[NYguy]

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/21/nyregion/21mbrfs-POPULATION.html?_r=1&ref=nyregion&oref=slogin

Manhattan: Population Milestone

By SAM ROBERTS
November 21, 2007

New York City’s population has passed another milestone, officially topping 8.25 million. The Census Bureau originally reported that from mid-2005 to mid-2006, the population grew by a statistically insignificant 587 people, with gains in Manhattan and Staten Island. But the Department of City Planning challenged the census count, drawing on construction permits and other documents.

Yesterday, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg announced that the bureau had concurred that the city’s official count was 8,250,567, up more than 36,000 since the adjusted 2005 total. The mayor said the revisions would mean an additional $77 million in federal aid to the state by the end of the decade.

[NYguy]

http://www.nysun.com/article/66798

New Figures Show City's Residents Rise

By GRACE RAUH
November 21, 2007


A record 8.25 million people now reside in New York City, 36,141 more than had been originally counted in the U.S. Census Bureau's annual population estimates, putting the state on track to receive an additional estimated $77 million in federal funds by 2010.

The city announced yesterday that it had successfully challenged the Census Bureau's earlier figures, as it has in previous years. The higher population counts should lead to an increase in federal funds, which are distributed based on population figures.

The report of population growth in New York City stands in contrast to the overall state population, which dropped by more than 9,500 people between July 2005 and July 2006, according to data from the U.S. Census.

The city, meanwhile, saw its population rise by about 40,000 during the same period, to 8.25 million from 8.21 million, according to estimates from the Department of City Planning.

"This population increase is the dividend the City receives for our ongoing investment in public safety, schools, and other government services," Mayor Bloomberg said in a statement yesterday. "By analyzing and challenging the Census Bureau's findings, we are able to ensure that vital City programs receive the appropriate level of federal funding."

Much of the funding will be used to develop new affordable housing and preserve the city's existing affordable housing stock.

The city challenged the July 2006 census figures for all five boroughs, with the highest percentage difference found in the Bronx. The Department of Planning found nearly 10,000 more people in the Bronx than had been estimated by the census.

[kingsdl76]

:previous:

I'm glad to hear it!!!

[Canadian_Bacon]

How could the census bureau make such a big miscalculation. I mean maybe a few hundred... But they were thousands off.

If they got the population figures wrong for NYC... what about other cities around the U.S.

[BnaBreaker]

How could the census bureau make such a big miscalculation. I mean maybe a few hundred... But they were thousands off.

If they got the population figures wrong for NYC... what about other cities around the U.S.

In the 2000 census they under counted Nashville by something like 45,000 people, and obviously Nashville has about 8 million less people than New York, so if it happened there, it probably happens quite often in many cities. It's just the only one I'm aware of since it is my hometown.

[Echo Park]

Amazing. No other U.S. city comes close.

I wonder if 10 million is a reality in my life time.

[JManc]

new york city continues to grow while the rest of the state continues to whither away. there's already two million more people in the city than all of upstate.

[hudkina]

Detroit was recently found to be undercounted by nearly 50,000, so 36,000 in New York isn't that suprising. Hell, I'd bet that there are an additional 36,000 people currently living in the city that aren't being counted by the Census Bureau.;)

[Brandon716]

new york city continues to grow while the rest of the state continues to whither away. there's already two million more people in the city than all of upstate.

New York State is quintessentially American. Same state, two worlds. One region growing as one of the hubs of the world, one totally forgotten and shrinking. And does anyone care? No, because to do anything or take any serious action would mean we've been overtaken by anti-free market pinko commie bastards. :haha:

The division of economy and income is so essentially American in nature that New York represents America very well on the world stage.

[niwell]

How could the census bureau make such a big miscalculation. I mean maybe a few hundred... But they were thousands off.

If they got the population figures wrong for NYC... what about other cities around the U.S.

Census undercount is not uncommon at all. In fact, don't be suprised to see some pretty significant changes for Canadian cities from the '06 when the revised numbers come out (feb or march iirc?).


Anyway, good for NYC!

[JManc]

New York State is quintessentially American. Same state, two worlds. One region growing as one of the hubs of the world, one totally forgotten and shrinking. And does anyone care? No, because to do anything or take any serious action would mean we've been overtaken by anti-free market pinko commie bastards. :haha:

The division of economy and income is so essentially American in nature that New York represents America very well on the world stage.

the two (upstate and downstate) have always existed in a love-hate relationship à la a farrah fawcett movie. people in upstate curse NYC and NYC forgets there is a state between them and canada. their trash and prisoners go "somewhere".

