Sidewalks of NYC: Little Italy Revisited

How little can Little Italy get? No, it is not completely obliterated like the former Lower East Side Jewish neighborhood to its east. It seems, however, that New York's Little Italy is living up to its name more and more with each passing year. Mulberry Street (pictured c.1900 at right), the neighborhood's historic main drag seems at present to be the only street in the once massive neighborhood. The neighborhood once encompassed over 50 city blocks, stretching from the Bowery to the east, Lafayette St. to the West, Bleecker St. to the north, and Bayard St. to the south.

In the 1920s the area was acclaimed for its strong cohesiveness, familial relationships, and vibrant street market. Perhaps it was these factors that kept Mulberry St. itself so intact while the Grand St. nerve center went into decline. Today the street has lost much of its marketplace image, but the Italian feel is still very much there. It is filled with restaurants and no shops seem to cater to the neighborhood's residents. In a way the street seems to be living on as a memorial to its former self. The streets surrounding it evoke a decidedly Asian-American feel.