Piotr

I’m not interested in Polish or American politics. I make so many important decisions daily that I can’t think about political ones. I show my attachment to Poland every year by going to the Pulaski Day Parade, but I feel that my future lies in America.

I’ve been working for a large construction company for eight years. I supervise and coordinate various stages of construction projects. Right now, I’m overseeing a commercial space project that’s 10,000 square feet with a team of 50 people. The previous project was even bigger: 40,000 square feet with 200 people.

Despite my young age, I’ve come a long way because I’ve been working since I was 18. I’ve done many jobs, including working in a liquor store and various other places. Besides my construction work, I also film family celebrations like baptisms and communions.

I recently graduated from college. Everyone asked how I managed to combine my studies with such intensive work. It worked out because my academic program was in the evening, and I worked during the day. From 7 AM to 4 PM, I was at work, and from 5 PM to 10 PM, I was at school. When I was in my third year, someone at the school found out that I was working full-time at the construction site, and they recognized my internship. They were proud of me.

I’m not afraid of hard work, and I want to be independent. So far, I’ve built projects for Sony Headquarters and Steven Spielberg’s office. Now, I’m building the tallest building in Greenpoint, which will be 69 stories high. When I stand on the banks of the East River, looking at Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens, and see the buildings I’ve helped construct, it’s satisfying, I won’t deny it.

Sometimes, I wonder where people get the money to build such large buildings, but then I think it’s none of my business. The most important thing is that they pay the subcontractors. I’m trying to enter the real estate market myself. I want to buy a building in New Jersey, preferably a multi-apartment or semi-detached house, and start renting it out or renovating and selling it at a higher price.

I know I won’t be as lucky as my parents, who, shortly after arriving in the 1990s, bought a house in Greenpoint. It’s a three-family house with a basement.

I was born in Leżajsk, a small city in Poland, and was one year old when we moved to America. My brother was born here. My dad was a carpenter, and my mom found work at the Polish school at Cyril and Methodius Parish. She no longer works and now takes care of my grandmother.

Eventually, we became US citizens. First, our grandmother, then our parents took the exam. But we never broke contact with Poland. Every year, as soon as the school year ended, we’d get on a plane to Poland and go to Leżajsk. We spent two to three months there every year. I have as many friends in Poland as I do here. I also want to buy an apartment in Poland.

When we went to Poland in the summer, my dad would immediately go to help the family on the farm. He instilled in me from a young age that you have to work hard. This lesson stayed with me. I was the first to go to college and the first to graduate. When I went to college, my brother followed.

I’m not interested in Polish or American politics. I make so many important decisions daily that I can’t think about political ones. I show my attachment to Poland every year by going to the Pulaski Day Parade, but I feel that my future lies in America.

Before I fully dive into the construction industry, I need to think carefully. This industry involves big money but also big risks, especially because the compensation market in New York is absolutely crazy. If someone falls off a ladder or breaks an arm on a construction site, it’s immediately a big problem, and there’s no profit on the project.

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. Someone advised this man to sign up for surgery, telling him that the more operations he had, the bigger the compensation he would get. So, the man went ahead. But someone later saw him running up to the ambulance, carrying a bag on his supposedly injured shoulder. He spent four months not coming to work and wanted $2 million from the company. When I think about my future, I wonder if it’s better to work for someone else than to risk being sued.

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.

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.

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.

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