[ginsan2]

What's truly humorous about this is that the Census bureau estimates how many people are where. It never really knows.

But if you owe $2 to the IRS? They will find you. They know exactly where you live, they know what you do, they know your bank accounts and they know where you've lived in the past 20 years.

[tech12]

San Francisco was possibly significantly under-counted as well. Census says 744,041 people for 2006, while the state of California says 809,000. That's a big difference...

[Jularc]

Awesome news for this already big city! Next year probably thousands of more people will end up in the big Apple once again. But at the same time a lot of others are been price out though.

[wisla_krakow]

What's truly humorous about this is that the Census bureau estimates how many people are where. It never really knows.

But if you owe $2 to the IRS? They will find you. They know exactly where you live, they know what you do, they know your bank accounts and they know where you've lived in the past 20 years.
That seemed like a bitter post. lol

[fleonzo]

:shrug: New York State is quintessentially American. Same state, two worlds. One region growing as one of the hubs of the world, one totally forgotten and shrinking. And does anyone care? No, because to do anything or take any serious action would mean we've been overtaken by anti-free market pinko commie bastards. :haha:

The division of economy and income is so essentially American in nature that New York represents America very well on the world stage.

The UNIONS killed manufacturing upstate (like pretty much all of the Rustbelt) which in turn drove the population declines!!! I never understood why the general public never gets this!? BMW, Mercedes, Toyota, etc...all build manufacturing plants in Sunbelt UNION free states....wow look jobs! Wow look population increases (TX,SC,NC, etc...)!

[ginsan2]

:shrug:

The UNIONS killed manufacturing upstate (like pretty much all of the Rustbelt) which in turn drove the population declines!!! I never understood why the general public never gets this!? BMW, Mercedes, Toyota, etc...all build manufacturing plants in Sunbelt UNION free states....wow look jobs! Wow look population increases (TX,SC,NC, etc...)!

Union workers aren't exactly known for being the brightest minds. I think the actual numbers from a survey in Michigan stated that something like 2/3rds of the adult population placed no value on higher education.

As a complete edit, hurray for NYC :) It's the only urban area in the country that can actually draw people and hold them there, because they want to live there. I think that's a truly magnificent feat.

[Brandon716]

:shrug:

The UNIONS killed manufacturing upstate (like pretty much all of the Rustbelt) which in turn drove the population declines!!! I never understood why the general public never gets this!? BMW, Mercedes, Toyota, etc...all build manufacturing plants in Sunbelt UNION free states....wow look jobs! Wow look population increases (TX,SC,NC, etc...)!

Its not smart to blame the unions for the decline. Its an easy statement to make, but it doesn't make it true.

The reality is that modern trade deals and cheap labor abroad has caused the decline of former manufacturing centers. Cities that were built on non-manufacturing economies benefitted such as sunbelt cities.

The manufacturing centers of America had a double problem: for every manufacturing job lost these cities had to create two jobs just to keep up pace with every one job created in places in the sunbelt.

For Pittsburgh to compete with Austin, Pittsburgh has to create 2 jobs for every 1 job created in Austin because Austin isn't losing an existing manufacturing base. Although there is a bottom that has yet to be reached, because Pittsburgh is no longer majority manufacturing this process is slowing where they are losing jobs (along with other cities).

To blame everything on unions is too simplistic.

Most people who blame the unions for everything focus on only a few negative impacts the unions have had instead of the overall picture.

Also, sunbelt states are not union-free. They on average have fewer union members but the percent isn't that far off. They just have laws that don't encourage union growth. From certain statements I've read, you'd think opening a union in the south is illegal. Far from it!!! Many jobs in the south are union based in the trades and manufacturing industry, and many industries are on par with northern states for union membership.

The truth is the economic boom in certain parts of the southern states hasn't come from manufacturing, its come from services. Raleigh-Durham isn't booming because of manufacturing. Atlanta isn't a manufacturing center. Florida is known for tourism, clubs, and citrus farming. Not quite a place for manufacturing. Other southern cities aren't boom towns... Memphis, Birmingham, and New Orleans hardly classify as boom towns.

[Hamilton]

The reality is that modern trade deals and cheap labor abroad has caused the decline of former manufacturing centers.

Soo....why do YOU think labor is cheaper in the South or in Mexico or China than in the Rustbelt? Why do you think manufacturers are itching to move out of the Rustbelt? Sheer malice? There are two realistic possibilities...either people from Buffalo and Detroit are just not as good at making cars/heavy machinery as Alabamans and Mexicans (competitive advantage), or unions have priced their members out of the market.

