Agata

The locality and, at the same time – the foreignness of Greenpoint was fascinating to me. We could go to any of the Polish food stores on Manhattan Avenue and buy the food we used to eat in Poland. We would eavesdrop on conversations in Polish on the streets. (…) But at the same time, there was no denying we were in a different country, where rules and values were very different from what we had been used to.

I am a freelance illustrator. When I moved to New York at the end of 2015, I wanted my then 9-year-old daughter to have friends her age who would ease the stress of moving abroad. So I essentially moved to Greenpoint to live close to our Polish-Icelandic friends, who have two children my daughter’s age and who had lived here for about five years.

We were lucky to find an apartment on the same street, just a few doors down from them. Having this instant community in a new place was a great source of comfort for us. The children were having sleepovers, running between the houses in pajamas, and playing in a band in a music studio in the basement of our friends’ house. There were wonderful dinner parties hosted by our friends with Polish food and people from all over the world.

The locality and, at the same time – the foreignness of Greenpoint was fascinating to me. We could go to any of the Polish food stores on Manhattan Avenue and buy the food we used to eat in Poland. We would eavesdrop on conversations in Polish on the streets. The owner of our apartment building was Polish, most of the children from Mila’s first school year in NYC spoke Polish. There was a string of my friends from Warsaw visiting us, one after another, sleeping on our couch. But at the same time, there was no denying we were in a different country, where rules and values were very different from what we had been used to.

Elementary school, especially, was a challenging experience for both my daughter and me. The teachers were supportive, she was put in the English as a New Language program. But, as a fresh immigrant, Mila stood out – she felt like a complete outsider, at the very bottom of the social ladder, with the wrong set of values. We were immediately confronted that our lifestyle wasn’t very American – I didn’t have a fancy big car, a big house, or a proper job, and even the food she brought home for lunch was weird. Mila didn’t know how much money I was making, while some of her school friends were very aware of their parent’s earnings. It was hard to make friends among the parents – everyone was so busy. When I tried to organize an after-school hangout for Mila and her classmate, her surprised mother referred me to her daughter’s nanny to make arrangements. Then, there were fundraisers for anything the school may need outside of the basic provisions, run mostly by American parents who were much more skilled and confident when it came to nuances of networking and grant applications. It was all very new to us.

At the time when we arrived, it was obvious Greenpoint’s gentrification was starting to accelerate. Huge condo buildings started to appear one after another on the East River bank. Old Polish places started to close, often replaced with newer, fancier restaurants and bars. It was losing its quiet, small-town feel and becoming a busy hangout for hipsters and tourists. It started to look and feel more like NYC, with a much more diverse crowd of people but also – with rapidly increasing living costs, which drove many long-time residents out of their Greenpoint homes. We still live here but recognize that time to go might be coming sooner than later. Mila and her Polish-Icelandic-American friends are finishing high school. There is a huge construction planned next to our apartment building which will make work from home impossible for my Polish-American husband and me. When I think, what I will miss about living in Greenpoint is exactly the feeling of living in a small town in the middle of a big city. The privilege of living on one of its most beautiful streets – Milton. And the sunset views over the East River and Manhattan skyline, from our evening walks.

Richard

When I was little, I had to read aloud from a Polish newspaper after dinner. It was a pain for me, little one. When I tried to speak English with my dad, my dad said he didn't understand me. He lied as I heard him talking in the store. But my dad wanted me always to remember the Polish language.

Agata

Victoria

Krystyna

Share Your Story

Let me tell you what happened recently. Workers were moving a machine that had its weight at the top. Instead of moving the machine slowly and carefully, they tilted it, and the machine cut one man's ear.

Piotr

Let me tell you what happened recently. Workers were moving a machine that had its weight at the top. Instead of moving the machine slowly and carefully, they tilted it, and the machine cut one man's ear.

Adam “Babyface”

Henry

Karolina

I recently switched to a bar in Williamsburg. People smoke weed, and I hear about ketamine, blankets, mushrooms, and acid, although I don’t see anyone dealing drugs in our establishment. I observe couples who meet at our place through Tinder. I think it’s like Russian roulette.

Emilia

Even if Greenpoint was not well-regarded, for Poles, it was the best place in the world. especially for those who had recently arrived in America and felt that they were losing their footing. Greenpoint emulated a small Polish town. It was such a comforting place.

Nicholas

Basia

Mieczyslaw

One of my students, in particular, stood out with exceptional progress. Jola was doing so well that I advised her to take singing lessons and then asked her to marry me. I didn't want her to surpass me in virtuosity. Fortunately, she became a great doctor. She died two years ago.

Dzidka

I was 13 years old and spoke some British English. It was not enough in Brooklyn. My Mom sent me to the school run by nuns, who were quite stern, and corrected me sharply. "You are in America; you are not Maria, you are Mary."

Daniela

Roman

Jakub

I am proud of who I am, I spend every summer in Poland. I like the Polish diligence. and striving for a goal. Look at Greenpoint, how the living standards have gone up. Poles are prosperous: it's not just asbestos and cleaning. I like the Polish sense of humor and laid-back attitude.

Izabela

Maria

This neighborhood is changing before my eyes. Americans move here, and children of Polish migrants feel proud that they come from Greenpoint, and this was not always the case. This district is becoming the most expensive and attractive place in New York!

Beata & Mieszko

We ran a deli at 725 Manhattan Avenue for twenty-five years. Someone has said there are two great moments for a shop owner – when he buys and sells it. The latter was better for me.

Andrzej

America overwhelmed me because I couldn’t get into the subway. I had to learn how to buy a ticket, how to get through the gate, where to get on, and where to get off. It’s not easy in Brooklyn or Queens. Especially if you don’t speak English.

Teresa

I was born in 1947 in Sarzyna near Leżajsk, Poland. There were eight siblings in my family. Others cut the corn with sickles when my father had horse-drawn machines. The director of the cooperative was coming to admire them.

Daniel

I came to New York in 1981 on the Batory ship, and there I found out that there was a neighborhood like Greenpoint. I've never heard of it before. My father gave me a hundred dollars for the trip, so I thought that at the beginning, we would rent a room in a nice Polish hotel.

Agata

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