New York City Immigrants

Long before New York City got its name, “The City that Never Sleeps”, immigrants viewed the city as the beacon of hope that inspired the “American Dream”. The once desolate harbor would soon be home to a total of 8.406 million people from all over the world. The city would and continues to build itself from the ground up, with the help of the past settlers, the many immigrants who worked to provide for their families, and the tourists that crowd each borough. Of course New York City wouldn’t be anything, it is today without these immigrants who entered the bay of Ellis Island to receive a better life. The arrival of these hardworking foreigners would impact the city forever. Before the immigrants arrived to the Land of the Free, New York City was home to English and Dutch settlers. They would bring their European lifestyle of government and colonization to the land. The settlers became accustomed to their new home, taking advantage of the harbor for shipping and the open land to build their homes. As the land began to prosper, New York earned the title of “the growingest town in America” (New York, An Illustrated History ). The “immense wealth” New York merchants would bring would attract an even wider range of people from Europe. As New York’s city’s economic

The number of immigrants arriving to the city continue to help improve the value of home ownership, bringing the city in more money with each home rental. Every borough in the city is filled with “ethnic neighborhoods” that collect money from rent or from tourists, for example; “Little Italy”, “Chinatown”, and hispanic based areas such as Washington Heights. Since New York City is such a melting pot of cultures and diversity this leaves rooms for tourists to experience such a different way of life. New York City is a way to experience different cultures without really leaving the