(Picture: Welcome sign to Little Italy, Mulberry Street)

I’ve been to Little Italy a couple of times, and one of the things that I’ve asked myself every time I’ve been there is “Why is this place called Little Italy? There’s about one block of Italian restaurants and bakeries, and that’s it!” Obviously, demographics and appearances change over time, so I wasn’t expecting it to be quite like it’s portrayed in the film, The Godfather, but I definitely expected more than one block. However, even in that one block, and especially in the two restaurants that I’ve been to, I had this vibe that almost felt nostalgic, as if I was in some old-school mafia movie, but in a charming way. In one pizzeria in particular, Sal’s Little Italy pizzeria, I noticed that the worker (and presumably the owner) had an Italian accent. When I was looking on the walls, I read that the original owners were from Naples, and so in a move that is very out-of-character for me, I actually mentioned to him that my Italian relatives were from a small town right outside of Naples, but had come here long before he did. He asked me the name of the town, said he had heard of it, and then told me that he came here as a 16 year-old, and that his parents were the original owners of the place. That conversation pretty much ended there, after he simply stated that it was very different back then, but it was very authentic, and one of the few times that I had the chance to talk to an older immigrant about some of his experiences, a chance I’m glad I took.

Reflecting back on that conversation, I realized that he is one of only about a handful of true Italians, whether that be immigrants or direct descendants of immigrants. The demographics of that area have changed dramatically, for a number of reasons. Italians first started coming to the area in waves in the late 1800’s, and from 1860 to 1880, 68,500 Italians moved to New York, with the hope of escaping the poverty that was engulfing much of Italy at the time. By 1920, 391,000 Italians were living in N.Y.C. At its peak, Little Italy extended as far south as Worth Street, as far north as Houston Street, as far west as Lafayette Street, and as far east as Bowery, with the heart of the town on Mulberry Street. Even though they were on a completely different continent, the Italians still split up within this area based on where in Italy they were from, with the Northern Italians on Bleecker Street, the Genovese on Baxter Street, and the Sicilians on Elizabeth Street. Although it didn’t actually have the largest concentration of Italian immigrants (that was Italian/East Harlem), Little Italy was like a snapshot of a Neapolitan village, complete with customs, language, and cultural institutions. At the turn of the 20^th century, the area was home to 10,000 Italians, or 90% of the population, which was the peak amount for the area. This would not last too long, however. This was the poorest of the Italian neighborhoods in the city, so many people were eager to leave for more space as soon as they could, as opposed to the cramped and crime-infested tenements that they were currently in. The time period after World War II was when the shift in demographics really started picking up, as the Italians started moving to Staten Island, Brooklyn, Queens, Long Island, and New Jersey. Not long after this, the Lower East Side saw an influx of Chinese immigrants, which led to the expansion of the adjacent neighborhood Chinatown. Chinatown, to the south-east of Little Italy, as well as SoHo, to the North, both began expanding, and this, coupled with the Italians who were leaving the area, began the shrinkage of the neighborhood into a shell of its former self. And because many of the businesses were family-owned, when rent prices started increasing, those businesses who had been there for decades were forced to relocate. The neighborhood would probably be unrecognizable to people who lived there at the turn of the 20^th Century, because of all of the various changes it has undergone since that time.

In more recent times, the area was hit hard by the aftermath of the September 11^th Terrorist Attacks, because of its proximity to the World Trade Center and the fact that all areas below Houston street were cut off. This prevented tourists from visiting the area, something that has become very popular in recent times, and therefore dramatically slowed business, thus hurting the residents of the area. Tourism was able to eventually pick back up again, and continues to thrive in the area. People seem to be interested in the mystique of the neighborhood, perhaps because of the way it has been portrayed in films and media. Currently, the neighborhood only consists of about three blocks along Mulberry Street, in what can be considered the remains of the “true” Little Italy, bordered on the west by Tribeca and SoHo, on the south by Chinatown, on the east by the Bowery and Lower East Side, and on the north by Nolita. The area mainly consists of restaurants and shops, with about 50 or so of these that are frequented by tourists. I myself have been to a restaurant called Puglia’s on two different occasions, and although I have had better food, I loved the classy vibe that it had. In fact, amongst many pictures on the walls of certain areas of the restaurant, I noticed one of the owner and a young Leonardo DiCaprio, which I thought was pretty cool, and spoke to the hype that the neighborhood has even for the biggest stars in Hollywood. In the times that I have been there, it was always very crowded, with every restaurant packed and lines practically out the door at some of the bakeries. It could definitely be described as a “cute”, quaint little town, with lights hanging from the clean, old-fashioned buildings to create a very picturesque setting that we usually only see in movies or on T.V. Visiting the area is definitely a cool, interesting experience, one that I would recommend to others.

