Portuguese have tended to go directly to Yonkers, Port Chester, Long Island or Newark, instead of New York City. Caribbean groups have been more concentrated in New York City than in the suburbs. Along with immigration, housing renovation helped the population rebound in the Bronx, Harlem and Washington Heights in Manhattan, and Williamsburg and Bushwick in Brooklyn. New York has traditionally attracted people in their 20s and 30s from other parts of the country, and that seems to be on the rise, said Chris Jones, director of economic programs for the Regional Plan Association. Staten Island is still growing, fed by Brooklyn natives moving across the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge.
People still move from the city to the suburbs.
The Bronx gave up almost 50,000 people to Westchester, Rockland and Putnam during the 1990s. But the trend has probably slowed because of New York's lower crime rate and better economy, Jones said. Congestion in the inner suburbs may have encouraged people to stay put. It shows the revitalization of many of the region's downtowns. It shows that it's possible to foster growth around centers that have good transit access, that can use existing infrastructure.