On a lively stretch of Main Street, one bakery is Syrian and another is Colombian and Italian. A Yemeni restaurant opened near a Lebanese spot. And across the street, there is a barbershop called Palestine, where men getting haircuts filled nearly every seat.
André Sayegh, the newly elected mayor, grew up in this neighborhood in Paterson’s south end. He has seen its evolution. Arrivals from around the world have flocked here, many coming from the Middle East, and have opened the businesses — the restaurants, meat markets, shops and salons — that draw customers from well beyond the city’s borders. Mr. Sayegh sees the neighborhood not just as a bright spot in a distressed city, but as a template for growth for other parts of Paterson where progress has been much more difficult to achieve.