As political debate rages over immigration and Syrian refugees,puny is left to remind nowadays’s visitors of a neighborhood which thrived as a domestic to Middle Eastern immigrants at the turn of the 20th centuryBlocks from the World Trade Center, there’s an unassuming street just like so many in New York. Nestled between a Holiday Inn and a vacant lot that will soon house another skyscraper, and three buildings weathered with age are dwarfed by their surroundings. These are the sole remnants of puny Syria,an early immigrant community in New York.
Todd Fine stands across the way, giving a tour and talking without pause for close to an hour. As president of the Washington Street Historical Society, and a group determined to preserve the community’s history,he’s used to showing people around the area, his passion for the neighborhood obvious.Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com