I'm sure you wouldn't insult Northern union laborers by saying that they are incompetent...so that leaves the unions and their overpricing of labor as the culprit for the high unemployment in the Rustbelt.

But, you say, $14/ hour plus benefits is not a living wage for a factory worker? Well, as you can see in the Rustbelt now, the alternative is $0/hour plus unemployment benefits. Even if we could force our factories BY LAW to stay in Detroit and pay $35/hour, that would mean $55,000 Dodge Chargers, and people would buy Toyotas instead (what IS happening anyway, in slow motion). Unless you put an end to free trade and banned imports too...but that would drastically lower living standards in America, not raise them, as the average union job might pay more, but you could buy less with it, since everything would be so expensive.

Free trade has created higher living standards on average for Americans, not lower ones. Look at what happened as the Great Depression started setting in and the US and other countries around the world started raising import duties to prohibitive levels. International trade basically ground to a halt, really giving the Great Depression its teeth.

[Brandon716]

Soo....why do YOU think labor is cheaper in the South or in Mexico or China than in the Rustbelt? Why do you think manufacturers are itching to move out of the Rustbelt? Sheer malice? There are two realistic possibilities...either people from Buffalo and Detroit are just not as good at making cars/heavy machinery as Alabamans and Mexicans (competitive advantage), or unions have priced their members out of the market.

I'm sure you wouldn't insult Northern union laborers by saying that they are incompetent...so that leaves the unions and their overpricing of labor as the culprit for the high unemployment in the Rustbelt.

But, you say, $14/ hour plus benefits is not a living wage for a factory worker? Well, as you can see in the Rustbelt now, the alternative is $0/hour plus unemployment benefits. Even if we could force our factories BY LAW to stay in Detroit and pay $35/hour, that would mean $55,000 Dodge Chargers, and people would buy Toyotas instead (what IS happening anyway, in slow motion). Unless you put an end to free trade and banned imports too...but that would drastically lower living standards in America, not raise them, as the average union job might pay more, but you could buy less with it, since everything would be so expensive.

Free trade has created higher living standards on average for Americans, not lower ones. Look at what happened as the Great Depression started setting in and the US and other countries around the world started raising import duties to prohibitive levels. International trade basically ground to a halt, really giving the Great Depression its teeth.

You present a false option. Its not zero trade or free trade. There's something called bilateral trade where we broker the deal that is best for the nation as a whole, and always ends up being better for the nation we're trading with as well.

I don't accept two bad options as our only options.

If you want to jump on the blame-the-unions bandwagon, go ahead.

BTW, I'm not aware of Detroit paying car manufacturers $35 an hour. I've heard they pay roughly $17 at a union GM plant that I am aware of through a friend.

These keep-it-stupid arguments of only having two options for trade and blaming the unions for everything isn't an argument, its an argument based out of ideology.

Forget the auto industry for a moment, what about the airline industry? Its members are unionized no matter where they are. From Dallas to New York to Chicago. From San Francisco to Miami.

I hear that airline attendants at US Airways have recently started out as low as $23,000 a year after all the union concessions, and over at American the unions conceeded hundreds of millions of dollars a year or so ago and the management still flunked HR skills by upping executive pay many times what it was worth, not to mention stock options.

I laugh at your reference to Chrysler and the Charger cost.. Chrysler just announced a huge concession plan from the unions and major layoffs. The unions didn't create the problem, they make ugly cars that are big and suck gas. That's more of the managerial decision process than the manufacturing process.

Unions are the scapegoat when they really don't have the power they used to. Not even 15% of jobs are unionized. That's not enough to affect the economies of entire regions.

Even union-heavy rustbelt cities don't have workforces that are over 10-15% unionized. Have you actually looked at statistical data for cities like Buffalo, Pittsburgh, Chicago, Detroit to see what percent of the MSA is unionized? I doubt you've ever seen a chart in your life. You'll be surprised to see how low the number is.

What would surprise you even more is when you find out that "red" states have union percents that aren't that far off from the blue.

I mean the fact is unions have little to do with the current economic situation in America. Its clearly other policy issues at play.

[fleonzo]

You present a false option. Its not zero trade or free trade. There's something called bilateral trade where we broker the deal that is best for the nation as a whole, and always ends up being better for the nation we're trading with as well.

I don't accept two bad options as our only options.

If you want to jump on the blame-the-unions bandwagon, go ahead.

