Latest census data: We are the world
Borough population
still rising, but almost half of new residents are newly arrived
immigrants
Staten Island Advance - April 14, 2005
The next time you’re out shopping for groceries,
walking the dog or boarding the Staten Island Ferry, stop and take a
look around. According to the U.S. Census, the people who’ll look
back at you may well hail from distant lands.
As the Island’s population continues to climb, the folks fueling
that growth are more and more likely to have arrived directly from
another country, signaling a shift that is causing the face of the
borough to more closely resemble that of the rest of the city,
according to the latest population estimates from the census.
“Staten Island is beginning to look a bit more like the other
boroughs,” said Jonathan Peters, a business professor at the College
of Staten Island who specializes in transportation. Peters spoke
cautiously, warning that the data will need to be examined over the
next few years to ascertain whether the numbers point to a passing
phenomenon or a long-term trend.
The estimates show that the borough population increased by 19,586
people, or 4.4 percent, over the four years ending in July 2004. Of
the newcomers, 46 percent were foreigners choosing Staten Island as
their first American destination. The bulk of the rest came about
through natural increase, with the number of births exceeding deaths
by 9,650.
SPREADING ROOTS
The rise in international immigration is in large part an outgrowth
of the footholds established here by previous waves of immigrants
who have created a familiar, safe haven for people venturing to
America.
The exploding Russian population in South Beach, for instance, took
root when immigrants from the crowded, expensive Russian enclave of
Brighton Beach and other Brooklyn neighborhoods branched out into
new coastal territory.
Now that the Island has its own mini-Brighton Beach, it seems that
more and more Eastern Europeans are skipping Brooklyn and coming
straight here.
Recently transplanted South Beach resident Galena Shutova is one
such person. Until six months ago, Ms. Shutova, 56, lived in Yalta,
a tourist town on the Black Sea in Ukraine. Able to learn to speak
English while working in hotels, Ms. Shutova said she immigrated to
the U.S. in search of a better life for herself, as well as her
daughter and three grandchildren, who still live in Ukraine. She won
a green card through the lottery system, and said that as soon as
she earns her U.S. citizenship, she will bring the rest of her
family to America.
Standing on Sand Lane yesterday, all windswept blond hair and bright
pink lipstick, she explained she was drawn to South Beach because of
the water. She added that the area also has “better houses,” and is
“cleaner.”
Folks like Ms. Shutova are compensating for a fall in the number of
people coming here from points nearby, like Brooklyn.
MORE IN THAN OUT
The Island traditionally has been unique among the boroughs in that
its newcomers, including many foreign-born residents, largely came
from nearby areas, said Peters. Consider, for instance, that the
whopping 17 percent population increase seen here in the 1990s — the
largest in the state — comprised mostly suburb-seekers abandoning
Brooklyn.
But the new estimates show that fewer people are moving here from
other places within the U.S., and for the first time, that number is
surpassed by those leaving.
In the 12 months ending in July 2004, Staten Island’s net domestic
migration crossed into negative territory, to -1,634, or a rate of
-3.5. That’s compared to 333 for the same period ending in July
2003, and 1,061 for the same period the prior year.
Although Staten Island still has a long way to go before it loses
people to the extent of Brooklyn and Queens, the numbers suggest
that it’s heading in the direction of other boroughs, which need
international immigration to grow.
The estimates are based on Census 2000 population counts and are
determined using administrative data such as tax returns, as well as
estimates for births and deaths.
Despite the fall in domestic migration, the Island population
continues to climb at a robust pace, thanks not only to its
international immigrants but also to its stable of young families
making babies.
Richmond ranked sixth among the state’s 62 counties in percent
population change over the four-year period ending July 2004, with a
4.4 percent increase. The city’s other four boroughs ranked far
behind: The Bronx landed in 19th place with a 2.5 percent increase;
Manhattan ranked 19th with its i.6 percent increase, and Brooklyn
and Queens ranked in the mid30th percentile, both with a .4 percent
increase.
Still, after decades of fierce growth, there are signs the trend
‘may have passed its peak. In the 12-month period ending in July
2004, the Island grew by only .6 percent, compared to the same
period in 2001, when it grew by 1.16 percent.
By
Heidi J. Shrager
Reprinted here with permission from the
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