When did little italy stop being italian (live, restaurants)

[NJ Chutzpah]

When did the little italy in Manhattan cease to really be italian.

What were the boundaries of little italy at its zenith, and what has it become now?

Also what do you think will happen to chinatown in a few years? I have been noticing some new developments that I doubt a poor chinese can afford.

Give me details, stories, something dramatic

Yeh I am obsessed with this phenomena

[apvbguy]

Originally Posted by NJ Chutzpah

When did the little italy in Manhattan cease to really be italian.

What were the boundaries of little italy at its zenith, and what has it become now?

Also what do you think will happen to chinatown in a few years? I have been noticing some new developments that I doubt a poor chinese can afford.

Yeh I am obsessed with this phenomena

over 20 years ago
boundaries were about canal st to the south bowery to the east, layfayette to the west and kenmare to the north

[scatman]

Little Italy still has the restaurants, but as a residence, I think it stopped being Italian years ago!

As far as chinatown, the Chinese sense of community is amazing, with literally any and every type of business you can think of. I mean EVERYTHING!!!!!

[roseba]

Little Italy shrank, and Chinatown expanded. The real little Italy (today), is in the Bronx.

[apvbguy]

Originally Posted by roseba

Little Italy shrank, and Chinatown expanded. The real little Italy (today), is in the Bronx.

even that is only a shell, most of the people have left for the suburbs, they may come back to shop there but they don't live there

[UrbanQuest]

So is Chinatown still expanding or has it reached it's zenith?

[Moth]

I reckon the "demise", if you would really call it that, of all Little Italys, began around 1965 when immigration laws began to favor non-European immigrants. And I would also say that this was the time when Italy's post war recovery was set in stone and the country took its place as a wealthy democracy. The end result was less Italians feeling the need or being able to come to the USA. Furthermore, those that had been in the USA for awhile felt the lure of the suburbs that is part of assimilation. Thus, less Italians for Little Italy.

Compare this to China, a huge nation that has an endless supply of potential immigrants.

So its not so much a demise as simply a step in the order of things.

[SilkCity0416]

If you ask me, Little Italy is still strinking. Chinatown is just gonna swallow that area. Back in the old days, subway stops like Grand St. used to be Little Italy. Now that is Chinatown.

[Moth]

Yep. Even 15 years ago, my friend and I referred to Mulberry St as the Little Italy Interactive Museum. We wondered if if the few remaining groups of old folks clad in old coats and black dresses were actually actors paid by the City.

I still remember it as little kid back in 1970 and now its hard to imagine it that way.

[NJ Chutzpah]

What was it like in the 1970's?