BTW, I'm not aware of Detroit paying car manufacturers $35 an hour. I've heard they pay roughly $17 at a union GM plant that I am aware of through a friend.

These keep-it-stupid arguments of only having two options for trade and blaming the unions for everything isn't an argument, its an argument based out of ideology.

Forget the auto industry for a moment, what about the airline industry? Its members are unionized no matter where they are. From Dallas to New York to Chicago. From San Francisco to Miami.

I hear that airline attendants at US Airways have recently started out as low as $23,000 a year after all the union concessions, and over at American the unions conceeded hundreds of millions of dollars a year or so ago and the management still flunked HR skills by upping executive pay many times what it was worth, not to mention stock options.

I laugh at your reference to Chrysler and the Charger cost.. Chrysler just announced a huge concession plan from the unions and major layoffs. The unions didn't create the problem, they make ugly cars that are big and suck gas. That's more of the managerial decision process than the manufacturing process.

Unions are the scapegoat when they really don't have the power they used to. Not even 15% of jobs are unionized. That's not enough to affect the economies of entire regions.

Even union-heavy rustbelt cities don't have workforces that are over 10-15% unionized. Have you actually looked at statistical data for cities like Buffalo, Pittsburgh, Chicago, Detroit to see what percent of the MSA is unionized? I doubt you've ever seen a chart in your life. You'll be surprised to see how low the number is.

What would surprise you even more is when you find out that "red" states have union percents that aren't that far off from the blue.

I mean the fact is unions have little to do with the current economic situation in America. Its clearly other policy issues at play.

The reason why you site low % is becasue they have BEEN going down with the lost of jobs. You're missing the point of cause and effect! The reasons the unions are giving those concessions is because they have realized what you have failed to; "it's the concessions or the company goes out of business (hence the effect) and the union will have no jobs for its members".

If the airlines were free to hire anyone (i.e. non-union) then there would be a market for people wanting to work for $20K, $25K, $30K....$100K. If the airline failed to attract people at the lower range it would need to increase it until it could find enough people to work in its business. Can you believe that in NYC we have; "Elevator Repair Men Union"? "Door Men Union"?...Do you really think that the city benefits from this?

[NYguy]

Amazing. No other U.S. city comes close.

I wonder if 10 million is a reality in my life time.

I don't know about 10 million. The way rezoning and NIMBYs are pushing against development, there would be nowhere to put them.

[NYguy]

San Francisco was possibly significantly under-counted as well. Census says 744,041 people for 2006, while the state of California says 809,000. That's a big difference...

Seems like that happens all the time. The biggest reason the city's fight back is because those numbers translate into dollars. No one wants to be shortchanged.

But the truth of the matter is that, even the revised numbers are probably still lower than the actual figures.

[NYguy]

hurray for NYC :) It's the only urban area in the country that can actually draw people and hold them there, because they want to live there. I think that's a truly magnificent feat.

It's obviously a positive, but sometimes I see it as a negative when people start complaining about crowdedness and lack of open space, as if those people didn't know they were moving to New York. But for the most part, the people are happy to be where they are, even when they complain.

New York also draws heavily from the foreign crowd, as seen in most boroughs and even Jersey. But if the city is to continue to grow, it has to realize that , for the most part, the only place to grow is up - and that means the outer boroughs will have to get more highrises in places that don't want them. It also means more housing will have to be "affordable". Of course, there will have to be places to work, shop, etc.

[NYguy]

http://www.nypost.com/seven/11302007/news/regionalnews/apples_hire_power_741512.htm

APPLE'S HIRE POWER
JOB GROWTH IS BEST IN THE COUNTRY

By TOM TOPOUSIS
November 30, 2007

Job growth in the New York area over the past year outpaced every other region in the nation, with more than 77,500 new jobs reported in the latest national survey released yesterday by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The five boroughs alone led the local gains with 57,000 new jobs, or an increase of 1.5 percent, last month, compared with the October 2006.

"This is really good job growth for the city," said Martin Kohli, an economist with the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The city outpaced the national average of a 1.2 percent increase over last year.

Leading the city's job growth were business and professional services, covering fields ranging from the advertising to support services, such as temp agencies. The sector grew by 14,700 jobs in New York City.

Among the professional services, the advertising industry showed the strongest gains, growing by 7.7 percent over last year, the federal survey found.

Financial activities, powered in large part by the securities industry, generated 13,000 new jobs, while health and education accounted for 10,200 new jobs.

