighborhood. Today, the number of Chinese immigrants—pushed out of Manhattan's Chinatown by high rents—is booming.
—Johnna Rizzo
Published April 16, 2013
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Bedford-Stuyvesant
Photograph by Robert Madden, National Geographic
"Celebrating togetherness, Madison Street between Tompkins and Throop gives its annual summer block party in Bedford-Stuyvesant, long a community of political and social activists," reads the caption of a May 1983 National Geographic article, "Brooklyn: The Other Side of the Bridge."
"These owners and tenants band together to keep their brownstone block clean and crime free," it continues.
The 2010 census showed that immigrants aren't moving to Bed-Stuy in significant numbers. On some streets, up to 90 percent of residents are U.S.-born blacks.
Published April 16, 2013
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Crown Heights
Photograph by Robert Madden, National Geographic
Three adolescents cover their heads in the Jewish tradition at a Crown Heights school. Still strongly associated with Jewish communities, Crown Heights continues to be home to dozens of synagogues as well as the international headquarters of Lubavitch Hasidism. In addition, the neighborhood has a growing number of Christian worship centers to serve an influx of blacks and Caribbean islanders.
Published April 16, 2013
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Bay Ridge
Photograph by Robert Madden, National Geographic
"A young would-be John Travolta and his friends star in a real-life version of the film Saturday Night Fever, made on location nearby," reads the published caption in the 1983 National Geographic article, "while the officer, who has seen such youthful braggadocio come and go, casts a watchful eye."
Bay Ridge continues to maintain a mix of Italians, Irish, and Greeks, as well as other ethnic groups that arrived in New York in the late 20th century.
Published April 16, 2013
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Ocean Hill
Photograph by Robert Madden, National Geographic
"Adopting a school wall in Ocean Hill for his illegal work, Caesar Gonzalez is angered by an artist who defiled his graffiti with ... graffiti," reads the caption published in the May 1983 National Geographic.
Often lumped in as part of Bedford-Stuyvesant, Ocean Hill remains largely populated by U.S.-born blacks, and to a lesser extent by Caribbean islanders and Latin Americans.
Published April 16, 2013
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Brighton Beach
Photograph by Robert Madden, National Geographic
Seniors play cards in the sunshine at the seaside Brighton Beach Baths. Before it closed in 1997, the baths were a private swim club that at its height boasted 13,000 members.
Today, the stretch of real estate known as Brighton Beach has New York's highest concentration of immigrants—84 percent—in large part Russians, Ukranians, and Uzbeks.
Published April 16, 2013
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Bensonhurst
Photograph by Robert Madden, National Geographic
"Sicily seems reborn on 18th Avenue in Bensonhurst," reads the published caption for this photo. "Typical of newcomers, Gino Pollari brought his family from Palermo in 1970 to live near his mother and five brothers. His cafeteria, here visited by his in-laws, Philip and Elena Orofino (center), gives work to offspring, from left, Elena, Philip, Maria, and Emanuele."
Published April 16, 2013
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See Next: Iconic New York Sites Destroyed by Hurricane Sandy
Photograph by Andrew Kelly, Reuters
Published April 16, 2013
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