A narrative data visualization project examining Greenpoint, Brooklyn's dissappearing Polish population.
THEN AND NOW // WTEDY I TERAZ
The Polish represent a small but significant ethnic population in New York City, and have been an imporant part of both New York and larger American history since The American Revolution. In a recent study by the Center for the Study of Brooklyn at Brooklyn College, "13.5% of the population of Community Board 1"— which includes Greenpoint, Brooklyn— is Polish. [i] Greenpoint has been a Polish ethnic enclave since the 1940's, following World War II and Poland's capture by Soviet control. The neighborhood is also an epicenter of intense and uncontrolled gentrification that has left longtime residents and institutions scrambling for affordable housing. According to a study from NYU’s Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy, the adjoining areas of Williamsburg and Greenpoint were the most rapidly gentrifying neighborhoods in the city between 1990 and 2014. To qualify as gentrified, a neighborhood must meet 2 criteria: (1) it must have been "low income" in 1990, meaning its household income was in the bottom 40 percent of the city’s neighborhoods; and (2) since 1990, the neighborhood’s rents had to have increased faster than the median rate of increase for the city. From 1990 to 2014, average rents citywide "went up about 22.1 percent,"" while rent in Greenpoint "more than tripled that rate of increase, to 78.7 percent." [iii] This boom in gentrification was precipiated by a 2005 rezoning change that allowed for the construction of high-rise, luxury buildings in the area.
Consequently, long-time Polish residents and institutions have been priced out of the neighborhood and, the already vulnerable immigrant community, has been pushed further into poverty. Click the sidebar icon on the map to view a a full list of locations and a legend indicating which points of interests have closed or moved away due to economic pressures (black) and thosw which remain (red). Click on points on the map to learn more about a location's history and significance.
AN ANALYSIS OF THE SITUATION // ANALIZA SYTUACJI
OVERVIEW
Below are 6 graphs analyzing the economic and housing landscape in Greenpoint over time.
POPULATION DISPLACEMENT
As Polish residents have been forced out of thier historic neighborhood, they have been replaced at an alarming near 1:1 ratio. The below graphs compares the population of the Polish community and residents aligned with gentrifying forces, using English proficiency and citizenship status as data proxies.
Figure 1: The graph uses Limited Enlglish Proficiency as a proxy for identifying Polish community members who are at the most at-risk of displacement by gentrifiers in Greenpoint. in 2010, LEP individuals numbered 36,964. In 2019, they numbered 25,805— a 11,159 and dramatic 30.19% decrease.[1] Click the reload button to replay animation.
Figure 2: This graph uses native-born U.S. citizen, as opposed to naturalized or non-U.S. citizens, as a proxy for identifying indivuduals who are most likely part of the displacing group of residents in Greenpoint. In 2005, native-born U.S. citzens number 96,837 and jump to a peak of 130,400 for the historical immigrant neighborhood. This represents an increase of 33,563 native U.S. citizen, a nearly 26% increase. [2] Click the reload button to replay animation.
HOUSING AFFORDABILITY
Changing demographics and rezoning laws work together to transform the once affordable neighborhood into a space serving the economically elite. The graphs below tell a tale of two Greenpoints. In 2005, the two extreme ends of the earning power of Greenpoint were approximately equal and both accounted for approximately 600,000 members of the community each. By 2019, individuals earning more than $100,000 outnumbered those earning less than $15,000 by 716,186; this number is 608,362 more than the number of $100k+ earners in 2005— indicating a 190.2% increase in this population. Accordingly, the cost of housing has followed this trend. Median rent increased by nearly 200% ($959.29 to $1914.00) from 2005 to 2019.
Figure 3: This graph illustrates the median price of rent in Greenpoint from 2005 to 2019. In 2005, the median monthly rent totaled $959.29 and jumped to $1914.00, more than doubling. [3] Click the reload button to replay animation.
