In the vast state of New Yorka few miles from the Big Apple, it is Long Islanda vast island with 293 villages characterized by coastal districts, comfortable houses, luxurious villas, but also small neighborhoods of a growing working class that every time has fewer options where to live.
There, especially in cities like Hempstead, Brentwood and Los Hamptons the presence of Hispanic communities continues to grow, at the rate of a demand for work that awakens after the devastation of the pandemicin key areas such as construction, hospitality and other services.
All data from Census 2020 confirm this demographic increase, even if with the new migratory waves of 2020 there is no doubt that the official data are only approximations: Latins represent 20.2% of Long Island’s 2.9 million people, making them the largest ethnic minority group in these cities.
In all, there are 52 communities in which the Latins make up the 20% or more of the population. And it increased your presence between 2010 and 2020 it was close to 34%.
Until the 1970s, nearly 100% of eastern Long Island was made up of whites only, now they are more diverse peoples: on average one in five inhabitants It is of Latin American origin.
The The Chilean Isabel Sepulveda is a community activist who co-founded the Latin American Organization (OLA) of Long Island serving immigrants who work in East Hampton, Southampton, Riverhead, Southold and Shelter Island, populations located east of this island. He has witnessed this growth.
“I came to this place 30 years ago and actually she was almost the only Latina. Today the demographic picture is very different. Our Hispanic families have been increasingly incorporated, like a more than essential and vital workforce. Without exaggerating, these cities in the east of the island could not function without this workforce, ”says Sepúlveda.
In areas known as the ‘Eastern border’ the presence of Latin American immigrants, mostly from Ecuador, Mexico, Colombia and Central American countriesit tends to be even higher.
According to data shared by OLA, in these communities, the 45% of elementary and secondary school students are Hispanic23% of the population comes from South American countries and 58% of those who define themselves as immigrants are also of Latin origin.
However, in the face of a demographic increase confirmed by the last census consultation and which seems to be recovering in recent months, There are many challenges for these families to be able to integrate into their new life.
“There is a lot of work to be done so that the local services of basic institutions such as health and education, include more services in Spanish. There is still not a very clear understanding by elected leaders of who we are as a culture and what we mean by the economy of these places”Stressed Sepulveda.
“It’s more expensive than New York”
The Ecuadorian, José Echeverría, 22, came to live in South Hampton just this summer. 30 years ago the relatives of his native Manta came to New York. Your experience of months could describe the lives of thousands of people of their recently arrived immigrant peers.
“There is a lot of work if you know construction, gardening and services. And you want to work hard. But life is very expensive. It is more expensive than New York City itself. You can’t get a small room for under $ 1,200. And you need a car because there is no public transport, “she said.
José’s experience is different from that of many who come adrift. He had the support of his cousins and with the great advantage of learning the construction trade from an early age.
“In this same year many, but many compatriots came, hardworking people who learn very quickly. They keep coming because our country’s economy has become very complicated with the pandemic. And here, rather, there is a job that nobody wants to do “said the construction worker.
Even the Elsa Rodriguez from Ecuador, who has lived in Queens for several years, recently moved to Hempstead in search of a better quality of life for her teenage children. But live here in a quieter community as well with a crime of close to 0%it also brings with it other problems.
“We decided to leave the city because we have a driving license for illegal immigrants we can move with less fear. Also because it is very difficult to raise young people there with so many gangs and drugs. But getting a permanent job is not that easy. Everything is very expensive. There are only casual jobs, especially for those of us with no papers. Like everything. There are pros and cons to living here “stressed Elsa.
real estate rebound: only for the rich
While several millionaire families and young professionals are fleeing the Big Apple, having as their permanent residence destination paradisiacal coastal places like ‘The Hamptons’, where the most expensive real estate inventory in the country is located, there is a parallel demand for services that only Hispanics provide. But with more and more difficulties.
In the future, not even in the plans, there are major projects of affordable housing for the working class.
For example, the testimony of the Ecuadorian domestic worker, Narcissa Lopez who commands a group of cleaners, comes close to describing the lives of hundreds of immigrants: the cost of living in these countries is becoming “unsustainable” for a family “that does not make millions”.
“Several families live in a cramped house to survive. And this year all the rent of the houses for the poor, They put it as for the rich. It’s hard, “he concluded.
An essential working class
In this direction, William Chaconspokesperson for Coalition of New York Immigrants, points out that precisely from the Long Island immigrant community, particularly in counties like Nassau, it is on the list of 10 “most powerful” counties in the state, it will depend in the future on the economic growth of these regions.
“While we see that there is a shortage of employees in essential sectors, there are thousands of people who are enthusiastic, eager to work and They have a hard time joining vital industries because, among other reasons, they don’t have immigrant status. We must never stop insisting on our elected leaders who must be filled with courage and understand that they are communities that will be the lifeline of the economy“, said the activist.
Chacón reports that there is a growth in consumption, an increase in demand for services and the prospect of an economic take-off in affluent suburbs of New York City, after the devastating pandemic. But this will hardly be possible, if you don’t look “With more dignity and respect” the inclusion of the immigrant working class.
In fact, among the peculiarities of Long Island there is that some industries such as entertainment and restaurants, have been dealing with in recent months with a growing shortage of workers.
For this, as explained Arelia Tavares, president of New York State Restaurant Association, at the end of the summer, one of the main “bottlenecks” that this sector has experienced in times of economic recovery was the lack of skilled labor in some locations in the state, outside the Big Apple.
“The very high price of renting a house is a problem. On many occasions, caterers have to include rent in their job packages for skilled workers to get them to these locations. Obviously this involves very high management costs in the months of greatest demand. Many partners insisted: There are no workers!
A summer that added more workers
According to data from Department of Labor in the Long Island region which includes counties of Suffolk and Nassau, the number of jobs in the private sector increased by 3,300 between June and July, without taking into account seasonal adjustment, when a loss of 2,500 jobs is typical.
Rent in leisure sector, hotels and restaurants has exceeded his typical earnings for these summer months. Only in July they joined 5,400 jobs, higher than the average profit of 3,700.
With accurate data, it was possible to observe that Long Island bars and restaurants usually cut their paychecks in July at the end of the summer season, this year instead this sector added 1,000 workers when they normally reduce their workforce.
Overall, bar and restaurant occupancy in these areas of New York’s waterfront is at an all-time high for the month of July and is 300, or 0.3 percent, above pre-pandemic levels. especially in the summer of 2009.
But these statistics don’t count informal jobs like those performed by day or domestic workers, which could be multiplied by hundreds. Nor for those who work seasonally on the farms of these cities, positions occupied for almost 95% by Hispanic immigrants.
More Hispanic on Long Island
- 33.5% the population increased with Latin American roots in Long Island (LI) between 2010 and 2020.
- 589,384 Latin were counted in the 2020 census, which represents 20.2% of LI whose total population amounts to 2.9 million people.
- 7 LI community they have Hispanic families as an ethnic majority, among these locations is Hempstead Villagewhere this group represents 50.1% of the more than 59,000 residents.
- 2.9% was the unemployment rate in LI in July, while the New York average is 4.4%
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