's Little Italy in New York, Little more each year
- of Sam R Oberts (from the New York Times, 21/02/2011)
What follows is a large excerpt of a long article by Sam Roberts New York Times that he dedicated to Little Italy, the historic Italian neighborhood New York.
Many things have changed, but still remain strong in the Italo-American appeal to tradition and great strength, a strength that comes from their roots, yet deeply Italian.
In 1950, almost half of the over 10,000 New Yorkers who live in the heart of Little Italy identified themselves as Italian Americans. The narrow streets teemed with children and he could hear the melodic exchanges between Italian gli uno su cinque residenti nati in Italia e i loro vicini di seconda e terza generazione.
Dal 2000, il censimento ha riscontrato che la popolazione Italo-Americana era diminuita al 6 percento. Solo 44 erano native Italiani, rispetto ai 2.149 di mezzo secolo prima.
Un sondaggio censuario pubblicato a Dicembre ha determinato che la proporzione di Italo-Americani tra gli 8.600 residenti nella stessa area di Lower Manhattan si era ridotto a circa il 5 percento.
E, incredibilmente, il censimento non è riuscito a trovare un solo residente che fosse nato in Italia.
La Little Italy che una volta was the heart of Italian-American life in the city exists largely as a nostalgic memory or in the minds of tourists who still do have a place to visit during their years in New York.
Raven The old social club of the crime family of Gambino to 247 of Mulberry is now a boutique bags and shoes. Recently in 2005, Vincent Gigante , the boss of the Genovese crime family's seventy-seven, flew into the neighborhood in bathrobe and slippers pretending to have a mental illness to avoid prosecution. Il mese scorso, più di 100 presunti membri di famiglie malavitose sono stati incriminati per reati federali; nessuno viveva a Little Italy.
Lo scorso anno, il National Park Service ha designato il Distretto Storico di Chinatown e Little Italy senza alcuna distinzione geografica tra i quartieri. I due quartieri hanno cominciato a organizzare un Marco Polo Day e una sfilata di Natale l’Est incontra l’Ovest.
Presto il Comune cancellerà ulteriormente i confini.
Following the example of three offices of the local community, the City Planning Commission in March to approve the creation of a district for the increase in trade in Chinatown, which will cover almost everything that paradise that once was the largest ... concentration of Italian immigrants in the United States.
"Now is really the whole Chinatown," says John A. Zaccaro Sr., owner of Little Italy real estate company, founded by his father in 1935.
The Feast of San Gennaro, who still collects huge crowds in Mulberry Street, will be reduced in size at the request of North of Little Italy merchants disturbed.
The number of residents of Italian descent in the district began to decline since the early 60's, when immigration from Italy ebbed and Italian-Americans got rich and moved to other parts of the city and suburbs.
"When the Italians have made money and moved to Queens in New Jersey, have sold to the Chinese, who are now selling in Vietnam and Malaysia," says Ernest Lepore, 46, who, with his father and mother, owner of Ferrara, a coffee and pastry shop that his family opened 119 years ago.
Still, about 30 Italian-American children born each year in the district are baptized in the Church of the Most Precious Blood on Baxter Street. And some residents cling to a neighborhood that is rich in history and culture.
Of the 8.600 residents counted by the Census American Community Survey in the heart of Little Italy in 2009, almost 4.400 were born abroad. Of these, 89 percent were born in Asia. In 2009, a Korean immigrant won a contest sponsored by the contents of shops of Little Italy. That same year, Chinese immigrant, Margaret S. Chin, has been elected to represent the district in the City Council.
Ms. Chin has played a key role in galvanizing the various factions to create the district for the increase of trade, which reaches north from Chinatown with two wings flanking Mulberry Street and bend arc toward it from the middle of two parallel roads, Baxter and Mott.
"We opted out" of the district, said Ralph Tramontana, Chairman of the merchants of Little Italy and the owner of Sambuca's Café. "We did not think we needed it, because through the association of dealers already do what a district for the increase in world trade."
"I said to the merchants of Chinatown," said David Louie, who helped push for the neighborhood, "'You have to look at Little Italy and follow their example - at 8:30 in the morning you can see them that wash the sidewalks. ' "
Clean, low crime singularity and have broadened the appeal of the district, which has pushed up rents.
A studio of 74 square meters in a renovated six-story building at 145 Mulberry has been advertised recently for $ 4.200 per month. The owners of a two-bedroom on Grand Street call $ 1.5 million.
Paolucci's, a popular restaurant that opened on Mulberry in 1947, he moved to Staten Island in 2005 after the landlord increased the rent to $ 20,000 a month from $ 3,500, he always says Zaccaro.
Still, other landmarks of Little Italy, not only survived, but they seem to be flourishing thanks mainly to tourists and what the author Nicholas Pileggi described decades ago as "Italians of the Sabbath" Suburban - the "prosperous overweight in children of immigrant fathers leaner. "
Di Palo's, a specialty store Italian food at 200 Grand Street, started the business in 1903, a decade after the milk caeseario Alleva to 188 of the Grand, which is advertised as the oldest Italian cheese shop in the nation and that, as Ferrara, opened in 1892 . The fifth-generation family members working in all three and all three shops selling their products via the Internet.
in 1990, said Lou Di Palo, his father is ill and handed the keys to the next generation.
"We decided that we will take our business and we'll come back - we will focus on how our grandparents and our great-grandparents led activity: family-based, it sends the customer relationship, "he said. "Cut your piece of cheese and slice your ham. We're still a neighborhood store, but we have taken the initiative to make our shop a destination. "
" E 'come from a store of immigrants to an Italian-American shop focused on the authentic products of Italy, "said Mr. Di Palo. "We do not expect that our customers are every day. A big client we will see once a week, we'll see a very good client once a month. People told me, 'Are you still here' And I said, 'As long as you continue to come, I'll be here'. "
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