Part of a series on |
Race and ethnicity in New York City |
---|
Part of a series on |
Chicanos and Mexican Americans |
---|
Mexican Americans, as of 2004[update], were New York's fastest growing ethnic group,[1] with 186,000 immigrants as of 2013[update]; they were also the third largest Hispanic group in New York City, after Puerto Ricans and Dominicans. Close to 80% of New York Mexicans were born outside the United States, and more than 60% of Mexican New Yorkers reside in Brooklyn and Queens.[1]
In Brooklyn, Sunset Park and Flatbush have the highest concentration of Mexicans, and Bushwick and Brighton Beach also have significant Mexican populations. In Queens, Elmhurst, East Elmhurst, and Jackson Heights have the largest Mexican populations, but Corona and Kew Gardens also have sizable communities.[1] Spanish Harlem in Manhattan, around 116th Street and Second Avenue, has a large community of Mexicans, which is still small compared to the area's predominant Puerto Rican population;[1][2] Staten Island has a large Mexican community in the Port Richmond, West Brighton, and Tompkinsville areas.
Compared to Mexican immigrants in other states and cities, Mexicans in New York are primarily of indigenous descent, with almost 20% still speaking indigenous languages.[3] New York holds 61% of indigenous-speaking immigrants from Mexico.[3]
Mexican community organizations have established mentorship and after-school initiatives aimed at sharing information and providing a supportive environment for youth to pursue their educational goals. Asociación Tepeyac, recognized as the largest Mexican nonprofit organization in New York City, has prioritized the promotion of education. Additional organizations contributing to this effort include the Mexican American Students Alliance, the Mexican Educational Foundation of New York, and the Mixteca Organization. The chancellor of the City University of New York (CUNY) has initiated a Committee on Mexicans and Education in New York, engaging in coordinated outreach efforts with the Mexican community across all five boroughs. Furthermore, CUNY is backing various programs, including Baruch College's Emerging Leaders initiative, which equips Mexican community leaders with the skills necessary to manage nonprofit organizations.[4]