bronx little italy

I have lived in The Bronx practically all of my life. In all that time I have always felt that many of my fellow New York City homies have missed out on a truly New York experience; Bronx Little Italy.  According to baruch.cuny.edu/nycdata/, there are 329 recognized neighborhoods in New York City and the Bronx has 56 of those neighborhoods.  Of those 329 neighborhoods, I believe Bronx Little Italy simply has the most to offer as a place to visit outside of the financial district and the renowned landmarks of Manhattan.  However, it’s been my experience that in a great many conversations about the places to visit in this city that I have been privy to, I feel all too often Bronx Little Italy gets overlooked.  Why is that?  You need a bit of a history lesson to understand why.

According to yesthebronx.org/about/history-of-the-bronx, Jonas Bronck was the first European to settle in the Bronx in 1639, when he established a farm along the Harlem River in the Mott Haven section.

25-Story Apartment Building at 198 East 135th Street, Mott Haven

The next big historical event was in 1898, when the City of New York was created by combining the five boroughs.  The New York City Subway made it possible for thousands of immigrants to move to the Bronx.  These included the Irish, Italians, and Jews.  Next French, German, and Polish immigrants moved into the borough.  During prohibition, Irish and Italian bootleggers and gangs ran rampant in the Bronx smuggling illegal whiskey and by 1926 the Bronx became infamous for its high crime rate and for its many places that served illegal alcoholic drinks.  From the 1930s thru 1960s a great many of these people moved to the suburbs and other states with Hispanics and African Americans remaining in the southeastern and northwestern parts.  Hispanic and African Americans now make up a significant portion of the population.

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