>Gentrification is slowly killing Little Poland…
When exiting the Greenpoint Avenue subway station, Greenpointers and visitors are immediately greeted by the stereotypical image of contemporary America: a McDonald’s across the road and a Dunkin’ Donuts just a slight left turn away. However, a mere two minutes down the road from the station, there is a window display that can mentally transport Greenpoint residents at least 4230 miles away from this stereotypical American visual.
To some, the Polonia Bookstore window display at 882 Manhattan Avenue may seem kitschy. Among the Polish books, you’ll find posters advertising past and future Polish cultural events, various-sized wooden crosses hanging above the entrance door, a child-sized red Polish folk skirt, and a large old fermenting crockpot with a clear ‘made in Poland’ label, distinguishing its origins. Inside, visitors are greeted with copies of one book in particular: ‘Greenpoint: The Tales from Little Poland’ by Ewa Winnicka. The opening page describes the book as an ‘elegy’ for Little Poland, and a stroll through the neighborhood – once bustling with 146 Polish-operated businesses – quickly confirms the appropriateness of this descriptor.
“The Little Poland that Greenpoint used to be is becoming littler and littler,” says Father Joseph Szpilski, who arrived in the United States in 1964 at the age of 29. “When I came here you could only hear the Polish language on the streets. There were many Polish shops, Polish restaurants. Today they don’t exist. They’ve closed them because why would they have a shop without clients?” Fr. Szpilski served as a parish priest at St Stanislaus Kostka Parish in Greenpoint from 1972 to 1982. During this time, many Poles who had arrived in the late 19th and early 20th-century waves of migration had already established their place in New York. According to the U.S. Population Census, in the 1970s, Poles constituted over 45 percent of Greenpoint’s foreign-born population, and in the 1980s, there was an increase of residents with Polish ancestry in the neighborhood.
In 1984, The New York Times released an article titled ‘Polish Newcomers Revive Dying Greenpoint Customs.’ The “newcomers” interviewed by the Times had immigrated to the U.S. to escape Poland’s communist regime, particularly the political upheaval that ensued after the imposition of martial law in 1981. The arrival of a new wave of migration led to a shift in Greenpoint’s trajectory. While in preceding years the neighborhood had increasingly become a Polish-American community, with more first- and second-generation immigrants embracing a dual identity with both countries and cultures, it eventually reverted to a Greenpoint where Polish matters remained largely confined within the boundaries of Little Poland.
At the Polish Slavic Center, Poles could learn English, participate in cultural events, and seek citizenship advice; at the Polish and Slavic Federal Credit Union, they could obtain a loan without encountering visa-related problems; on nearly every street, Poles could buy traditional Polish goods or enjoy homemade pierogi at a local restaurant after Sunday mass. “When I was the priest, on Sundays we would have around 5000 people attending mass. We had eight masses, five in Polish and three in English,” Fr. Szpilski remembered, before adding that today the participation levels have noticeably lessened.
In the year that The New York Times declared Greenpoint as “more Polish than ever,” Fr. Szpilski was on his parochial mission in a different neighborhood in the city. However, he returned to St. Stanislaus Kostka in 2009, discovering a gradually diminishing Polish population that was less active in faith and community. This shift coincided with improvements in conditions in Poland, marked by a democratic transition in 1989 and Poland’s accession to the European Union in 2004. As Poland’s circumstances improved, news articles about Greenpoint in the 21st century shifted away from narratives about Poles seeking a better life in Brooklyn. Instead, the focal point of discussion turned to the return of Poles back to their home country, the disappearance of Polish businesses, and the rapid gentrification occurring in the area. “These changes are occurring right in front of my eyes,” said Fr. Szpilski, giving examples of families who had returned to Poland or had to move to a more affordable neighborhood in New York.
“I lived in Greenpoint for some time, but I moved out to Maspeth because I needed a bigger house, but I also had to keep some sort of budget,” said Monika Adamski, the co-founder of Radio Rampa, a Polish radio station located in Greenpoint. Radio Rampa was established in 2012 by Mrs. Adamski and her husband, Artur Adamski, to report on news related to the Polish community living in New York and beyond. Working as the Editor-in-Chief for the radio, Mrs. Adamski has been actively involved with the Polish community living in Greenpoint and has heard many stories of older Polish immigrants who, over the years, had never traveled to Manhattan, refusing to leave their Polish enclave. “Greenpoint was made in such a way that you didn’t need to learn English because on every corner you had a Polish person. Post offices, travel agencies, they were very popular, but today there are considerably less of them,” Mrs. Adamski explained. She mentioned that in the last few years, many Polish businesses had either closed or found ways to adapt and accommodate non-Polish-speaking individuals.
