People

St. George, on the northeast tip of Staten Island, serves as the business section of the borough and is the site of the Staten Island Ferry Terminal. The famous ferries carry cars and passengers between Staten Island and Manhattan and provide the only direct link between the two boroughs.

The oeople of New York City represent nearly all races and nationalities. During the 1650's, only about 1,000 people lived in the Dutch colony of New Amster­dam on Manhattan Island. But even then, 18 languages were spoken in the colony. Since that time, people from throughout the world have brought their skills, traditions, and ways of life to New York City.

People move to New York City for many reasons. Many are attracted by the city's job opportunities. Other people go to attend the city's schools and colleges or to enjoy its many cultural activities. Still others go simply because they want to be a part of a large, exciting city in which they can live almost any way they choose.

Ethnic groups. Five ethnic groups—black, Irish, Ital­ian, Jewish, and Puerto Rican—make up about 75 per cent of New York City's people. Neighbourhoods con­sisting largely of people from these and many smaller groups are scattered throughout the city. Originally, most of the people in ethnic groups shared direct ties to a country, a language, or a common past with other members of their group. Today, this is less true. But the people still have some bonds of unity through such con­cerns as common religious beliefs and economic inter­ests.

Blacks are the largest ethnic group in New York City and make up about 25 per cent of the city's population. New York has about 1,784,000 blacks, more than any other city in the United States. Most of the blacks are immigrants—or the children of immigrants—from the rural South. But many have also arrived from the West Indies. A large number of New York City's blacks live in poor neighborhoods. Many of them have been pre­vented from leaving the ghetto areas by discrimination in jobs and housing and by a lack of education. But more and more black New Yorkers are becoming part of the city's middle class. Thousands of blacks live in ra­cially integrated areas, and thousands more live in mid­dle-class black neighborhoods.

Jews make up about 20 per cent of New York City's population. New York's Jews come from many countries. But they are considered an ethnic group because most of them live in Jewish neighborhoods and have similar religious and social beliefs. Many Jews own businesses. Many others work in garment factories, in offices, and in the legal, medical, and teaching professions.

About 14 per cent of New York City's people are of Italian ancestry. New York Italians are known for their well-kept homes and for their close neighborhood ties. They are the largest single group in the city's construc­tion industry, and they play a key role in the restaurant and the wholesale and retail food-marketing industries. Many Italians have civil service jobs in the city's park, public works, sanitation, police, and fire services. Most of New York City's Italians belong to the Roman Catholic Church.

Puerto Ricans make up about 12 per cent of New York City's population. They are the largest of several Span­ish-speaking ethnic groups in the city. Large numbers of Puerto Ricans began to come to New York in the 1950's. Many of them found jobs as unskilled workers, espe­cially in hospitals, hotels, and restaurants. At first, nearly all Puerto Ricans lived in East Harlem in Manhattan. But today, Puerto Rican neighborhoods are found in all the boroughs. Neighborhood associations, large church organizations, and the state school system have all de­veloped programmes to help newly arrived Puerto Rican people to learn English and adjust to life in the city.

The Irish have traditionally been active in New York City's political life. During the late 1800"s and early 1900's, they controlled the city government. But the per­centage of Irish people in the city has dropped from 30 per cent in 1870 to about 9 per cent today. As a result, the Irish have lost much of their political power. But they are still the largest single group employed by New York City's police and fire services. The Irish are also among the leaders of the Roman Catholic Church in the city.

New York City has many other ethnic groups besides the five major ones. Other large ethnic groups in the city include Chinese, English, Germans, Greeks, and Rus­sians.

Housing in New York City differs in several ways from that in most other cities of the United States. About 65 per cent of New York's families live in blocks of flats or hotels. In other cities, most people live in one- or two-family houses. About 70 per cent of the families in New York rent their homes. In other U.S. cities, most families own their homes. About half of the housing in New York City was built before 1940. Most other cities in the United States have a far larger percentage of newer housing.

Housing remains one of New York City's most serious and difficult problems. Many old buildings are becom­ing unusable, and the demand for new housing, especially among poor people, is rapidly increasing. Yet steadily rising construction costs and a lack of large areas of open land make the development of new housing difficult.

Education. New York City has the largest state school system of any city in the United States. Many of New York City's colleges, universities, and other institutions of higher learning are world famous. One of the larges universities in the world, the City University of New York, is operated by the city with state and federal assistance. The university has a total enrolment of about 180,000 students.

Social problems. New York City has many of the same problems other cities have. But it is so much larger than other cities that the problems are greatly magnified. New York's major social problems include poverty, crime and drug addiction, and racial conflict.

Poverty is one of New York City's most expensive problems. The city budgets more than 4 billion U.S. dol­lars a year on social security programmes to provide food, clothing, housing, medical care, and other bene­fits for about 1,7 million people. Yet unskilled immigrants continue to move into the city while the demand for unskilled labor continues to decline. As a result, the problem of poverty is difficult to solve.

Because of its large population, New York City has more crime than any other U.S. city. But the crime rate— the number of crimes committed for every 100,000 residents—is actually lower in New York than in many other cities. New York's crime and drug addiction prob­lems are closely related. About half the drug addicts in the United States live in New York City. They commit many of the city's burglaries and attacks on individuals to get money for drugs.

Racial conflicts in New York City have had many causes. A major cause has been discrimination against blacks, Puerto Ricans, and other minority groups in jobs and housing. Many minority group members have had trouble obtaining well-paid jobs. Many also have had difficulty moving out of segregated neighborhoods and into neighborhoods where most of the people are white and of European ancestry. When members of a minority group have begun moving into such a neighborhood, the white residents often have begun moving out. In this way, segregated housing patterns have continued, and the chances for conflicts between the groups have increased.