Puerto Ricans in New York City

The first Puerto Ricans known to have migrated to New York City did so in the mid-1800s when Spain ruled Puerto Rico. Another wave of Puerto Ricans migrated to New York City after the Spanish–American War in 1898. Though no longer subjects of Spain, they were now citizens of an American possession and needed passports to travel to the contiguous United States.

That was until 1917, when the United States Congress approved Jones–Shafroth Act which gave Puerto Ricans in Puerto Rico U.S. citizenship with certain limitations. Puerto Ricans living in the Mainland United States, however, were given full American citizenship and were allowed to seek political office in the states in which they resided. Two months later, when Congress passed the Selective Service Act, conscription was extended to the Puerto Ricans both on the island and on the mainland. It was expected that Puerto Rican men 18 years and older serve in the U.S. military during World War I. The Jones–Shafroth Act also allowed Puerto Ricans to travel between Puerto Rico and the U.S. mainland without a passport. The advent of air travel was one of the principal factors that led to the largest wave of migration of Puerto Ricans to New York City in the 1950s, known as "The Great Migration."

In New York City and other northeastern cities such as Philadelphia and Boston, Puerto Ricans were the first Hispanics to come in large numbers as early as the 1940s, being seen as the "Pioneer" group among the Hispanic community in those cities. From 1970 to about 1990, the city's Puerto Rican population was at its height. They represented up to 80% of the city's Hispanic community and 12% of the city's total population.