An intersection of work and hope

The intersection of Church and McDonald Avenues, the heart of Little Bangladesh, in Brooklyn’s Kensington neighbourhood, New York City in May. The intersection is the centre of a growing Bangladeshi community that has become a beacon for newly arrived immigrants from the South Asian country, where newcomers can find apartments, jobs and friends. — ©2023 The New York Times Company

AT an intersection in Brooklyn in New York City, Bangladeshi immigrants take some of their first steps toward new lives. Where Church and McDonald Avenues meet, the scent of milky tea fills the air, and Bengali is more common than English.

For decades, construction work was a primary trade for members of the Bangladeshi community in Kensington, a Brooklyn neighbourhood. But the once-familiar morning rumble of contractors’ vans now has given way to the afternoon whirl of e-bikes making deliveries.