Third-, fourth- and fifth-generation
Irish Americans can be found throughout Brooklyn, with moderate concentrations enduring in the neighborhoods of
Windsor Terrace,
Park Slope,
Bay Ridge,
Marine Park and
Gerritsen Beach. Historical communities also existed in
Vinegar Hill and other waterfront industrial neighborhoods, such as Greenpoint and Sunset Park. Paralleling the Italian American community, many moved to Staten Island and suburban areas in the postwar era. Those that stayed engendered close-knit, stable working-to-middle class communities through employment in the civil service (especially in law enforcement, transportation, and the
New York City Fire Department) and the building and construction trades, while others were subsumed by the
professional-managerial class and largely shed the Irish American community's distinct cultural traditions (including continued worship in the
Catholic Church and other social activities, such as
Irish stepdance and frequenting Irish American bars).