Wow... let me tell ya... I was born and raised in brooklyn for first 11 years of my life(1970-81) in Sunset Park Brooklyn. Then moved to Long Island. I went back about 5 years ago and could NOT find a sign to a store that was in English. I thought I was in Korea or China or wherever. Truly amazing.
That's scary. Imagine your family had never moved. You'd have lived with chinese people! Do you have any knowledge as to when all the biggest changes to Sunset Park occurred? Sometime after 1995? Before?
Sunset Park is a good example of the change I'm talking about. When I was a kid it was predominantly populated by people from central northern Europe (Polish, German, Norwegian, etc.). Around the mid 60's large numbers of Hispanics started moving in. The 80's started bringing in the Chinese.
I don't get back there much now but miss all the great Polish and Norwegian restaurants along 5th Avenue (the best waffles ever made) but am encouraged by all the great Chinese restaurants on Eighth Avenue.
This change is going on all over Brooklyn. Former Italian, Irish and Jewish neighborhoods are now West Indian, Russian and Chinese. Its part of the melting pot that made New York great.
