<p dir="ltr"><em><strong>Editor's note:</strong> Watch tonight's final episode of <a href="http://explorethe80s.com/#!">"The '80s: The Decade That Made Us"</a> on the <a href="http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/">National Geographic Channel</a>.</em></p> <p dir="ltr"><strong></strong><strong>Just across the Upper Bay from Ellis Island, Brooklyn has historically been a convenient stop for first-generation immigrants to the United States.</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">They're drawn by entrenched pockets of ethnic groupings—neighborhoods known for retaining traditions, foods, and language from the old country. Brooklyn's a place where an immigrant can feel comfortable making the transition. And many stay, further solidifying the enclaves.</p> <p dir="ltr">In 1983, when these photos were published, most of Brooklyn's neighborhoods were less about cartographic perimeters than old-country affiliations. Many of Brooklyn's neighborhoods continue to be drawn on ethnic lines, but the dominant ethnicities are shifting in some places.</p> <p dir="ltr"><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/01/23/nyregion/20110123-nyc-ethnic-neighborhoods-map.html?_r=0">It's largely a case of ethnic groups expanding.</a> The 2010 U.S. Census revealed the highest percentage of foreign-born New York City citizens on record.</p> <p>In this photo, teenagers show off their Trans Am in Bensonhurst, which after World War II became an Italian-dominated neighborhood. Today, the number of Chinese immigrants—pushed out of Manhattan's Chinatown by high rents—is booming.</p> <p><em>—Johnna Rizzo</em></p>