Construction jobs increased by 5.4 percent in the city, the largest increase in this industry since February 2001, even as the number of construction jobs nationally fell by 1.4 percent.

Not surprisingly, the number of manufacturing jobs in the city plummeted 3.3 percent - more than twice the national rate as heavy industry has been replaced by service jobs.

Meanwhile, the number of people working for the government grew a modest .5 percent in New York City with an additional 2,800 workers on the public payroll, including city, state and federal agencies.

Regionally, government payrolls expanded by 9,500 with most of those new jobs added in New Jersey, where growth in public sector employment has been the strongest in the region in recent years, Kohli said.

Despite the job growth, the federal agency found that unemployment in New York City inched up from 5 percent to 5.3 percent over last October as new job seekers outpaced new jobs.

Job growth in the suburbs grew at a far slower rate.

Long Island posted an increase of 5,300 new jobs and Westchester and Rockland counties added 6,000 new jobs.

In sections of northern New Jersey, including Bergen, Hudson and Passaic counties, there was almost no growth in new jobs.

http://www.nypost.com/seven/11302007/photos/news002.jpg

[totheskies]

Oh yeah, this is WAAAAAY undercounted....

We're forgetting about two huge categories:
-illegal immigrants
-upstarts that have just moved to the city and are virtually homeless (living in their office buildings, out of their car, or staying with friends)

Ya'll are at 9 million easy :tup:

[fleonzo]

Oh yeah, this is WAAAAAY undercounted....

We're forgetting about two huge categories:
-illegal immigrants
-upstarts that have just moved to the city and are virtually homeless (living in their office buildings, out of their car, or staying with friends)

Ya'll are at 9 million easy :tup:

You're probably right...they never get the figures right!

[Jersey Mentality]

I don't know about 10 million. The way rezoning and NIMBYs are pushing against development, there would be nowhere to put them.

If NYC got there they will need more bridges and tunnels. Even at 9 million the area will need at least another trans-Hudson crossing, whether it be rail or road. Also if NYC grows, the metro area will no doubt either. The Eastern Counties in Pennsylvania and the Central and Western Jersey counties right now are probably the fastest growing areas outside NYC proper.

[Crawford]

If NYC got there they will need more bridges and tunnels. Even at 9 million the area will need at least another trans-Hudson crossing, whether it be rail or road. Also if NYC grows, the metro area will no doubt either. The Eastern Counties in Pennsylvania and the Central and Western Jersey counties right now are probably the fastest growing areas outside NYC proper.

Correct. Pike County, PA is the fastest growing county in metro NYC.

The Western NJ counties (Hunterdon, Warren, Sussex) are close behind.

[Jularc]

Venezuelans Flee to City From Chavez


BY SARAH GARLAND - Staff Reporter of the Sun
November 30, 2007

A Venezuelan constitutional referendum set for Sunday that would pave the way for Hugo Chavez to become president for life could, if it passes, increase the already substantial flow of those fleeing the country for New York City.

In recent years, New York City has become a prime destination for refugees from the Chavez regime. Many of them say they left in fear of just what is happening right now in their country as the socialist strongman moves to consolidate power.

In 2000, there were 6,700 Venezuelans in New York, according to the census — a relatively tiny number compared to the city's other Latin American immigrant communities. But the number is on its way to doubling. Last year, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated the number of Venezuelans living here to be more than 10,600.

Among them are young people who have come to study in American universities — a traditional pilgrimage for the children of the well-to-do in Venezuela — and have decided to stay as job opportunities in Venezuela shrink. Some are professionals who have dropped long-held plans to return home when they reach the age of retirement.

Many say their decisions to come — or stay longer than planned — were directly linked to the changes Mr. Chavez has implemented as a part of his "revolution," now in its eighth year. Since 1999, Mr. Chavez has nationalized the oil industry, decreased press freedom, and pushed for changes to the constitution. He has taken a harsh line against America and welcomed the president of Iran to his country.

Indira Villalobos, 30, left Venezuela to try out Bohemian living in New York City and learn English for a year shortly after President Chavez came to power in 1999. Six years later, she says she has no plans to return to a country she no longer recognizes.

Tulio Gomez, 40, used to visit New York often to promote his beachside bed and breakfast, the Blue Paradise, where he took tourists deep-sea fishing and diving off the coast of Venezuela. Just after Mr. Chavez came to power, he sold the business, enrolled in a design program at the New School, and embarked on a new career and life in New York.

