An Intro to Little Italy

The first time I visited Little Italy, I was a wide-eyed freshman who had been in New York for about two weeks. It was during the time of San Gennaro, just as the sweltering summer heat gave way to a crisp autumn. Among the bright lights, loud music and throngs of crowds, I was in Little Italy, but it sure didn’t feel like it. About a month later, after the last remnants of the fried Oreo vendors was long gone, I returned to find Little Italy not so much a neighborhood, but a street of Italian restaurants, bounded by a less crowded extension of Chinatown.

Despite Little Italy’s struggle with a booming and bustling Chinatown that is slowly encroaching on this once dominant Italian domicile, there is still much character left on and around Mulberry Street. The realtor-created rebranding of Nolita, or North of Little Italy, has become an increasing trendy neighborhood, and the outpost for many spillover retailers who couldn’t find space in SoHo. Physically, the Little Italy /Nolita neighborhood is bounded by Houston to the north, Bowery to the east, Canal to the South, and by Lafayette on the west. Mulberry serves as the heart of what is left of the Italian community.

It’s probably no secret that the neighborhood’s name came from what was once the area’s predominant force—the Italian population. But, what was once the Italian dominated center of New York, and America, has dwindled to a population that the New York Times cited last month as under 1,000 Italians. Though the neighborhood may keep the name Little Italy, in actuality, the area is an extension of Chinatown. However, there are still many immigrants in the area. One tract of the neighborhood has a 60% foreign born rate. The north section, Nolita, is known for a large, urban professional population.

The mix of holdover Italians, the imposing Chinese population, and the young professional population creates an eclectic mix that is a microcosm of sorts for the diversity you can find all over New York.