When both sides of my family immigrated from Ecuador in the 90s, their first jobs were in the clothing factories housed inside 930 3rd Avenue. At the time, this building and those around it were part of New York’s vast garment industry—a world powered by immigrant labor, long hours, and quiet determination. My relatives stitched, sorted, and packed garments in rooms that buzzed with machines and ambition. That building wasn’t just a workplace, it was a gateway. It offered a foothold in a new country, a paycheck that fed families, and a shared experience that shaped our identity. Today, the building stands modern and polished, but its walls once echoed with the stories of people like my family who came with little and built a life, one stitch at a time. 

– AO

Relationship:  Im/migrant Im/migrant