Bridgeport challenged by increasing diversity

BRIDGEPORT — From Black Rock to the East Side, the state’s largest city is changing — its population continues to shrink, as it has over the last several decades, but its residents are more diverse than ever.

The 2000 U.S. Census — the sea of statistics that tells the story of a community every 10 years — portrays Bridgeport as an evolving city, a city where the traditional white population base continues to be replaced by a kaleidoscope of colors and ethnicity from around the world.

Nearly every type of ethnic group has made Bridgeport its home over the last decade — including Puerto Ricans, Mexicans, Peruvians, African-Americans, Asians, Japanese, Chinese, Vietnamese, Somalians and Koreans.

But as the city’s population becomes more diverse, new problems and challenges arise. Some of these are positive, offering cultural diversity and excitement, while others will test the mettle of politicians and policy makers for years to come.

"Bridgeport has changed tremendously," said Miguel Tomasio, a Peruvian immigrant who owns the Taco Loco restaurant on Fairfield Avenue.

"It presents challenges, but it’s for the better," Tomasio said.

"There is more ethnic variety," added Marylyn Ondrasik, director of the Bridgeport Child Advocacy Coalition.

"We need to celebrate diversity, but be serious about facing the challenges it brings," she said.

Highlights from the 2000 Census and the picture they paint of Bridgeport, when compared to the 1990 count, include:

Bridgeport’s black population grew 14 percent between 1990 and 2000, from 37,684 to 42,925. The Hispanic population grew 18 percent in 2000, from 37,547 to 44,478. Hispanics are classified as an ethnic group, not a race, by the Census.

Within the Hispanic group, Puerto Ricans account for 32,177 residents, a 6.4 percent increase from 1990.

Bridgeport’s Vietnamese residents grew to 1,189, a 129 percent increase, while the Korean population rose to 219 residents, a 102 percent increase.

The 57,224 housing units identified in 1990 dropped to 54,367 units in 2000, while the 52,328 occupied units in 1990 dropped to 50,307 in 2000, and the city’s 4,896 vacant units in 1990 decreased to 4,060 in 2000.

The Census found that households with an unmarried partner rose to 3,754 in 2000, a 56 percent increase. Households with no husband climbed to 12,095 in 2000, a 12 percent increase, while households with children, headed by a female with no husband, rose to 7,474, a 16 percent increase.

Married couples living as a family dropped to 17,618 households, a 15 percent decrease.

Mike Nidoh, Bridgeport’s city planner, acknowledged that the "city is changing and will continue to change.

"The white population is moving to the suburbs. A lot move out when the kids leave. Elderly people are moving south. There has been an increase in Hispanic and Asian populations. We are seeing a lot more ethnic restaurants to serve those populations," he said.

But as white "empty-nesters" leave the city, they free up housing for middle-income ethnic residents, Nidoh said. Many of those residents, armed with increased economic power, are buying homes in more affluent areas in the North End and Black Rock, he said.

Still, Nidoh acknowledged the census shows a serious dip in available housing. The city lost 5 percent of its housing units between 1990 and 2000.

Occupied units dropped 3.7 percent between 1990 and 2000, while vacant housing dropped 17 percent.

Nidoh said those decreases highlight a need to quickly build more housing. He pointed to efforts to redevelop Steel Point on the harborfront as one way to build more housing and attract younger professionals to the city.

The city’s relatively low rental costs, when compared to Stamford or other suburbs in southwest Fairfield County, is potentially an asset for future growth, he said.

Although the census offers no data on poverty levels, Nidoh said the city’s poorer neighborhoods are improving.

"The East End does not have as heavy poverty as it had in the past. There is buying power there. There has also been a watering down of certain neighborhoods with scattered housing. It will be good, and, hopefully, the neighborhoods will accept [the new residents]," Nidoh said.

Ondrasik, the child advocacy coalition director, said the new census data accurately capture the city’s ongoing social problems.

"Child poverty is a big issue," Ondrasik said. "Part of that is the increase in female-headed households."

"The increase in female-headed households adds a challenge. It means there is less income in the family," Ondrasik said. "Housing and family statistics are all going in the wrong direction. It’s becoming a crisis.

"We have lost 5 percent of our housing. More and more families are nomads, moving from friend to family member. We need affordable housing."

Chris Duby, the chief of staff for Mayor Joseph P. Ganim, said Bridgeport is not unique in its social problems.

"Poverty is the major cause," Duby said. "It’s part and parcel of the state of things. All of Connecticut’s cities have these problems."

Still, Duby thinks the city has made progress over the last 10 years.

"We have stemmed the tide on serious social problems that we had in the mid-1990s. Crime is so much lower, which community policing has helped, and there has been some progress in the schools," he said.

Barbara Edinbert, a senior staff associate with the Bridgeport Child Advocacy Coalition, said the census clearly shows city schools will have to accommodate increases in the numbers of elementary, middle and high school students in coming years.

"There is a baby boomlet," Edinbert said.

"We are already seeing that with class sizes. The Board of Education is talking about new schools, even a new high school. We need something to accommodate these kids," she said.

