In an effort to determine where to locate Bangladeshi clusters, I relied on the most recent New
York Census (2000) and conducted a simple random sample. While an estimated 500,000
Bangladeshis reside in the United States, the largest concentration of Bangladeshis lives in New
York alone and reaches 28,269 (Siddiqui 2004; Baluja 2003; New York 2000 census)76.
According to the 2000 Census, two-thirds of the Bangladeshi population live in Queens, with
two-thirds in the northwestern quadrant of Queens (Astoria, Long Island City, Woodside,
Sunnyside, Jackson Heights, and surrounding areas) (Baluja 2003:63). The 2000 census shows
that the Bangladeshi population has more than quadrupled from 1990 to 2000 within the last
decade. In fact, Kaari Flagstad Baluja (2003), an anthropologist who conducted her research on
Bangladeshi immigrants in New York in 1997 reports that the Bangladeshi population grew by
more than 286% for the city, from 4,955 in the 1990 Census to over 19,000 in the 2000 Census77.
In Queens, the Bangladeshi population rose from 2,567 in 1990 to a population of 12,786 in
2000, representing a growth of almost 400% (New York 2000 Census; Baluja 2003).
In addition to having the largest concentration of Bangladeshi immigrants, NYC as a field site
was practical for conducting fieldwork. As a graduate student at Columbia University, I was able
to visit the sites on a frequent basis, combining ethnography with in-depth interviews.
As I noted in the previous section, I also relied on my past experience while doing fieldwork for
a subway research instigated by CUNY on the 7-line subway in Queens. I had noticed that along
76 According to a community leader I later interviewed and who became one of my key informants, an estimated 100,000 live in the New York area, including undocumented immigrants. As a Bangladeshi community leader, he had been selected by the local city hall to collect data for the census but many Bangladeshis refused to give out their names in fear of reprisals from INS. He subsequently held a series of meetings in the Bangladeshi community to explain to them that this information was not part of an INS strategy to target undocumented immigrants but a government’s formality to record the numbers of people living in New York
77 The numbers are based on the New York City Department of City Planning (2002a, 2002b, 2002c). It is important
to note that the New York 2010 Census is still underway. At this point, there is no information available on the change rate of the Bangladeshi population since the last 2000 Census.
the 7- route rests a large community of new and old immigrants. Indeed, after exploring the area,
I observed that Bangladeshis tend to be located along 74th street in Jackson Heights and
Woodside.78 I chose that neighborhood as my main field site and drew a random sample based
on the availability of Bangladeshi stores.79 The strategy used for the random sample was mostly
by targeting Bangladeshi stores. I usually approached the sales men and women in the store I
believed to be Bangladeshi, I usually introduced myself as a PhD student from Columbia doing a
research on the lives of Bangladeshis in New York. This technique allowed me for an immediate
confirmation of their origin. I described my research project, and if they happened to be
Bangladeshis (in most cases), I asked them whether they were willing to participate in my study,
and if they knew of other Bangladeshis who would participate as well (snowballing method).
This strategy worked as a good entry to the field, particularly due to the fact that I had some
knowledge of Bengali. Most of them volunteered to be interviewed on a different day and
referred me to other potential informants. Based on informants’ indications, I selected Queens as
the primary study neighborhood. However, some respondents also pointed to other areas in
which I should conduct my interviews. Among them, Queens Boulevard in Sunnyside, and
Woodside Avenue in Woodside, Broadway were also selected but were not the main areas of
study. I also added Staten Island. For practical reasons, I mainly conducted research in Woodside
and Jackson Heights. It was easily accessible by subway and made it easier for me to conduct
interviews, especially those I had to do after 7pm.
78 I later learnt that Astoria, Elmhurst, Long Island City and Sunnyside were also comprised of a large Bangladeshi
population in Queens.
79 Anthropologist Kaari Flagstad Baluja conducted an ethnography on Bangladeshi immigrants in New York
between 1997 and 1999 and counted at the time, about thirty Bangladeshi grocery stores, in addition to numerous Bangladeshi-owned newsstands, fish markets, sari stores, restaurants, and a variety of Bangladeshi-owned or – managed franchise restaurants, located throughout the western portion of Queens. Baluja, K. F., Gender Roles at
Home and Abroad: The Adaptation of Bangladeshi Immigrants, eds., Suarez-Orozco C. & M. LFB Scholarly
Various local Bangladeshi organizations and businesses also served as sites, such as mosques,
newspaper stands, fruit kiosks, and community based organizations (a local business association
of Bangladeshi professionals working in the garment sector; Desis Rising Up and Moving
(DRUM)80, Bangla weekly (a newspaper organization) and Sonali exchange bank). At times, I
drove on cabs whose drivers in New York are predominantly of Bangladeshi origin. For all these
sites, I did participant observation and conducted informal interviewing in situ. To make sure I
was not mistaking the cab drivers and street vendors’ origin, I usually greeted them in Bengali
Kemon achen? [how are you?] which, in most cases, was reciprocated by a smile and Bhalo hace
[I am fine]. I only relied on these sites for the initial and the last phase of my research to confirm
the definition of relevant Bengali concepts and words for my analysis.
80 DRUM is a non-profit organization based in Queens, New York that organizes South Asian immigrants and
families affected by detention and deportation. It builds the leadership of low-income South Asian immigrant communities.
Figure 19 Bangladeshis in New York City, 2000
Source: New York Department of City Planning, 2000. (Website: home2.nyc.gov/html/dcp/pdf/census/mpsf112.pdf)