Immigrating to the City of Dreams: Tyler Anbinder & Monxo López

Immigrants have shaped and molded New York City into a city of dreams. Discover the history of immigrant NYC at this author event with Tyler Anbinder.

For hundreds of years, people of all walks of life have come to New York seeking opportunity, safety, and the promise of self-determination. How did NYC become home to immigrant communities from around the world? 

Join us at Bronx Library Center for a conversation with historian and author Tyler Anbinder, in conversation with curator Monxo López, exploring both the oft-told and hidden histories of immigration in New York City, along with his experience writing City of Dreams: The 400-Year Epic History of Immigrant New York. From immigrants who made a big splash like iconoclast anarchist Emma Goldman or legendary fashion designer Oscar de La Renta, to the underrecognized and often underpaid but vital work of thousands and thousands immigrants today, Anbinder covers 400 years of immigration history in the Big Apple.

TO JOIN IN PERSON

Please register for an In-Person ticket.  Doors will open 30 minutes before the program begins. 

For free events, we overbook to ensure a full house. Priority will be given to those who have registered in advance, but registration does not guarantee admission. If registering for multiple tickets, please provide the name of each person who will be attending the event or arrive with your entire party present. Seats cannot be saved for late arrivals. Booked seats that have not been claimed will be released shortly before start time, and seats may become available then. A standby line will form 30 minutes before the program.

TO JOIN THE LIVESTREAM

Please register for an Online Ticket. A livestream of this event will be available on this NYPL event page. To receive an email reminder shortly in advance of the event, please be sure to register! If you encounter any issues, please join us on NYPL's YouTube channel.

250 Years of the United States at The New York Public Library

This year, The New York Public Library joins our nation in commemorating 250 years since the birth of the United States. As one of the world’s foremost institutions committed to democratic access to knowledge—and as the repository of some of the country’s most important founding documents—the Library will mark the occasion with special exhibitions, free programs and events, educational offerings, reading recommendations, and more. Learn more!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Tyler Anbinder is a historian who specializes in American immigration history, the history of New York City, and the era of the American Civil War. He is the author of three award-winning books: Nativism and Slavery: The Northern Know Nothings and the Politics of the 1850s (1992); Five Points: The Nineteenth-Century New York Neighborhood that Invented Tap Dance, Stole Elections, and Became the World’s Most Notorious Slum (2001); and City of Dreams: The 400-Year Epic History of Immigrant New York (2016). In 2024, he published Plentiful Country: The Great Potato Famine and the Making of Irish New York. He has won several major research grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities and held the Fulbright Commission’s Thomas Jefferson Distinguished Chair in American History at the University of Utrecht. His scholarship has garnered awards from the Organization of American Historians, the Columbia University School of Journalism, and the editors of Civil War History. He was a professor of history for thirty years—for the first four at the University of Wyoming and then for the final twenty-six at George Washington University, where he also served as chair of the History Department.

ABOUT THE MODERATOR

Monxo López is the curator of community histories at the Museum of the City of New York. A founding member of the environmental justice coalition South Bronx Unite and the Mott Haven/Port Morris Community Land Stewards, he also serves on the board of the Cooper Square Community Land Trust. He previously taught Latinx Studies and political science at Hunter College. His work has been profiled in outlets including the New York Times and Corriere della Sera. He holds a PhD in political science from the CUNY Graduate Center and an MA from Université Laval. Monxo was a co-curator of the 2023 exhibition This Is New York: 100 Years of the City in Art and Pop Culture. Born and raised in Puerto Rico, he lives in Mott Haven, the South Bronx.

GET THE BOOKS

Borrow: Find titles by Tyler Anbinder in the catalog below.

• City Of Dreams: The 400-Year Epic History of Immigrant New York


• Five Points: the 19th century New York City Neighborhood That Invented Tap Dance, Stole Elections, and Became the World's Most Notorious Slum


• Plentiful Country: the Great Potato Famine and the Making of Irish New York

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ACCESSIBILITY NOTES

In-Person

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  You can request a free ASL (American Sign Language) interpretation or CART (Communication Access Real-Time Translation) captioning service by emailing your request at least two weeks in advance of the event: email [email protected].

  
  


• This venue is fully accessible to wheelchairs.

Livestream

• Captions will be provided.


• You can request a free ASL (American Sign Language) interpretation by emailing your request at least two weeks in advance of the event: email [email protected].

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