East Boston has always been home to hard-working immigrants, many of whom have opened restaurants, delis, and other businesses. According to a study conducted in 2005 by professors from the University of Massachusetts at Boston for the Immigrant Learning Center in Malden, 8.2 percent of Latino households in East Boston report income from self-employment, compared with 6.2 percent for the general population.
Sunday, February 3, 2008
Setting up shop in Eastie
Today's Globe has a story about entrepreneurs in East Boston. According to one local small business owner, "The momentum is here. The demographic has definitely arrived, and we all want something good to happen." The story also says:
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4 comments:
Mike Davis wrote a book about the role Latinos have played in stabilizing or revitalizing urban neighborhoods in Magical Urbanism - a must read for those interested in ethnic urban studies. Here in East Boston and around the country, Latinos and other immigrants are filling the void left behind in many neighborhoods where the previous population is dying out and whose children are moving out. I personally believe that Meridian and Bennington Streets would be full of boarded up shops were it not for the large Latino population here.
I agree with starluna. I was so proud to read that article and even prouder that I eat at all of those places regularly. Local businesses...yay! :)
How easy was it for them to get business permits under Menino's left wing/minority plan? Probably not very difficult.
It is absolutely incredible that these Latinos (many of whom are undocumented) get liquer licenses, while native East Bostonians are left to fend for themselves.
Truth is that you can not get a liquor license if you are, as you say, undocumented. You need to be a US citizen to own a liquor license.
Why not point out all the horrible business owners and liquor license holders who are white and who were born here in the US?
Being latino (or any other race) has nothing to do with it. There are good business owners and bad ones. Their race or national origin has nothing to do with it.
You sound like that lady with the dark curly hair who said at a community meeting that she was sick and tired of how the neighborhood was starting to look like Tijuana. Seeing that Tijuana is in Mexico and
most of the latinos here are Colombian, Guatemalan or El Salvadorian, it just shows you what we are dealing with. Thats like saying Chinatown looks like Hanoi.
So instead of making ignorant comments that divide us - why are we not working harder with the latino community to unite us?
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