History of Italian Immigrants to New York City

        New York had relatively few Italian residents during its first two centuries of existence from the time it was known as New Amsterdam.  In 1860 only about 1,400 residents were of Italian descent (Dobbins, n.p.).  Most of them earned a living working as dockworkers, fruit vendors, organ grinders, or rag pickers while living in the the slum known as Five Points.  Around 1860, a large influx of Italian immigrants began to pour into the city which continued into the early part of the 20th century. Further, between 1900 and 1914, almost two million Italians immigrated to America with most settling in New York City (Dobbins, n.p.).  By 1930, New York City was the home to over a million Americans of Italian descent--approximately 17 percent of the city’s population total (Dobbins, n.p.).

        Most Italian immigrants came from southern Italy and were what is known as contadini or landless farmers who were trying to escape poverty.  The earliest immigrants were males seeking work with the intention of returning home to their families in Italy once they were more financially secure.  Men were sometimes recruited by various labour brokers, who paid their passage, food, and lodging and hired them out as groups of workers.  Having little in the way of formal education, many Italian immigrants found work as laborers, digging ditches, paving roads, and construction projects like the subway, the Brooklyn Bridge, and Grand Central Terminal station.  As well, some Italian immigrants created small businesses as corner grocers, street vendors, and hairdressers.  Females often worked in the clothing manufacturing sector (Dobbins, n.p.).

        Like many newcomers facing cultural and language obstacles, Italians created ethnic enclaves.  The first communities were centered on Mulberry Street north of the Five Points slum, in Greenwich Village, and East Harlem.  Though New Yorkers labeled the Italian newcomers in general as WOPS (Without Papers), the Italians identified themselves more particularly by their home region or village and organized their neighborhoods accordingly.  Thus, Mulberry Street was distinctly associated with Naples, Mott Street was primarily immigrants from Calabresi, Hester Street were primarily Apulians, and Elizabeth Street was strictly made up of immigrants from Sicily.  Further, each block –even building--was inhabited by residents from a specific Sicilian town.  Martin Scorsese, who grew up in Little Italy, recalled that a marriage between two Italians from different blocks was considered an intermarriage (Dobbins, n.p.).

        Mulberry Street was the central artery of Little Italy which created a site upon which Dr. Seuss created his first story book for children “And To Think I Saw it on Mulberry Street”.  Italian American communities focused on fundamental traditional values of family, faith, and food.  When conflict arose with other Catholic groups, Italians formed their own houses of worship often in basements (Dobbins, n.p.).

        Faced with poverty and even heavy discrimination, Italian immigrants formed mutual aid societies, as well as clubs focused on culture like opera and organizations to stage religious festivals that still operate in New York City today (Dobbins, n.p.).