Little Italy

Little Italy is a neighborhood in lower Manhattan, New York City, once known for its large population of Italians. Historically, Little Italy extended as far south as Bayard St, as far north as Bleecker, as far west as Lafayette, and as far east as the Bowery. As Italian-Americans left Manhattan for other boroughs and neighborhoods, the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island, the neighborhood recognizable as Little Italy gradually shrank. Large portions of the neighborhood were absorbed by Chinatown, as immigrants from China and other East Asian countries moved to the area. The northern reaches of Little Italy, near Houston Street, ceased to be recognizably Italian, and eventually became the neighborhood known today 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. The Feast of San Gennaro is a large street fair, lasting 11 days that takes place every September along Mulberry Street between Houston Street and Canal Street. The Chinatown neighborhood of Manhattan — a borough of New York City — is an ethnic enclave with a large population of Chinese immigrants, similar to other Chinatown districts in American cities. Chinese green groceries and fish mongers are clustered around Mulberry Street, Canal Street (by Baxter Street) and all along East Broadway (especially by Catherine Street). The Chinese jewelry shop district is on Canal Street between Mott and Bowery. Due to the high savings rate among Chinese, there are many Asian and American banks in the neighborhood. Canal Street, west of Broadway (especially on the North side), is filled with Chinese street vendors selling imitation perfumes, watches, and hand-bags. Unlike most other urban Chinatowns, Manhattan's Chinatown is both a residential area as well as commercial area. Most population estimates are in the range of 150,000 to 250,000 residents (some estimates go as high as 350,000 residents). Besides the more than 200 Chinese restaurants in the area for employment, there are still some factories. The proximity of the fashion industry has kept some garment work in the local area though most of the garment industry has moved to China.