Life in "Little Liberia", Staten Island
Perhaps fans of the hip-hop group The Wu Tang Clan know that not all of Staten Island is predominantly white and working- or middle-class.
The Park Hill projects and the surrounding neighborhoods of Stapleton and Clifton, referenced often in the Wu Tang's lyrics, are home not just to a large number of African American New Yorkers but to a diverse mix of immigrants, including Dominicans, Mexicans and West Africans. The latter group, which includes a significant Liberian population, stands out enough that "Park Hill," as the area around Park Hill Avenue in Clifton is commonly known, is also known to many as Little Liberia.
The neighborhood is home to the most densely populated Liberian community outside Liberia. According to the 2010 Census, the Liberian diaspora in the United States is currently around 66,000 strong. It's hard to say exactly how many Liberians live in Staten Island, because many of them still haven't sorted out their immigrations status, but their number is now estimated between 8,000 and 10,000, half of whom reside in Park Hill. The community, formed through different waves of immigration over the past 30 years, grew exponentially in the 1990s and early 2000s, when many Liberians were forced to flee the war that was plaguing their home country.
http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/culture/2012/06/6069279/life-little-liberia-staten-island
We have or at least used to have a little Liberia in Virginia, too...