For two decades, Luis Quintero, 47, kept one foot in Venezuela, his home country, and one foot in New York. But after watching in dismay as Mr. Chavez strengthened his grip on the Venezuelan government, Mr. Quintero sold his house near Caracas where he had planned to spend his twilight years. Instead, he opened El Cocotero Restaurant in Chelsea to cater to the burgeoning Venezuelan immigrant community here.

"I moved here, because, actually, I was afraid. I was predicting what is happening right now," Mr. Gomez said of his decision to give up the Blue Paradise.

Mr. Gomez says conditions in Venezuela, including rising crime and long lines to buy staples such as milk and sugar, have confirmed his early fears about the Chavez administration.

"It is just getting worse and worse," he said. "He's a really aggressive person, and he's very violent. Whoever's not with him is his enemy."
But for Venezuelans, even New York, is not a total escape from Mr. Chavez. In 2005, Mr. Chavez set up a program to subsidize heating oil for low-income residents of the South Bronx with a portion of Venezuela's vast reserves. He is also funding several community initiatives in the neighborhood.

Some Chavez critics say they are troubled that Mr. Chavez has followed them here, even as they tried to leave him behind. "It may help people in the South Bronx, but it's not really innocent," said Carlos Brillembourg, 57, an architect. "If you take money from Chavez, it's like getting money from a drug dealer. It's corrupt."

For a few, the South Bronx program supports their theory that Mr. Chavez aspires to be like the Cuban leader, Fidel Castro. In the past, Mr. Castro has used Harlem as an occasional stage to promote his government and simultaneously thumb his nose at America.

Gabriel Duran, 47, a Venezuelan immigrant and owner of a Manhattan-based computer consulting company, said some Chavez critics here have dubbed their country "Venecuba."

A psychotherapist who moved from Venezuela 20 years ago, and who has many Venezuelan patients, Emma Matos, said some of the newer arrivals have come fleeing the "specter" of Fidel Castro.

Although she declined to discuss her own views on Mr. Chavez, she said, "I know some families who came because they were feeling afraid of losing their rights," adding that a few of her patients are Cuban-Venezuelans who had previously fled Cuban communism.

The leader of a branch of the national anti-Chavez group Civil Resistance of Venezuelans in the Exterior, Eglys Broslat, 55, said she turned to the Cuban-American community several years ago for advice on organizing protests against Mr. Chavez. At first, they were able to gather hundreds of Venezuelans and Cubans alike to stage rowdy demonstrations.

Yet as the number of Venezuelans has grown, Ms. Broslat said participation in the anti- Chavez protests has waned. At a demonstration this month in front of the Venezuelan Consulate — which did not respond to several requests for comment for this article — she said only 20 people showed up.

Ms. Broslat said she is not sure why the influx of Venezuelans, most from the middle and upper classes that are largely antagonistic to the Chavez administration, has not helped fuel her movement, although the scattering of Venezuelan arrivals across the city doesn't help, she said. There is a small enclave of Venezuelans in the Jackson Heights section of Queens, but Venezuelans interviewed for this article also lived in the Upper East Side, Forest Hills, East Harlem, and Windsor Terrace.

"There's no neighborhood. Venezuelans, they live everywhere. They don't have a community like Dominicans or Colombians," Ms. Broslat said.

Some may be afraid to speak out. Several people interviewed for this article declined to discuss Mr. Chavez, saying they feared a backlash against relatives back home.

In addition, many of the newest arrivals are young Venezuelan artists and students who may be more ambivalent about their homeland and the changes taking place there.

"Chavez, at the beginning, he was doing a great job, we were like wow, we are going to have a new Venezuela," Ms. Villalobos, who now designs jewelry and sells it to boutiques and her friends, said.

One of her brothers, who trained as a lawyer, has been unable to find work in Venezuela, while another brother who studied interior design has barely kept afloat. She said increases in crime and poverty have transformed her country into an unfamiliar place that no longer feels like home.

Nevertheless, when Mr. Chavez began the South Bronx oil program, Ms. Villalobos signed up. She even traveled with a group of Bronx families on a trip to Venezuela as a translator to thank Mr. Chavez for his generosity, where she met the president herself.

"It's not that I don't agree with what he's doing," she said. "But then he started getting crazy — like helping other countries, instead of helping us."


© 2007 The New York Sun, One SL, LLC. (http://www.nysun.com/article/67255)

[Jersey Mentality]

Correct. Pike County, PA is the fastest growing county in metro NYC.

The Western NJ counties (Hunterdon, Warren, Sussex) are close behind.

Pike is actually the fastest growing in Pennsylvania also.