#177 The Big History of Little Italy

The Bowery Boys: New York City History

Tom Meyers

Places & Travel, History, Documentary, Society & Culture

4.7 • 3.9K Ratings

🗓️ 20 February 2015

⏱️ 52 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Little Italy is the pocket-neighborhood reminder of the great wave of Italian immigration which came through New York City starting in the late 1870s. This was the home of a densely packed, lively neighborhood of pushcarts, cheese shops, barber shops and organ grinders, populated by thousands of new immigrants in dilapidated old tenements. The area has some of New York's oldest still-operating shops, from Ferrara Bakery to Di Palo's. But there's also a dark side to this neighborhood, memories of extortion plots by the Black Hand and a perpetual presence of organized crime. The present-day Little Italy is completely charming but constantly shrinking. How long can the neighborhood survive in the face of a growing Chinatown and the threats of gentrification? PLUS: Our love/hate relationship with Nolita -- REVEALED! www.boweryboyshistory.com Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/boweryboys

Transcript

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0:00.0	Episode 177 of The Bowery Boys.
0:02.9	A walk through Little Italy.
0:05.0	Hey, it's The Bowery Boys.
0:06.5	Hey!
0:07.1	The Bowery Boys are brought to you by Audible,
0:09.3	the leading provider of audiobook entertainment.
0:11.7	For a free audiobook down loan and 30-day free trial,
0:15.1	go to audibletrial.com slash Bowery Boys.
0:21.2	Hi there, welcome to The Bowery Boys. This is Greg Young.
0:23.9	And this is Tom Myers.
0:25.1	Fighting through cold and flu season,
0:27.8	our voices might be a little scratchy for this one,
0:30.6	as we take you on a little visit
0:33.5	to one of the most enchanting neighborhoods of New York City,
0:36.4	Little Italy, a popular tourist destination
0:39.1	that was once the heart of Italian life in New York City.
0:42.4	You just called it enchanting.
0:43.8	I think that we could use all kinds of words
0:46.1	to describe Little Italy, including colourful,
0:49.4	overtly commercial, delicious smelling sometimes, enduring.
0:54.6	Of course, it's known for its restaurants,
0:56.5	known for the San Genero Festival, which happens every year,
	...

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