Anna-Pol Travel Agency is among the surviving Polish businesses mentioned by Mrs. Adamski, although its owner, Anna LaRocca, has become increasingly pessimistic about the changing dynamics of the neighborhood. “This is how Greenpoint has changed,” Ms. LaRocca said, pointing to a Polish man who had entered her agency with a nearly empty 50 oz wine bottle in his hand. “So many homeless people are now here.”
In 2021, the NYU Furman Center noted that the median household income in the gentrifying Greenpoint and Williamsburg neighborhoods was around $107,630 – 49 percent more than the average citywide median income. At 18.8 percent, the poverty rate had also been reported at above citywide average. Many Poles had relocated to avoid the economic changes caused by higher-income residents moving into the neighborhood, but some could not afford the move.
“Greenpoint is no longer Polish and not everyone likes it,” said Mrs. Adamski. “Many of these people are older and they’re used to a certain way of living. The fact that Greenpoint is becoming a trendy, new, fashionable neighborhood is a massive change for them.” Among the discontented older Polish residents are Emilia Yaegel and Krystyna Godawa, longstanding Greenpoint business owners who share a common observation; both women stated that they have witnessed the most profound transformations in the area, specifically “in the past 10 years.”
Emilia Yaegel has owned Syrena Bakery on Norman Avenue since 1993. Despite the lingering scents of babkas and pączki (Polish donuts), Ms. Yaegel expressed frustration that traditional Polish bakes are no longer popular with modern clientele. “These people don’t appreciate tradition,” she said, referring to the more affluent, rarely Polish-speaking new residents of Greenpoint.
Krystyna Godawa owns Park Deli, a business selling traditional Polish lunch and dinner food, just a four-minute walk away from Syrena Bakery. Ms. Godawa can often be seen proudly selling large trays of Polish delicatessen to Greenpointers and for special events at the Polish Embassy. Although in 2022 Ms. Godawa had to relocate Park Deli due to a surge in rental expenses, her ever-present welcoming attitude embodies her tenacity in the midst of gentrification pressures, which have become the new normal for Polish businesses in Greenpoint.
… but Polish culture is being kept alive
Despite the unified view that Greenpoint can no longer be deemed as ‘Little Poland,’ the neighborhood that exists today has undoubtedly been shaped by the Polish-born and Polish-American community over the last century. Although Polish culture is less visible in the day-to-day street life, it is still upheld in various ways within the neighborhood.
Iwona Drąg-Korga, the Executive Director at the Pilsudski Institute of America, expressed, “I think culture is us so if we do nothing then it ceases to exist, but if we do something, anything, then it remains.” The Institute, a non-profit organization dedicated to safeguarding Polish heritage in the U.S., has been preserving Polish archives since 1943. Most of these archives have been donated by Polish-Americans and Polish-American organizations. Ms. Drąg-Korgafurther explained that the Institute moved its headquarters from Manhattan to Greenpoint eight years ago.
The Institute organizes various monthly events, including guest lectures such as the recent one by Alicia Jarkowska on the topic of the “Post-war fate of Krakow-based Gestapo.” Additionally, they host traditional Polish celebrations, like this month’s Polish Independence Day, an annual treasure hunt around Greenpoint for Polish children, and documentary film viewings in the likes of “Beacon Hill, the American Czestochowa,” which narrates the story of Polish faith and patriotism in the U.S. Ms. Drąg-Korga emphasized the significance of these cultural events, stating, “We know that immigration from Poland has now ended, so we need to find ways to educate different generations with Polish heritage about Polish history.”
“There’s organizations such as ‘Krakowianki and Gorale,’ that teach children Polish dances and songs,” said Fr. Szpilski as he prepared for an 11:30 a.m. Thanksgiving mass for Polish youth at the St. Stanislaus Kostka Church. Despite expressing disappointment while reminiscing about the higher number of children in the past who would join groups like “Krakowianki and Gorale,” enroll in St Stanislaus Kostka Catholic Academy, and speak Polish during mass, he continued in a more hopeful tone, saying, “These are the children that keep Polish tradition alive.” According to Fr. Szpilski, the younger Polish-Americans respect their Polish ancestry. “Even the funerals are often in Polish, though many of the people don’t understand what is being said, they want their grandmother to have a Polish funeral because she prayed in Polish,” he said.
Ms. Adamski spoke about the successful integration of Polish culture beyond Greenpoint’s Polish community by recalling Radio Rampa’s news transmission of National Pierogi Day at the restaurant ‘Pierozek,’ located on 592 Manhattan Avenue. “There were only Americans there, and only one Polish person,” she said, concluding that Polish culture will remain an essential part of Greenpoint, even though the neighborhood is no longer as populated with Polish-born residents as it used to be.
Last Saturday, Ms. Adamski visited Greenpoint’s McGolrick Park, where she shared that the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation plans to plant white and red tulips. These tulips will bloom in spring, displaying the colors of the Polish flag. “The reason for this is because we have a duty to remember the influence of the Polish community in shaping what this neighborhood looks like today,” she said.