There’s a Little Dhaka in East New York.
A tiny portion of the Queens-Brooklyn neighborhood called City Line — long an African-American neighborhood — is booming with Bangladeshi immigration, filling vacant shops with South Asian markets and, on Fridays, streets with Muslims bowed in prayer.
The population of Bangladeshis remains small, but it has tripled in the last 10 years.
And Census figures show that 83% of the new residents of the five-block area surrounding Baitul Mamur Musjid and Community Center on Glenmore Ave. near Conduit Ave. are from Bangladesh.
Now, there are eight mosques in a neighborhood once filled with Italians, then Jews, then African-Americans, before a steady decline during the crime-riddled 1980s and 1990s.
“My father moved here in 1982, and then my family followed his steps. It was cheap to buy houses and many Bangladeshis were opening business,” explained Misba Abdin, 40.
The history of New York is the story of foreigners reinventing areas that New Yorkers have written off. Bangladeshis are especially organized about it, with a system to welcome new immigrants to their neighborhood.
“We go pick them up, bring them here and put them on their feet. That’s why there so are many of us here,” said business owner Johngir Hussain, 31, who has helped other immigrants.
The growing Bangladeshi population has had a positive impact, according to community leaders and residents. The creation of a Bangladeshi community center, founded by Abdin is one example.
The Bangladeshi American Community Development & Youth Service offers community beautifications projects, sports events and immigration services.
Several Bangladeshi stores in the area used to be the location of Italian and Irish businesses. Motin supermarket, located on the corner of Forbell St. and Liberty Ave., used to be an Italian butcher.
“Since they started coming into the area, they opened a lot of business. I think they are doing much more for the neighborhood than my own African-American community is,” said Victoria Williams, 60, who has been living in City Line for over 35 years.
The biggest event promoted by the Bangladeshi center is a multicultural, five-day celebration.
Featuring a Caribbean, Latino, Asian and Bangladeshi night, 2012’s edition attracted about 20,000 people.
At least one expert on New York neighborhoods thinks City Line is on the right path.
“Neighborhoods go through transitions, but for it to be beneficial, the ethnic groups that come to the area need to work together to stabilize the community,” said Brooklyn borough historian Ron Schweiger.
“But the real impact won’t be felt for years.”
