*Demographics*

General Demographic Profile

Ethnicities

The ethnic makeup of Eastern Parkway is as follows:

-West Indian and Caribbean

-African-American

-Chabad-Lubavitcher Jews

-Latino or Hispanic

Despite this diverse array of ethnic groups, Eastern Parkway is dominated by a strong Caribbean and native African American population.

As an in-depth look at the statistics shows:

RACE AND ETHNICITY ^[1]

• It is interesting to note that nearly 40% of the more than 200,000 Crown Heights residents are first generation immigrants. Much of this is accounted for by the continuing influx of immigrants from the various countries in the Caribbean and West Indies.

• For more on this subject, please visit Special Interview to hear an interview with Mildred Coleman, a prominent member of the Crown Heights community over the last four decades, who tells of her personal experience with these demographic changes towards first generation Afro-Caribbean immigrants into Crown Heights.

• There is an interesting debate over the racial distinction between Afro-Caribbean or West Indian and African American. The 2003 Op Data shows a certain lack of separation between these two denominations, and points to the common practice of lumping West Indians with the native black population of Crown Heights. Still, it is inherently suggested within this data that the great majority of this percentage is of Caribbean descent. This accounts for the incredibly marked expression of distinctive Afro-Caribbean culture on the Parkway.

• There is little clear data on the numerical representation of the Caribbean countries in Crown Heights. The Brooklyn Rail has a score of interesting blurbs generated by residents of and visitors to the Parkway to give a better taste of the specific national heritage under the broad category of "Caribbean".

• The racial definitions within these demographic statistics is also unclear. The vast majority of census responders classified themselves as Caribbean American (40%) or African American (35%), with 9% classifying themselves as Caucasian.

• The denomination white includes the Chabad-Lubavitcher Jews. The data here gets a bit difficult to extrapolate, because the federal census does not survey for religion, which excludes the Hasidic Jews as a distinct group. This estimate is based on the 2000 Census data of non-Hispanic whites in Brooklyn Community Board 9 located in southern Crown Heights, where the overwhelming majority of the Jewish population can be found.

Changes in Demographics

Booming Population of Hasidic Jews

This recent New York Times articles highlights the changing demographics in Crown Heights. The Hasidic Jew population of the area is growing at a very noticeable rate, and it is expected to continue to rise over the following years. Construction of housing units have steadily increased, up by 2% in this year alone.

Education Profile

References

1. ↑ Cissner, Amanda B. and Ellenbogen, Amy. "Crown Heights Op Data 2003". Center for Court Innovation. 2004. 15 April 2008. <http://www.courtinnovation.org/_uploads/documents/chopdata1.pdf>.