The European immigrants and their descendants began leaving the neighborhood during the 1950s and 1960s, and they were replaced by new immigrants. At first migrants came from Puerto Rico, and by the 1980s other Latin American immigrants including Cuban, Dominican, Ecuadorian, and Mexican Americans had started populating Sunset Park. By the 1980 United States Census, half of the residents were Hispanic, compared with less than 40% in the 1970 United States Census; meanwhile, the number of white residents had decreased greatly. The newer residents tended to be poorer, leading to claims of "de-gentrification".
