Updated: Mar 19, 2023
DISCLAIMER: In an effort to shed light on a lens that I travel everywhere with, I decided that it was important for me to explicitly talk about My Black American Traveler Experience. I want to stress that everyone has their own experiences and biases traveling to any country. Therefore, my experience may not be your own. In specifying the Black American identity, I acknowledge that while there are some commonalities in experiences as Black people, there is also a privilege of being an American. I am supplementing my thoughts and experience with a context on demographics as I think it is important to paint the whole picture!
In this blog, you can learn about:
One would think, “oh, it’s the Bronx,” why write a post, right? The demographics may actually surprise you — I know it did for me!
Be plentiful with Black and Brown folks like the rest of the Bronx.
Hold Up! Why am I seeing so many white people? “Oh lord, I see Blue Lives Matter Flags waving….”
A. Treatment & Safety
As a Black person, I had my guard up walking certain streets. The jarring part was going down a quiet residential area and seeing mainly 🇺🇸 flags and Blue Lives Matter flags. It made my guard go up immediately. However, I did also see BLM and LGBTQ flags too. I was actually treated quite well by locals — I recall feeling quite welcomed in the mini-park where the clam chowder festival was being held. Many locals would start conversations with me and even compliment me on various articles of clothing and accessories I was wearing.
I do want to make a disclaimer, while I was treated well while exploring City Island, I have not felt the most welcomed online. For example, when I published my City Island articles, literally two days later I received an email from someone who works on City Island (going to leave it vague) that led me to question the sincerity as it started with “I just saw your travelogue on City Island, and while I’m glad you had a good time here and wish to spread the news about the island, there are a great many errors in what you wrote” and then went on to list a bunch of errors. While I made the majority of the corrections as I do not want to spread misinformation, the one thing I did find interesting was I had to point out and correct the person that in fact the one Black-owned business I featured is in fact local to the island as the owner lives on City Island but operates as an online business. I also found it interesting and very telling that I never received an answer when I asked “I was curious if there are any minority owned businesses on CityIsland?”
Months later, I received an email from someone with no introduction, no greeting, or no context stating “You left out <insert a specific local business>.” This oddly enough came around the same time I was emailed about being featured in a news article about a Black-owned business opening on City Island.
I say this to say it feels the Island is VERY protective of its people, its businesses, and the narrative told. I just want to be transparent about my experience — again, this is based on my personal experience.
B. Language
In terms of language, it was easy to get around because everyone spoke English.
C. Vibe & Culture
It gives a full small town, charming vibes with a New England feel. The New England vibes are reflected in everything from the architecture of houses to the small boutique shots to waterside views. The extra friendly hospitality also reminded me of New England.
D. Visibility
I saw a lot of Black and Brown folks at the seafood spot, Johnny’s Reef. As I moved to the center, I saw mainly old white people who were SUPER lovely and hospitable. Some started random chats with me. I did see other Black and Brown folks as vendors when I walked along City Island Ave. I could not help but wonder if there was not a fair going on, would I not have seen many Black and Brown people on City Island side from Johnny’s Reef? Aside from the local vendors, customers at Johnny’s Reef, and random car drivers blasting super loud music, I did not really see people who looked like me visible on the streets of City Island.
Overall: I felt welcomed yet less seen than I expected. This is a great lesson in not assuming all parts of an area will have similar demographics, in this case, the Bronx. Next time I would like to explore City Island from the lens of Black-owned or Black cultured City Island.
If you search City Island’s Black-Owned Businesses you are not going to find any listings. That is very telling. Through word of mouth, stumbling on one and some deep Google searching, I have now learned about a few Black-owned businesses on City Island.
Welcome to the Franny the Traveler blog! I’m Dr. Franny, a national award-winning educator, entrepreneur, author, and Black travel enthusiast on a personal mission to make every destination a Black-owned destination. As I visit all 50 states and 50 countries by age 50, this Black travel blog is a growing collection of Black-owned city guides, itineraries, travel tips, and reflections on traveling while Black for the conscious traveler. I’m so happy you’re here!
2 Responses
Hi! Thanks so much for writing this and visiting City Island. I really appreciated your perspective, and it resonated strongly despite me being white and unable to relate to all of it. I’ve lived here for two years, but my mom grew up here, so I’ve been visiting since I was a kid.
First to answer a question:
About whether it is common to see black folks here on days there isn’t a fair, yes and no. Although the number of black people who actually live here is really low, many people come from surrounding areas to the resturants here, so it really common especially on weekends and during the summer, but like you said there is a separation between where you see black visitors vs white locals. I always take the bus since I don’t drive, and most people on the bus are non-white, but I think that’s cause mostly the white people drive.
I think the things that make City Island an incredibly special place also contribute to the things that suck about it. It is very rare for a neighborhood in NYC to stay at the class level of CI, which is middle class- though definitely more toward upper middle class these days. Usually the poor neighbors stay poor and the rich neighborhoods stay rich, until gentrification happens, and a poor neighborhood rapidly turns into a rich neighborhood, driving people out. There are many people here, like my mom, who grew up here. Some families have been here multiple generations, which is usually something only the ultra-rich can say in NYC. I think it’s beautiful that people can come here, build lives, and stay here without ever being monetarily rich. But it definitely does make people resistant to change, which manifests in a growing conservatism- I see more and more right-wing propaganda. It makes me really sad, because I feel like my neighbors are betraying and working against not only our own interests, but also the working class immigrant history of this island and especially our mostly black and non-white neighbors throughout the rest of the Bronx. I really hope we can shift to a place of solidarity- I have experienced a lot of care from people here, so there is definitely hope!
Thanks again for your post,
Cecily
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