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Would The Last Italian In Little Italy Please Turn Off The Lights?
By
Garth Johnston
Published Feb 22, 2011
Modified Feb 22, 2011
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By
Garth Johnston
Published Feb 22, 2011
Modified Feb 22, 2011
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Is Little Italy still Little Italy if nearly all the Italian-Americans have left? That's the question that comes up when you look at the census data the Times dug up today. In 1950 almost half of the 10,000 New Yorkers living in the area identified themselves as Italian-American (2,149 of them were even born in Italy) but in the last census only 5% of the 8,600 area residents called themselves Italian-American, and not one of them had been born in Italy. 4,400 of them were immigrants though, with 89% of them hailing from Asia.
And that is why you increasingly see things like a Chinatown Business Improvement District that includes most of Little Italy (two blocks of the neighborhood opted out because "through the [Little Italy] merchants’ association we already do what a business improvement district does.”). The changing demographics of the area is also at the heart of the ongoing shorten San Gennaro debate.
But it isn't all bad news for the Italians of Little Italy ("Littler Italy" in the Times' words). Some shops have managed to embrace the changing neighborhood while continuing to offer the high-quality foods and products that made them famous. We're particularly partial to one of the shops the Times' singles out, DiPalo's, where the the fifth-generation of DiPalo is still hard at work cutting your cheeses and meats for you while the entire store waits and waits (and waits).
When we were little we never quite understood why our mother was always happy to make her twice-a-month Saturday morning trips to the store to stock up—until she dragged us along to help carry the goodies home. If you've never had a DiPalo employee hand you a piece of exquisite freshly cut prosciutto "to taste" while you place your order you really haven't lived. Thanks to stores like DiPalo's there will always be a "Little Italy," but if the neighborhood will ever be Italian again is something only time will tell.
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