OPINION: Staten Island’s Borough President Takes Issue With Missing Ethnicities From Immigrant Enclaves Map Released By NYC Mayor

BP Vito Fossella

9 hours ago

A Statement from Borough President Vito Fossella on City’s “Immigrant Enclaves” Map

Editor’s note: We’ve previously covered the Attorney Generals efforts to protect Haitian and Syrian immigrants, whose right to legal Temporary Protected Status, under congressional law, was just revoked by SCOTUS. NYC Health + Hospitals system recently held a roundtable to discuss immigrants rights as they relate to healthcare in the City. The issue the borough president is making here relates to Mayor Mamdani’s announcement about a new report released by the City that shows what percentage of each area in the City is foreign-born:

Staten Island, NY – Borough President Vito Fossella issued the following statement regarding the “immigrant enclaves” map recently released by the City:

“When did New York City go from a melting pot, to an empty pan?

That is the message sent by the City when it publishes a map of “immigrant enclaves” and leaves out numerous cornerstones in our City’s rich immigrant history.

The Italians of Little Italy and Arthur Avenue; The Irish of Gaelic Park and Little Ireland; the largest Jewish-American community in Borough Park – all left out. Also disregarded is Staten Island, the most Italian county in the United States, also home to one of the largest Sri Lankan communities in the world, and a growing number of Albanian, and Filipino immigrants, not to mention the many Puerto Rican families that moved and raised their families here.

Ignorance is not a good ingredient for highlighting the sacrifices of so many, who built this City and gave so much. Willful ignorance, however, is a deliberate failure to honor the memory of my family and millions of others.

Seemingly, there are those who are erasing our rich history and individuals that built the foundation for the City we call home.”

Original immigrant enclave map featuring flags for neighborhoods. Image Credit – NYC Mayor

Here is City Hall’s official response to the Borough President and other’s complaints about the map, which is just above here:

“The guide highlights neighborhoods in New York City that have substantial foreign-born populations from regions and countries around the world… The immigrant enclave series began during the [Eric] Adams administration, and we are planning to add more neighborhoods in the upcoming months.”

Little Africa in Staten Island. Image Credit – MOIA

Little Mexico in Staten Island. Image Credit – MOIA

Banner Image: Little Mexico in Staten Island. Image Credit – MOIA

BP Vito Fossella

The Office of the Borough President has a responsibility to advocate for the entire Borough of Staten Island and all its residents, and represents the Borough's interests within City government. The Borough President communicates directly with the Mayor and the City Council to emphasize Staten Island’s budget priorities. In addition, the Borough President is responsible for reviewing major land use decisions and proposing sites for city facilities within the Borough. As the chair of the Borough Board, the Borough President leads Staten Island’s City Council delegation and Community Board chairs in the process of reviewing and approving the transfer of public properties to private use. The Borough President’s Office houses the Borough's Topographical Bureau, which maintains the borough’s official maps and assigns street addresses. The Borough President monitors the delivery of city services on Staten Island, and acts as a liaison between residents and city agencies when problems arise to devise solutions. The Borough President is also responsible for appointing one member to the Panel for Educational Policy and one member to the City Planning Commission, as well as some 150 members to Staten Island’s three community boards.