NEW YORK (WABC) — Facing backlash, Mayor Mamdani announced he was making changes to the map of New York’s immigrant neighborhoods.
The map highlights 30 areas in five areas, including Koreatown, Little Pakistan and Little Yemen, but does not include Little Italy.
New Yorkers were unhappy.
Mamdani says she’s making adjustments.
Ferrara Bakery in Manhattan’s Little Italy was opened in 1892 by the family of Ernest Lepore.
“We love to celebrate with baked goods and cookies. And this is a valid product. And it takes us back to how they did it years ago,” Lepore said.
He was a little surprised when Little Italy was not initially included in the city’s “Immigrant Enclave” map that was released as part of a tourist guide during the World Cup.
Three Chinatowns, Little Bangladesh, Little Poland and more than 20 other vibrant immigrant communities across the five boroughs were highlighted.
But in a city known as a melting pot, the release of the map sparked a backlash against crops that were not included.
Staten Island Borough President Vito Fossella, an Italian-American, says the problem was not only the absence of Little Italy, but also the absence of any mention of American Jews in Brooklyn, Sri Lankans in Staten Island and more.
In a statement, he said: “Ignorance is not a good ingredient to highlight the sacrifices of the many people who built this City and gave so much.”
On Friday, Mayor Mamdani announced he would add “Little Italy” to the map, which he said was created in 2023.
“When we took it over, we added a few more blocks. This is clearly not an exhaustive list of the more than 200 ethnic communities that call our city home. We are going to make further changes in the future to reflect this,” Mamdani said.
A spokesman for former Mayor Eric Adams said they do not accept blame for the oversight.
Meanwhile, tourists in Little Italy are just happy to hear the problem has been fixed.
“I think it’s really cool because like being Italian, it’s great to see everything, including the little shops and the culture, because I can’t go to Italy, it’s kind of hard to get there,” said Gianna Catalanotta of Visiting NYC.
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