The census shows a spike in children between 5 and 19 years old, bringing thousands of new students to the schools. This year’s enrollment in the city’s schools is about 22,500 students.

Duby said school officials expect between 1,500 and 1,600 additional children per year for the foreseeable future.

Supt. of Schools Sonia Diaz Salcedo said she’s pleased with the changes reflected in the city’s schools.

"The city is evolving. Diversity is grand," Salcedo said. "Our children grow up in an environment that leads to tolerance."

Salcedo said the city’s growing student population will protect current state and federal education funding levels — the state already bankrolls more than 80 percent of the city’s school expenses — and could draw increased dollars in certain categories.

She said officials are now looking at bilingual education programs and other areas where improvements can be made.

A new high school is going to be needed, the superintendent said. School officials believe that by 2006, there could be as many as 6,000 additional high school students.

"It’s never business as usual," Salcedo said. "We have to address issue of diversity, but also look in terms of the level of literacy and the quality of education we provide."

"We are prepared for the changes," said Jim Carbone, a Board of Education member.

"The problem is the wheels move slowly. I’m not sure we will be ready in time [for the coming influx of students]," he said.

Carbone said board members are aware of the changing population. He pointed out that city students now speak 56 different languages.

The census also highlights another pending problem — the city’s steady loss of adults between the age of 20 and 34 over the last 10 years, which saw a drop 6,549 residents, or a 20 percent decrease. That age group is generally considered a community’s prime labor force.

Adults between the age of 20 and 24 decreased by 1,184 residents, a 9.6 percent since 1990.

Nidoh said the city must increase its pool of skilled labor. He said the region’s community and four-year colleges will have to retrain workers for specific fields to meet new demands.

Paul Timpanelli, president of the Bridgeport Regional Business Council, said erosion of the city’s post-high school age group is typical across the state.

"Kids leave, they see opportunity elsewhere. That’s the why the state just began a ‘You Belong in Connecticut’ initiative," Timpanelli said.

But, he added, increased racial diversity in the city is a positive trend.

"There has been a big shift in ethnic groups. Just look at the restaurants that have opened in the last few years — Mexican, Brazilian, Chilean and Jamaican. We are trying to put together programs to support them," he said.

With diversity on the rise, the city will likely become home to more and more new arrivals in the future. That means adjusting to a different way of life.

Miguel Tomasio, the Taco Loco owner, immigrated to Connecticut from Peru in the early 1970s on a student visa.

"It was 30 years ago, but I can still remember standing in the American Embassy in Peru for two days to apply for a visa. It’s probably worse now," Tomasio said.

So why did he come?

"Opportunity and the promise of a better life," Tomasio said. "Once you adapt, it’s the best country in the world.

"That’s the dream. It’s still real and you can do it. People in Bridgeport benefit and can enjoy the diversity the city has," he said.

Tomasio started working in restaurants while attending school, first washing dishes and later cooking. That led to his first business — a street cart at Main Street and North Avenue.

The success of his taco cart led to Taco Loco, now on Fairfield Avenue.

"It’s a big struggle," Tomasio said. "You have to make ends meet and work and work — over 60 to 70 hours a week. There is not a lot of time to participate in anything."

Tomasio, who now lives in Trumbull, said he’s pleased to see Hispanics leave their traditional local neighborhood on the East Side and spread throughout the community. That means they are doing better and reaping the rewards of hard work, he said.

The drop in the city’s white population has become noticeable, he added.

"You can see it when you go to a parade or go downtown or to Seaside Park. There used to be a lot of white people, but you don’t see them now," Tomasio said.

Change is nothing new to Ann Brignolo and her family, who have owned a photo studio on Kossuth Street on the East Side for 74 years.

Now 82 years old and still working, Brignolo said she watched the Washington Park neighborhood near her studio go from a bustling area to one of rooming houses occupied by immigrants and transients.

"There used to be bands in the park every Sunday. They would sell Italian ice and people would gather. It was quite festive," Brignolo said.

"There were lots of families, and doctors and lawyers in the neighborhood. It was an affluent part of town. Congress Street and Main Street were a Mecca of theaters and stores. It was very crowded," she recalled.

By the 1970s, however, things began to change, Brignolo said. The affluent families moved to the suburbs and the city’s North End. They were replaced with new immigrants, mostly poor Hispanics and blacks.

The once-stately homes were converted to rooming houses. Drugs dealers also moved in, and by the mid-1990s, the area north of the Washington Park, particularly where Father Panik Village once stood, became a war zone between gangs and police.

Today, Brignolo said the area is slowing improving. Home restoration programs have helped to fix up some of the area’s once-grand housing, and property owners have replaced rooming houses with apartments, where families again live.

"It’s getting better," she said.

And the latest wave of immigrants is showing up at Brignolo’s photo studio.

"I do a lot of passport work," she said. "We are getting a lot of Mexicans lately, and Asians. They are good people … Hard working."

Brignolo said she’s taking the latest wave of change in stride.

"What else can we do?" she said. "It’s happening all over America. We are changing colors."