Greek Immigration

The Greek-American community in New York made its cultural center and home in Astoria, a neighborhood in the northeastern section of Queens, in the late 1970’s and early to mid 1980’s. This however was not the initial entrance point of Greek immigrants into New York City. The earliest Greek communities were founded in Washington Heights located in northern Manhattan. I have been able to personally track this change and movement through my own personal experience and through my family history.

At the turn of the twentieth century Greeks began to immigrate to the United States primarily for economic opportunities. Originally these new immigrants had planned on returning to Greece after they earned enough money to support their families and gather capital for investment into their future upon their return to their homeland. As we all know the best laid plans go awry and this occurred for most of these immigrants as they discovered more than just a source of income but a richer and better life. They ended up staying permanently and relocated their families here to join them. The new Greek immigrants were primarily moving into New York City and took on jobs in factories, as peddlers, and in the service trades. By 1920 the Greek population in New York had risen to 50,000. In 1921, immigration slowed drastically as new immigration laws were put into place. Then again in 1924 the Reed-Johnson Act restricted the number of immigrants allowed into the country and its aim was to reduce immigration from southern and eastern Europe. In essence this act only allowed for 100 new Greek immigrants to come to the U.S. per year. This quota varied slightly over the next few decades and very few Greeks came to the U.S.

In 1965 a new Immigration Act was passed that no longer selected immigrants on the basis of their country of origin. This affected Greek immigration tremendously as the number of immigrants rose to 15,000 per year for the next five years and about 9,000...