Intra- Bronx ethnicity question (Pelham, Russia: house, neighborhoods, living in)

[rlrl]

this is probably a question that Bluedog would like to answer

years ago i noticed a beautiful house in North Riverdale, near where I live. the house looked like it was actually made from part stucco and brick, had these cool porticos (very Euro looking) and was on a semi incline, giving it an aura of being in a sleepy mediterranean village. it was not a big mansion type home, just a modest sized one, but very different

i noted the address and did a reverse address search on the house because i was curious as to the nationality of the owner

for those who don't know, N Riverdale looks very much like Woodlawn in terms of housing stock so it's not the Riverdale mansion/estates per se that you see in Fieldston down in the 240's. N Riverdale has a lot of Irish and some Italians like Woodlawn does. N Riverdale also has some Russians and a few Jewish residents (but not like down in the 230's)

anyway, the reverse address search resulted in the home being listed under a name that was EXTREMELY Italian, both the surname and first name

curious, i went to the paper phone directory, and along with the Riverdale address, all the other listed addresses under that surname were in either Morris Park or the Pelham Gardens area. and all the first names sounded like they were native Italian too

which made me wonder, if you have say a big Italian family who has a long standing history of living in the Morris Park or Pelham Gardens area(or anywhere in the eastern part of the Bronx), would it be unusual for an Italian relative to move to a place like Riverdale, which is not normally associated with a large Italian census?

maybe years ago but not today as neighborhoods become more culturally assimilated?

i am curious to see what Bluedog or others have to say

[bluedog2]

I have heard that at one time almost all of the Italian families in The Bronx lived in Little Italy/Belmont Arthur Avenue area.It was a much,much bigger neighborhood then than it is now and it was the first landing place for most Italian immigrants to The Bronx.It was from there that they spread out....some to Pelham Parkway and Morris Park,some to Woodlawn,some to Riverdale,some to Westchester( particularly Pelham).

It's probable that parts of an original Little Italy family went to one place and parts went to other places.One brother might have moved to Morris Park another brother to Riverdale or Woodlawn,etc.I know that Dominick's(restaurant on Arthur Ave) son is Enzo who has his own restaurant on Williamsbridge Rd. The daughter of the original owner of Egidio's bakery( on 187th St) lives in Riverdale,etc

This MIGHT be the answer.

[rlrl]

never even thought of that. i think you were the one who helped me when i posed a similar question a few months ago about Eastern Bx vs Riverdale

[Webster Ave Guy]

Hey, another area that had lots of Italians was Villa Ave, just off Jerome near Moshalu Parkway. Every year they held the annual "Villa Feast" with the side streets closed down, lights, rides, great food, etc. Very family friendly. I bet it died out about 15 years ago.