Little Italy - Get there before it's gone!

What do I mean by "before it's gone"? Over the years, the original Little Italy neighborhood is shrinking. Neighboring Chinatown is creeping in and swallowing blocks of real estate. Most of the Italian immigrants and their descendants have moved to newer Italian neighborhoods or the suburbs, which has made the niche into a memory of its past self. Don't get me wrong - the people still come (tourists and New Yorkers alike) to enjoy the amazing restaurants, cafes, and grocery shops.

Don't get me wrong - if you go in the direction toward Mulberry Street you WILL find Little Italy. You just need to open your eyes and ears a bit more - once you hear the language spoken like second nature, see an array of Virgin Mary candles for sale, and smell that food...you've arrived.


Little Italy's pleasures lie mostly in strolling around its old tenement-lined streets, absorbing its abundant street life and, of course, visiting the food vendor carts. But you should know that every September it has been hosting the two week-long Feast of San Gennaro for over 80 years. So what is this celebration about? The focus is paying homage to the Patron Saint of Naples (San Gerrano - see statue at right - don't you love the bored guards?) In 1926 newly arrived immigrants from Naples settled along Mulberry Street and decided to continue the tradition that they had been celebrating in their old country - the day in 305 A.D. when Saint Gerrano was martyred for the faith. It has become a huge tourist attraction (over one million visitors - so much so that many New Yorkers avoid it completely) with endless tasty tidbits lining the streets, a Ferris wheel and other carnival rides in constant action, and sideshow imported sideshow pleasures (for example, Snake Girl - body of a snake, head of a girl:). The street festivities also include religious processions and parades, free entertainment, and a professional cannoli-eating contest that are topped off with a celebratory Mass and candlelit procession as the Statue of the Saint is carried to its home in Most Precious Blood Church on Mulberry Street.



It is said the most beautiful spot in the neighborhood is Saint Patrick's Old Cathedral. The first stone was laid in 1809 and the church was completed in 1815. Designed by Joseph Francois Mangin in Gothic Revival style, it is the oldest Catholic Church in the city. In 1966, it was one of the first sites to be officially considered a landmark by the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission. The church is open to the public and continues to hold Mass with liturgies in Spanish and English. It's also okay to step inside to take a peek and sit for a while as it isn't probable that you'll get to enter a 200 year-old structure and be in awe of every inch.



Umberto's Clam House, aka "The Heart of Little Italy", was idealized and opened in 1972 by Robert Umberto. Naming the restaurant was a no-brainer - his own name was used and "Umberto" is also the name of the last Prince of Italy. It quickly became a very different historical landmark when Crazy Joey Gallo, a famous Mafioso, was shot to death while eating scungilli (I thought it was pasta, but they are large sea snails) with clam sauce in April of 1972, shortly after the restaurant opened. The menu doesn't revolve around clams, but it does serve mostly seafood. Due to public demand, they now also offer steaks, porkchops, and other American fare to please all possible clientele. The restaurant is open until 4am 7 days a week, so you can't use a "not enough time" excuse to not stop in and have a drink and an appetizer at one of New York City's most famous eateries. You'll be glad you did!

You won't find a Leeann Chin here! Chinatown, Manhattan-style.

If you think you'd know what Chinatown was like without visiting it, you'd be right. And oh-so-wrong. It is a huge neighborhood that is more than one can imagine - the open air markets, glorious street vendors, Chinese signs, and residents arguing in Cantonese over live seafood that still retains their heads, to name a few visuals. The atmosphere is exotic and almost antique - you'll never feel more like you're in a movie than when you find yourself trying to manuever your way down the sidewalk.

A few places to see while you're here: you'll want your camera when you see the succession of gorgeous golden Buddhas at the Eastern States Buddhist Temple, the oldest Chinese Buddhist temple on the East Coast. Take a walk over to the Bowery Savings Bank, which was conceived in 1893 by the famous New York architechture firm, Mead & White. In 1966, it won well-deserved landmark status with its marble Corinthian columns and soaring ceilings. Too bad there isn't an award for "breathtaking". Like the saying goes, "they just don't make 'em like that anymore!" (Example of exterior on the left.)

During pleasant weather, you will find the locals playing mah-jongg (a Chinese game using up to 144 tiles and 4 people) and practicing tai chi in Columbus Park. The park was named after Christopher Columbus (of course) and was plotted by Central Park (my favorite place in the world - just wait until I write about that!) co-designer Calvert Vaux in 1897.

New York hosts many different ethnic and cultural events, but very few can compete with the extravaganza of the Chinese New Year. It is celebrated annually in February during a two-week period (the date changes slightly each year). I've heard that it is exactly like how it is portrayed in movies and other media - the firecrackers, masses of color and people, the procession with dancing dragons snake in and out and bob up and down, and of course, the food.
The Museum of the Chinese in the Americas (MoCA) is a little-known cultural attraction, but definitely one worth visiting. It is interestingly located inside of an old school building. You will find not only fantastic temporary exhibitions, but it also owns a permanent collection of letters, artifacts, and amazing photographs that document the lives of Chinese immigrants to the United States.

And above, the aptly-named statue of Confucius on Confucius Plaza. I couldn't NOT include this photo!

I wanted to focus on one aspect of Chinatown at a time, but found it to be impossible to choose the first one. And then where would I end? This is just my personal list of favorites - when you make yours, don't leave without two things: an empty stomach and a camera! (And lots of one-dollar bills, good walking shoes, a mostly-empty backpack or tote bag, sunglasses...:)