Guyanese Immigrants Flock to Schenectady, New York

[Guest guest]

>"Ashwini Kumar" <ashwini_kumarr

>Guyanese Immigrants Flock to Schenectady, New York

>Wed, 31 Jul 2002 23:12:11 -0400

>

>

>

>. Guyanese Immigrants Flock to Schenectady, New York

>Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2002/07/26/nyregion/26UPST.html?tntemail0

>SCHENECTADY, NEW YORK, JULY 26, 2002: Mayor Albert P. Jurczynski's

>(pronounced jur-ZIN-ski) involvement with the Hindu community began after

>he

>received a telephone call last year from Deryck Singh, a Guyanese immigrant

>who settled here 15 years earlier and was looking for a place to build a

>Hindu temple. There were only 200 Guyanese immigrants living here, but the

>mayor helped them find a vacant Catholic church to house the temple, and in

>the process he learned a few things about the Guyanese, he said. Mr.

>Jurczynski recalled Mr. Singh, who moved here from the Bronx after

>stumbling

>on Schenectady one afternoon during a drive up the New York State Thruway,

>saying Guyanese people "don't believe in public assistance.When I heard

>that, I had a big smile on my face," the mayor said. "And I said, 'You're

>singing my tune.' " After that, the mayor began to meet and greet more

>Guyanese immigrants, including two savvy real estate brokers from Queens,

>one of whom hosts a radio show in New York City. Last May, the mayor called

>in to "Herman Singh Show Time" and told the largely Guyanese audience that

>they should move to Schenectady and call him directly on his cell phone. It

>was a bold move, but it was subtle compared to what came next. What has

>followed over the ensuing months has been an amazing success story for

>Guyanese Hindu immigrants and the city of Schenectady. The town is 150

>north

>of New York City, and a short distance outside Albany, the state's capital.

>

 

 

 

 

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