Figure 4: This graph, documenting 2005 to 2019, illustrates the number of individuals earning more than $100k in Greenpoint, thus acting as a proxy for those pricing out the vulnerable immigrant population who are instead characterized as low earners. In 2005, high earners numbered 548,855 and increased to 115,7217 in 2019. [4] [5] Click the reload button to replay animation.
Figure 5: This graph illustrates the number of individuals earning less than $15k in Greenpoint from 2005 to 2019. In 2005, low earners numbered 61,0236 and decreased to 44,1031 in 2019, dropping by nearly a quarter. [6] Click the reload button to replay animation.
A GRIM PICTURE FOR BROOKLYN'S POLISH DIASPORA
It should be noted that number of low earners decreasing in Greenpoint does signal economic prosperity for Polish immigrants in the neighborhood. Greenpoint has ranked second in levels of poverty among White individuals for all of New York City for the entiriety of the timeframe for which the dataset represents. It is preceded only by Borough Park, an Orthodox and Haredi Jewish community that now faces similar issues as Greenpoint regarding gentrification. The number of White individuals enduring poverty peaked in 2007 at 18,739, shortly after rezoning occured. The rate of poverty began to fall likely due to displacement of low-income individuals due to gentrification, but since 2017 has continued to rise again.
Figure 6: This graph illustrates the number of White individuals living in poverty in Greenpoint, and functions as a proxy for the Polish community of Greenpoint comprised of low-earners and immigrants. In 2007, White individuals living in poverty numbered 18,739. In 2019, they numbered 23,593. [7] Click the reload button to replay animation.
WHERE TO NOW? // DOKĄD TERAZ?
New York has functioned as the home of the largest Polish diaspora, both domestically and on an international scale. However, Gentrification has made it difficult for Polish immigrants to find an affordable home in the United States. Instead, Polish citizens are now opting to emmigrate to nations such as Germany and the United Kingdom, in part for thier affordability and thier more dignified immigration laws that bestow Polish nationals with rights, such as freedom of movement and state healthcare, that they typically do not have access to when moving to the United States.
The adjacent chart illustrates the top nations where Polish citizens found permanent residence. In 2020, Germany was the number one country of choice, with 2,588 individuals choosing permanent residence in the nation. The United Kingdom follows closely behind at 2,102. Comparatively, only 368 indivduals oficially emmigrated to the United States in 2020— more than 70% less than the number of indiviuals moving to top choice of Germany. This data bucks the previous historical migration trends; in 1966, 5,116 Polish individuals made the United States thier permanent home.
ABOUT THIS PROJECT // O TYM PROJEKCIE
Project Abstract
The goal of this project is to document the changing landscape of Greenpoint, New York, which has occurred primarily as a result of rezoning-amplified gentrification, through the use of charts and narrative maps.
Following World War II, Polish immigrants escaped Soviet-era Poland and sought refuge and economic opportunity in the Brooklyn neighborhood. Since 2005, rezoning that allowed for high-rise buildings led to a construction boom that left many of
the working class and immigrant residents of the historically Polish community priced out. In my project, I aim to compare population, construction, housing cost and eviction data over time in Greenpoint. I also hope to add and leverage data
that provides international and current context on Polish immigration rates and locations. Additionally, I hope to map remaining Polish cultural places of interest as well as the many that have closed or relocated.
This project lies at a personal intersection: it combines my heritage as a first-generation Polish-American and my former place in the Greenpoint community with my current position as a tech worker within the construction and architecture industry
and volunteer within the tenant rights movement.
Project Process
Using Miro, I constructed low- and mid-fidelity wireframes as a part of the design and critique process. Following the creation of each deliverable, I iterated upon them to incorporate feedback and account for issues related to technical and strategic feasability.
Sketch: This lo-fi initial sketch captured the visual groundwork of the project.
Mid-fidelity wireframe: This wireframe improved upon the initial sketch and accounted for potential issues.
Annotated wireframe: These annotations capture the skeleton code and data sources for the project.
