This dissertation examines the intersection of immigration and market-led gentrification in a fragmenting ethnic neighborhood of Greenpoint, Brooklyn– once home to a vibrant Polish community, now at risk of losing its social character as a traditional ethnic enclave. Extending Albert O. Hirschman’s theory of action to the Polish community in Greenpoint, I examine the conditions under which immigrants “participate”, “adapt” or “exit” as a response to neighborhood change. Based on participant observation, in-depth interviews and quantitative data, I argue that displacement or loss need not be the primary experience of longtime residents in gentrifying ethnic neighborhoods. Instead of emphasizing ethnic ties and cultural unity, this study theorizes the Polish-American community as an aggregate of private actors including real estate agents and developers, store owners, homeowners, tenants, church leaders and elected officials; each distinguished by diverse and sometimes conflicting interests. Such intra-ethnic divisions and cleavages, rather than ethnic bonds and community solidarity define how immigrants make sense of, and respond to, neighborhood change. By generating, facilitating, and adapting to processes of gentrification, immigrant actors become active city-builders and in the process renegotiate existing definitions of ethnicity and urban ethnic community.
","abstract_html":"<p>This dissertation examines the intersection of immigration and market-led gentrification in a fragmenting ethnic neighborhood of Greenpoint, Brooklyn– once home to a vibrant Polish community, now at risk of losing its social character as a traditional ethnic enclave. Extending Albert O. Hirschman’s theory of action to the Polish community in Greenpoint, I examine the conditions under which immigrants “participate”, “adapt” or “exit” as a response to neighborhood change. Based on participant observation, in-depth interviews and quantitative data, I argue that displacement or loss need not be the primary experience of longtime residents in gentrifying ethnic neighborhoods. Instead of emphasizing ethnic ties and cultural unity, this study theorizes the Polish-American community as an aggregate of private actors including real estate agents and developers, store owners, homeowners, tenants, church leaders and elected officials; each distinguished by diverse and sometimes conflicting interests. Such intra-ethnic divisions and cleavages, rather than ethnic bonds and community solidarity define how immigrants make sense of, and respond to, neighborhood change. By generating, facilitating, and adapting to processes of gentrification, immigrant actors become active city-builders and in the process renegotiate existing definitions of ethnicity and urban ethnic community.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Kostrzewa, Aneta"],"institution":"The Graduate School and University Center of The City University of New York","degree_name":"Doctor of Philosophy","degree_level":"Doctoral","degree_discipline":"Sociology","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":["Sharon Zukin"],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":["Philip Kasinitz","William Kornblum"],"year":2017,"date_issued":"2017-02-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2017-02-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:58:57Z","subjects":["Sociology","Urban sociology","gentrification","ethnicity and immigration","social change","Polish studies"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/1827","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.advisor","label":"Advisor","values":["Sharon Zukin"]},{"key":"dc:contributor.committeemember","label":"Committee Member","values":["Philip Kasinitz","William Kornblum"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Kostrzewa, Aneta"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2019-01-02T08:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Sociology"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Doctoral"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Doctor of Philosophy"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["The Graduate School and University Center of The City University of New York"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Sociology","Urban sociology","gentrification","ethnicity and immigration","social change","Polish studies"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/1827"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["This dissertation examines the intersection of immigration and market-led gentrification in a fragmenting ethnic neighborhood of Greenpoint, Brooklyn– once home to a vibrant Polish community, now at risk of losing its social character as a traditional ethnic enclave. Extending Albert O. Hirschman’s theory of action to the Polish community in Greenpoint, I examine the conditions under which immigrants “participate”, “adapt” or “exit” as a response to neighborhood change. Based on participant observation, in-depth interviews and quantitative data, I argue that displacement or loss need not be the primary experience of longtime residents in gentrifying ethnic neighborhoods. Instead of emphasizing ethnic ties and cultural unity, this study theorizes the Polish-American community as an aggregate of private actors including real estate agents and developers, store owners, homeowners, tenants, church leaders and elected officials; each distinguished by diverse and sometimes conflicting interests. Such intra-ethnic divisions and cleavages, rather than ethnic bonds and community solidarity define how immigrants make sense of, and respond to, neighborhood change. By generating, facilitating, and adapting to processes of gentrification, immigrant actors become active city-builders and in the process renegotiate existing definitions of ethnicity and urban ethnic community.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["The Life and Death of Urban Ethnic Enclaves: Gentrification and Ethnic Fragmentation in Brooklyn's 'Polish Town'"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.advisor":["Sharon Zukin"],"dc:contributor.committeemember":["Philip Kasinitz","William Kornblum"],"dc:creator":["Kostrzewa, Aneta"],"dc:date.available":["2019-01-02T08:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["This dissertation examines the intersection of immigration and market-led gentrification in a fragmenting ethnic neighborhood of Greenpoint, Brooklyn– once home to a vibrant Polish community, now at risk of losing its social character as a traditional ethnic enclave. Extending Albert O. Hirschman’s theory of action to the Polish community in Greenpoint, I examine the conditions under which immigrants “participate”, “adapt” or “exit” as a response to neighborhood change. Based on participant observation, in-depth interviews and quantitative data, I argue that displacement or loss need not be the primary experience of longtime residents in gentrifying ethnic neighborhoods. Instead of emphasizing ethnic ties and cultural unity, this study theorizes the Polish-American community as an aggregate of private actors including real estate agents and developers, store owners, homeowners, tenants, church leaders and elected officials; each distinguished by diverse and sometimes conflicting interests. Such intra-ethnic divisions and cleavages, rather than ethnic bonds and community solidarity define how immigrants make sense of, and respond to, neighborhood change. By generating, facilitating, and adapting to processes of gentrification, immigrant actors become active city-builders and in the process renegotiate existing definitions of ethnicity and urban ethnic community.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/1827"],"dc:subject":["Sociology","Urban sociology","gentrification","ethnicity and immigration","social change","Polish studies"],"dc:title":["The Life and Death of Urban Ethnic Enclaves: Gentrification and Ethnic Fragmentation in Brooklyn's 'Polish Town'"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Sociology"],"thesis:degree_level":["Doctoral"],"thesis:degree_name":["Doctor of Philosophy"],"thesis:institution_name":["The Graduate School and University Center of The City University of New York"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:58:57Z"}