Filipinos In The New York City Metropolitan Region

Filipinos in the New York metropolitan area constitute one of the fastest growing ethnicities in the United States, and one of the largest and most prominent Filipino diasporas in the Western Hemisphere. By 2014 Census estimates, the New York City-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, NY-NJ-CT-PA Combined Statistical Area was home to 262,375 Filipino Americans, 221,612 (84.5%) of them uniracial Filipinos.

History

New York City has a shorter settlement history compared to historically more common locations for Filipinos to immigrate to, such as the West Coast.

Early demographics

While larger populations Filipinos immigrated to New York City after 1965, many Filipinos began arriving in New York in the early 1900s. Many came to study as ''pensionados'' (or sponsored students) in universities like Columbia University and New York University. Like other immigrants at the time, these Filipinos entered through Ellis Island; Manuel Quezon and Carlos Romulo are among the small group of Filipinos who arrived in this way. In 1911, some Filipinos worked at the Dreamland Amusement Park in Coney Island, where they simulated what "savage" life was like in the Philippines. Most other Filipinos in New York at this time were seamen who docked at the Brooklyn Navy Yards. A Filipino restaurant called Manila Restaurant opened in the late 1920s and was located at 47 Sand Street in Brooklyn.

In 1927, one of the first Filipino civic organizationss in New York City. In 1970, there were 14,279 Filipinos in New York State, 52.4% of whom were college graduates. Filipinos in the New York City metropolitan area also did not enjoy the early advantage of their counterparts on the West Coast of the United States in terms of perceived geographic proximity to the Philippines by marine and air routes. Also in the 1990s, Philippine Airlines, which had provided service to Newark Liberty International Airport, discontinued this service due to financial difficulties. However, the determined Filipino American communities of the New York City metropolitan region ultimately overcame these obstacles in conjunction with the sheer number of opportunities provided by the region for Filipinos to work and thrive as a highly achieving, ambitious, and rapidly growing presence, first within the New York City region's Asian American milieu and eventually amidst its mainstream population. Filipino Americans started working in the traditional nursing and healthcare fields in the region's numerous hospitals and clinics, before branching out to other professional fields.

In the East Village and the Lower East Side, Manhattan, there was significant Filipino migration in the late 1980s due to mass recruitment of Filipino medical professionals to area hospitals, notably New York Eye and Ear Infirmary, Beth Israel Medical Center, and the former Saint Vincent's Catholic Medical Center. Migration was spurred by the hospitals' offer of subsidized housing to employees, in the midst of ongoing rent strikes in the neighborhood. The burgeoning Little Manila centered on 1st Avenue and 14th Street, around which there were, at the peak, a number of grocery and video-rental stores and Filipino restaurants within a few blocks of one another. Filipino American community relations were strengthened by local Roman Catholic churches in the East Village and Gramercy Park areas. As rents increased, and properties were taken over by New York University, the number of Filipinos and Filipino businesses in the East Village's Little Manila waned. Elvie's Turo-Turo, the longest standing Filipino business in the area, closed in late 2009 after almost 20 years of operation. New Filipino businesses continue to sprout up.

Modern demographics

In the 1970s and '80s, Filipinos in the New Jersey and New York metropolitan region had a higher socioeconomic status than Filipinos elsewhere, as more than half of Filipino immigrants to the metropolitan area were healthcare professionals or other highly trained professionals, in contrast to established working-class Filipino American populations elsewhere. In 1990, there were 43,229 Filipinos in New York City, with the number increasing to around 50,000 in 2000. The borough of Queens is home to the largest concentration of Filipinos within New York City, with about 38,000 Filipinos per the 2010 Census. In 2011, New York City was home to an estimated 82,313 Filipinos, representing a 7.7% increase from the estimated 77,191 in 2008, with 56%, or about 46,000, living in Queens. The Filipino median household income in New York City was $81,929 in 2013, and 68% held a bachelor's degree or higher.

In 2008, the New York metropolitan area was home to 215,000 Filipinos. By the 2010 Census, within the New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, NY-NJ-PA MSA, there were 217,349 Filipino Americans, with an additional 15,631 in the greater New York-Newark-Bridgeport, NY-NJ-CT-PA CSA. As of 2011, over 150,000 Filipino-born immigrants resided in the New York City metropolitan region.

In 2013, 4,098 Filipinos legally immigrated to the New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, NY-NJ-PA core based statistical area; in 2012, this number was 4,879; 4,177 in 2011; 4,047 in 2010, 4,400 in 2009, and 5,985 in 2005. These numerical values do not include the remainder of the New York-Newark-Bridgeport, NY-NJ-CT-PA Combined Statistical Area. Philippine Airlines has resumed service to the New York City region since March 2015, with direct, one-seat service to Manila, this time utilizing JFK International Airport as its gateway. In April 2018, Philippine Airlines launched non-stop flight service between JFK international Airport and Manila, and has operated this important flight connection between Manila and New York continuously since then, even through the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic.

List of Little Manilas

Little Manilas have emerged in the New York City metropolitan area, located in Woodside, Queens; Jersey City, New Jersey