How segregated was New York city in 1957?

Answer 1

While theoretically New York did not have any segregation (at least not the kind that you saw in the deep south), New York in the mid 1950s was like many other northern cities-- it had de facto segregation, which meant there were certain places where black people were not welcome to buy a home, certain companies that did not want to hire them, and certain neighborhoods where blacks were expected to live. Harlem remained the best-known majority-black neighborhood in New York City (some might say it was a ghetto); East Harlem in particular had inferior schools, and the most low-income housing: some of the apartments were reported to have rats, roaches, lack of heat, etc., but little was done about this.