Time Out New York...The Race Issue

One could easily label me the consumate New Yorker perhaps much to the chagrin of a few of my friends. Some of my cohorts have become disappointed with the cost of living in the Big Apple opting to move to the southern region of the country. Call me a sucker for culture, although I really can not fault these folks for moving as living in the city (or the neighboring boroughs/states) can be a daunting task. Another interesting anecdote about the city that never sleeps is the alleged perception of cultural interconnectedness. New York City despite being the alleged bastion of liberalism (somewhat debunked by the succesful mayoral tenures of Sir Rudy and Bloomberg) and cultural diversity does have one innate problem-de facto segregation. There are certainly pockets of social cross-pollination but for the most part neighborhoods exist across racial and ethnic lines. So imagine my delite when I discovered that one of my favorite reads, Time Out New York had a special issue devoted to Race-appropriately titled, The Race Issue. Here is an excerpt from the issue in question:

Two weeks back, the headlines trumpeted this eye-popping statistic: Due to cost of living, African-American communities are fleeing New York City, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, their population dropping by more than 40,000 in the past six years. Meanwhile, groups identifying themselves as Hispanic or Asian saw bumps of 90,000 apiece over the same period—a sizable increase.

What’s that got to do with you, Mr. and Mrs. C+ in Social Studies? Well, you gotta wonder: How’s all this cultural and ethnic shifting going to affect the way you live? Will Brooklyn become predominantly Muslim or Hindu, as Indians and Pakistanis inhabit more ’hoods? Will the Bronx become primarily Latino? Can Manhattan—which just saw a rise in Caucasians—get any whiter? Most important, will groups continue to self-segregate, and what will that mean for the city?

The entire magazine is available online and once you guys get a chance to read it, let us know what you think. Is this phenomenon occurring in your city? And if you live in the NY Tri-State area, how accurate is Time Out's synopsis of NYC's current racial status? Check out the mag in its entirety below:


Time Out NY-The Race Issue