Preventive Medicine

By Megan Drennan New York

In 1954, after processing its last immigrant, Ellis Island, the nation's chief immigration station, closed its doors for good. It reopened in 1990, but now only tourists pass through its imposing buildings.

At the other end of Manhattan, however, just north of Harlem, a different port of entry continues to thrive. The neighborhood of Washington Heights has long been an unofficial doorway to American dreams, both good and bad. There is no Statue of Liberty here. Instead, a large McDonald's on Broadway welcomes newcomers, the majority of whom these days arrive from the Dominican Republic.

Where Ellis Island was orderly and bureaucratic, this neighborhood is anything but. Police cars prowling near 168th Street and bullet-proof glass in the corner doughnut store speak of the crime readily associated with this pocket of Manhattan. All-purpose bodegas hug the street corners while fruit and vegetable stands clutter the sidewalks, giving this section of Broadway...