As for the current demographics of the area, in a 2000 census, there were 1,211 residents who claimed to have Italian ancestry, which accounts for 8.25% of the entire population of the community. Contrastingly, in the neighboring Chinatown, 81% percent of residents are of Chinese origin. The majority of people who make up the current demographics of the area are of Asian descent, or are people who can’t afford to live in areas like SoHo. The actual Italian residents are so overshadowed and outnumbered by the tourists that it makes them hard to find, but they seem to be the older generation who enjoy sitting outside and taking in the scene, according to Bill Tonelli of New York Magazine, who did reports on the area in 2004. That is definitely the sense that I had when I was walking down Mulberry Street, that everyone seemed like they were just visiting, and were mainly there for the restaurants and bakeries. There were people in front of my Mom and I when we were in Ferrara’s Bakery, one of the most famous ones in the area, who we could hear talking about visiting from North Carolina, in their first visit to New York. Based on the conditions of the neighborhood a century ago, when it was considered a slum, this is a big contrast, and upgrade, to the reputation of the area, on a national level. It separates it from the Mafia stereotypes that the area was (appropriately) known for, and gives it a much more appealing aura.

Although not what it once was, Little Italy is, in a lot of ways, still a cultural hub, as well as a popular neighborhood for media/film portrayal. Annually in September, along Mulberry Street, in between Canal and Houston Street, is the Feast of San Gennaro, an 11-day street fair to celebrate Italian culture and heritage. It started in 1926, originally a one-day religious commemoration, after the arrival of immigrants from Naples, to celebrate San Gennaro as the Patron Saint of Naples. The fair is not just limited to Italians and Italian-Americans, however, as there is a fascination with the cuisine and culture from ethnic groups. In addition to the feast, there are other smaller cultural events funded by Sorrento Lactalis, a dairy company. Perhaps most famously (or infamously), Little Italy is probably best known as the setting of organized crime/mafia films. The neighborhood was the setting of the three Godfather films, with the first two widely considered to be two of the best films ever made. It depicts an Italian crime family headed by an Italian immigrant, along with his 3 sons and other associates who are also heavily involved in the “family business”. The character of the individuals, and Italian-Immigrants as a whole, is portrayed in a generally negative light, but unfortunately, it is an accurate portrayal of the organized crime families that were rampant at the time. The behaviors of these crime families, and the lack of control that the N.Y.P.D. had over the situation (because some of them were in on the act), is one of the reasons why the neighborhood was a slum for many years. After having seen the first two movies and visiting the area, I could not tell that they were the same place, even considering the fact that it took place over 50 years ago, and movie settings can be different than the actual place it’s supposed to be portraying. There is very little about the neighborhood now that would suggest that it was once rampant with sadistic crime families, and the current setting would suggest quite the opposite, in fact.

The Italian surge to lower Manhattan in the late 1800’s to the early 1900’s was short-lived, but memorable. Those people were pretty much there for the minimum amount of time that they needed before they were financially secure enough to leave for something more spacious and livable. As brief as it may have been, that group left a lasting impact on the area they once heavily occupied, and what was once considered a slum is now considered a quaint, picturesque little village, almost as if its dark past is a distant, yet hovering, memory.

Works Cited

Boys, Bowery. “The Big History of Little Italy.” The Bowery Boys: New York City History. N.p., 20 Feb. 2015. Web. 12 May 2017.

Briquelet, Kate. “Little Italy is on the brink of extinction.” New York Post. New York Post, 30 Mar. 2014. Web. 12 May 2017.

“Little Italy New York City.com : Profile.” NYC.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 May 2017 .

Roberts, Sam. “New York’s Little Italy, Littler by the Year.” The New York Times. The New York Times, 21 Feb. 2011. Web. 12 May 2017.