Little Italy

Little Italy is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan, New York City. It was once known for its large Italian community. Historically, Little Italy extended from Bleecker in the north to Bayard Street in the south, and from Lafayette in the west to the Bowery in the east. Over the last few decades, the character of Little Italy has diluted, as Italian Americans moved out to peripheral boroughs and neighborhoods.

Today the character of Little Italy has been modified by the growth of Chinatown, which has absorb it with an influx of immigrants from China and other East Asian countries. Some parts of Little Italy have in fact ceased to appear Italian, among them the northern reaches near Houston Street, where Little Italy continues as NoLIta, an abbreviation for North of Little Italy. Today, the section of Mulberry Street between Broome and Canal Streets, lined with Italian restaurants popular with tourists, remains distinctly recognizable as Little Italy.

Little Italy, Manhattan
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:New_York._Little_Italy.jpg
Author: Tomas Fano


The biggest celebration in Little Italy is the Feast of San Gennaro, a large street fair that last 11 days. It takes place every September along Mulberry Street between Houston and Canal Streets.

Other Italian American neighborhoods in New York City include Little Italy of the Bronx (on Arthur Avenue, in the Fordham section of The Bronx); Bensonhurst, Brooklyn; Howard Beach, Queens; Ozone Park, Queens; Middle Village, Queens; Morris Park, the Bronx and the whole borough of Staten Island, where 44.5% of the population is of Italian ancestry, the highest percentage of Italian-Americans in a county in the United States.

Mulberry Street, Little Italy, Manhattan
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Manhattan_New_York_City_2008_PD_a38.jpg
Author: Kamel15

Getting there

Among the subway stations in the neighborhood include Spring St to the north, Bowery to the east and Canal St station to the southwest.

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