Struggling Nuyoricans

This story on struggling Nuyoricans was interesting. It turns out that Puerto Ricans in NY tend to be far more likely to live in poverty than others, including other Latinos.  Could be selection error (i.e., Puerto Ricans who have done well have left the city and moved elsewhere, thereby making it seem as though the community hasn't progressed) or could be accurate, but either way it's interesting.

Puerto Ricans are some of the most prominent figures in New York politics and culture, so some people are surprised when they hear that, overall, Puerto Ricans are among the poorest and least educated New Yorkers. Almost a third in New York are living in poverty.

It's particularly relevant since Puerto Ricans tend not to have many of the same apparent difficulties other Latinos have: most speak English, have been here for many generations, are citizens, etc. Yet despite these advantages, they've remained behind. As mentioned before, this could be nonrepresentative sampling or it could be the result of bad luck (PRs in NYC since 1950 in summary: come to work in factories, factories close, move into projects, projects deteriorate, NYC melts down in the '70s, crack epidemic in the '80s, gentrificiation, etc). Bad luck indeed.

Either way, 2010 leaves us holding the bag. The powers that be in NYC (many of whom are Puerto Rican, need to keep this in mind and create development that responds and builds other communities in a way that they avoid the challenges Nuyoricans have faced.