OPINION: Staten Island’s Borough President Takes Issue With Missing Ethnicities From Immigrant Enclaves Map Released By NYC Mayor: UPDATED Little Italy Added

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A Statement from Borough President Vito Fossella on City’s “Immigrant Enclaves” Map

UPDATE: Mayor Mamdani has announced that Little Italy will be added to the immigrant enclave map. 
Staten Island, NY – Borough President Vito Fossella issued the following statement regarding the “immigrant enclaves” map recently released by the City:
“When did New York City go from a melting pot, to an empty pan?
That is the message sent by the City when it publishes a map of “immigrant enclaves” and leaves out numerous cornerstones in our City’s rich immigrant history.
The Italians of Little Italy and Arthur Avenue; The Irish of Gaelic Park and Little Ireland; the largest Jewish-American community in Borough Park – all left out. Also disregarded is Staten Island, the most Italian county in the United States, also home to one of the largest Sri Lankan communities in the world, and a growing number of Albanian, and Filipino immigrants, not to mention the many Puerto Rican families that moved and raised their families here.
Ignorance is not a good ingredient for highlighting the sacrifices of so many, who built this City and gave so much. Willful ignorance, however, is a deliberate failure to honor the memory of my family and millions of others.
Seemingly, there are those who are erasing our rich history and individuals that built the foundation for the City we call home.”

Original immigrant enclave map featuring flags for neighborhoods. Image Credit – NYC Mayor

Here is City Hall’s official response to the Borough President and other’s complaints about the map, which is just above here:
“The guide highlights neighborhoods in New York City that have substantial foreign-born populations from regions and countries around the world… The immigrant enclave series began during the [Eric] Adams administration, and we are planning to add more neighborhoods in the upcoming months.”
Additional now:  Only 5-8% of residents in the ‘Little Italy’ area today identify as Italian or Italian-American, and according to the most recent US Census, 0% were born in Italy.  The immigrant enclave map was designed to show current populations of foreign-born individuals rather than historic neighborhoods that no longer contain such high percentages. Here are some more details about the reality of proportions in these neighborhoods, as well as the possibility of Staten Island’s South Shore becoming recognized as the new Italian enclave, or Arthur Avenue in the Bronx, or Bensonhurst and Mill Basin, which both have a larger percentage of Italian-Americans than other areas.  Staten Island’s South Shore has somewhere around 80% Italian-Americans, with the borough as a whole having about 40% Italian-Americans. The following is from Gemini:

While the neighborhood reached its peak in 1910—when over 90% of the area was of Italian birth or origin—the demographic has drastically shifted over the last several decades due to suburban flight, gentrification, and the expansion of neighboring Chinatown. In fact, recent US Census data reveals that not a single current resident of Manhattan’s Little Italy was actually born in Italy.

  • Staten Island: The undisputed hub. The borough as a whole is roughly 40% Italian American (the highest concentration of any county in the US), with sections of the South Shore climbing as high as 80%.

  • The Bronx: The Arthur Avenue neighborhood in the Bronx is widely considered NYC’s “real” functioning Little Italy today, home to many long-standing Italian-owned bakeries, butchers, and restaurants.

  • Brooklyn: Neighborhoods like Bensonhurst and Mill Basin still retain significant Italian-American populations (Mill Basin sits at around 25%).

Little Africa in Staten Island. Image Credit – MOIA

Little Mexico in Staten Island. Image Credit – MOIA

 

Banner Image:  Little Mexico in Staten Island. Image Credit – MOIA


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About The Author

BP Vito Fossella

The Office of the Borough President has a responsibility to advocate for the entire Borough of Staten Island and all its residents, and represents the Borough's interests within City government. The Borough President communicates directly with the Mayor and the City Council to emphasize Staten Island’s budget priorities. In addition, the Borough President is responsible for reviewing major land use decisions and proposing sites for city facilities within the Borough. As the chair of the Borough Board, the Borough President leads Staten Island’s City Council delegation and Community Board chairs in the process of reviewing and approving the transfer of public properties to private use. The Borough President’s Office houses the Borough's Topographical Bureau, which maintains the borough’s official maps and assigns street addresses. The Borough President monitors the delivery of city services on Staten Island, and acts as a liaison between residents and city agencies when problems arise to devise solutions. The Borough President is also responsible for appointing one member to the Panel for Educational Policy and one member to the City Planning Commission, as well as some 150 members to Staten Island’s three community boards.

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