http://www.1940snewyork.com/
Here is a map showing the situation and social status of NY neighbourhoods in 1943.I found it very interesting,because it shows what were working class,middle class or high income nhoods at the time.You can see what the situation was in Red hook,Lower east side or East harlem,etc.I thougt a little history was good for us and can spark a nice disscusion.Please check it out its very interesting.Of course this was before the influx of PRs,so if someone has the same maps from the 50s and 60s that would be great.Anyway,enjoy.

Good find alex. It's interesting to see how much of a change there has been.

Spots like East New York were almost completely white and Little Italy had over 100,000 foreign born whites, probably almost all Italian.

Greenwich Village and Hells Kitchen were near the bottom in terms of cost of rent. Now it's probably one of the highest.

Interesting to see Woodlawn in the Bronx has gotten more Irish since the 40s.

Yes,the situation was very diffrent back then.Look at the South Brooklyn red hook area,prices and standard were the lowest in the city.The waterfront was allways the toughest and the most working class,i mean if you look at the map anyway..Thoughts anybody?

Keep in mind that, before the Immigration Act of 1924 just about closed America's doors, virtually anyone from Europe who could get to the US, and who didn't have TB or trachoma, could settle in the US, and not have to become a citizen. So, in 1943, a substantial percentage of people in America were immigrants, especially in NYC, which was the gateway to the US.

Immigrants tended to congregate among their own kind in NYC neighborhoods. That's how Little Italy, Chinatown, Yorkville, etc., got their identities--in those neighborhoods, almost 100% of the residents were of the same ethnicity.

For example, the Brownsville neighborhood of Brooklyn was called "the Jerusalem of the West" because, at its peak ca. 1930, it contained 295,000 people, of whom 280,000 were Jews. It was also the most densely populated neighborhood (1.5 square miles) in North America. Almost similar densities and ethnic solidarities were recorded in Little Italy and Chinatown. Basically, an Irish neighborhood was 100% Irish, a Polish neighborhood 100% Polish, etc.

WWII and its aftermath made NYers more mobile--they made more money, moved to better neighborhoods or to the suburbs. Gentrification completed the transition. Today there are no Jews in Brownsville, and very, very little left of Little Italy. Same is true of other ethnic neighborhoods in NYC.