From The Peopling of New York City
How I became a New Yorker
Like most of the individuals in the New York Population, I come from a family of immigrants. I come from a family whose roots begin in not one, but many different areas around the globe. My maternal grandfather was born in Israel, where he grew up amongst his six brothers. He spoke eight different languages, including English. When he was in twenties, he moved to Brooklyn, where he married and had five children. A few years later, his wife passed away and his children were split up and sent to different foster homes. In an effort to regain custody of his children, my grandfather went to Mexico, where he met my grandmother and shortly after, married her. Together they had three children, one of which was my mother. My mother grew up in Brooklyn and experienced a first generation American lifestyle.
From my father’s side, my paternal grandfather was born in Turkey. Because of the persecution of the Jewish population there, he was forced to move to Israel, where he met my grandmother, who had recently moved from Syria for the same reason. They built a life together, and my father and two aunts were born in Israel. When my father was twenty -one, he moved to Brooklyn, New York to pursue business opportunities. He came on his own and lived with a friend in a small apartment located in Sheepshead Bay. Two years later, my paternal grandparents moved to Brooklyn as well, and my father moved in with them. In 1984, my parents met by way of a mutual friend, and married that same year.
My parents gave birth to my two sisters and I in Brooklyn, and in 1992, when I was a year and a half old, we moved to Florida, where my father was able to build up his own business. My father’s parents and sister also moved to Florida around the same time as us. Florida became my home for the next twelve years. However, when I was thirteen years old, my mom decided to move us back to Brooklyn in order to be a part of the Jewish community there. I attended yeshivah in Brooklyn for the next five years, and learned more about my Syrian Jewish heritage. When I was in my senior year of high school, I decided to apply to Brooklyn College as a Macaulay Honors student. Although I am a new resident of New York State, I have become accustomed to the lifestyle here, and call myself a New Yorker.
