How does NYC families divide up the city?

[Mason_dixon]

Hey I have read that in 1931 the commission divided up NYC amongst the five families? I know the Genovese are strong in Manhattan? But how do the 5 families divy up the 5 Burroughs. I’m not from the east coast so forgive my ignorance. I thought it was interesting John Gotti the 3rd did some work for the Bonanno and was told this is cause it was in queens or Howard beach? Any info from you locals would be interesting.

[Wiseguy]

Hey I have read that in 1931 the commission divided up NYC amongst the five families? I know the Genovese are strong in Manhattan? But how do the 5 families divy up the 5 Burroughs. I’m not from the east coast so forgive my ignorance. I thought it was interesting John Gotti the 3rd did some work for the Bonanno and was told this is cause it was in queens or Howard beach? Any info from you locals would be interesting.

The five families already existed and were operating before 1931. If you read "The Mob and the City," the early areas were:

Bonanno - Central Brooklyn, Little Italy

Gagliano/Lucchese - East Harlem, Garment Center, South/Central Bronx

Luciano/Genovese - Little Italy, East Harlem, Greenwich Village, Garment Center, Fulton Fish Market

Mangano/Anastasia - South Brooklyn and Staten Island

Profaci - Central and South Brooklyn


Early on the families operated on more geographic lines but for years now all of them have some level of presence in all five boroughs. And it's more along business lines than geographic boundaries. A lot of overlap, as well as mutual interests at times That said, a family might have a stronger presence in geographic one area than another area. The Colombos, for example, obviously have more of a presence in Brooklyn than they do in the Bronx.

[B.]

Check out the Informer Journal May 2014 issue. You can get the digital version for something like 5 bucks and it was written by members here. If you're interested in the early NYC mafia, it is worth far more than the price and details the origins of the NYC mafia groups going back to the 1870s and the why/when/who of how the five families formed (to the best of current knowledge at least).

To greatly simplify it -- the families were formed based on colonies of mafia-connected immigrants from the same villages and blood/marital relationships and their so-called "territory" was based on the different places where members from these colonies settled and moved. The families were never divided based on territory and their geographic locations were formed and evolved organically. Informants have reported going back decades that a member in NYC can operate anywhere regardless of his family as long as it doesn't directly interfere with the operations of another member whether that member is with the same family or a different one.

Wiseguy's list is fairly accurate, but it's worth mentioning that the D'Aquila/Mangano family had an early presence in the Bronx (boss D'Aquila lived there for a time, same with late 20s/early 30s underboss Ferrigno, and temporary boss/captain Frank Scalise, etc.) and of course Manhattan.

[Mason_dixon]

Thanks for the replies mostly interested in what’s going on today.

[johnny_scootch]

The short answer is they never divided the city. Some families are stronger than others in certain places but that all happened naturally there was never a point where they all sat down and said you take this neighborhood and we'll take that neighborhood.

[Wiseguy]

Thanks for the replies mostly interested in what’s going on today.

If you look at the NY families in the chart section, you'll get a good idea of where each one generally operates.

viewforum.php?f=32

[Flushing]

Geography still plays s role, especially considering each if the 3 Brooklyn Luke crews are named after specific geographic locations: McDonald Ave, canarsie, and 19th hole. Obviously the 19th hole us gone and canarsie is an s-hole, but the lineage is there. The canarsie crew went east. The 19th hole crew still exists in South BK.

The Bronx Luke's were based mainly in central, as mentioned above. Specifically two Capo's : Mike Salerno (willismsbridge, Wakefield). And another in Westchester square under the 6 train and close to Hunts point.

Crea set up on Bronx river road just north if Woodlawn.

Going way back , the Luke's were in the southern blocks of east Harlem. They were indirect descendents if the marello 108th street crew.

Another interesting geographic take is the bonannos Bushwick presence. That crew lineage still exists just north in ridgewood and maspeth. Bonnanos were all over Greenpoint and bushwick and we're dominant there.

The Genovese had Greenwich village and over the river in Hoboken. That crew was so powerful it could have been it's own family.

[Philly d]

Geography still plays s role, especially considering each if the 3 Brooklyn Luke crews are named after specific geographic locations: McDonald Ave, canarsie, and 19th hole. Obviously the 19th hole us gone and canarsie is an s-hole, but the lineage is there. The canarsie crew went east. The 19th hole crew still exists in South BK.

The Bronx Luke's were based mainly in central, as mentioned above. Specifically two Capo's : Mike Salerno (willismsbridge, Wakefield). And another in Westchester square under the 6 train and close to Hunts point.

Crea set up on Bronx river road just north if Woodlawn.

Going way back , the Luke's were in the southern blocks of east Harlem. They were indirect descendents if the marello 108th street crew.

Another interesting geographic take is the bonannos Bushwick presence. That crew lineage still exists just north in ridgewood and maspeth. Bonnanos were all over Greenpoint and bushwick and we're dominant there.

The Genovese had Greenwich village and over the river in Hoboken. That crew was so powerful it could have been it's own family.

Great post. Any other family have a member in the Greenwich Village? Never heard of any. Bonnanos had a bunch of guys in Knickerbocker Village.

[newera_212]

Geography still plays s role, especially considering each if the 3 Brooklyn Luke crews are named after specific geographic locations: McDonald Ave, canarsie, and 19th hole. Obviously the 19th hole us gone and canarsie is an s-hole, but the lineage is there. The canarsie crew went east. The 19th hole crew still exists in South BK.

The Bronx Luke's were based mainly in central, as mentioned above. Specifically two Capo's : Mike Salerno (willismsbridge, Wakefield). And another in Westchester square under the 6 train and close to Hunts point.

Crea set up on Bronx river road just north if Woodlawn.

Going way back , the Luke's were in the southern blocks of east Harlem. They were indirect descendents if the marello 108th street crew.

Another interesting geographic take is the bonannos Bushwick presence. That crew lineage still exists just north in ridgewood and maspeth. Bonnanos were all over Greenpoint and bushwick and we're dominant there.

The Genovese had Greenwich village and over the river in Hoboken. That crew was so powerful it could have been it's own family.

Great post. Any other family have a member in the Greenwich Village? Never heard of any. Bonnanos had a bunch of guys in Knickerbocker Village.

Thats a good question. I really cant think of any families that were specific to the Village. the 4th ward and little italy are walking distance and had crews from every family there basically, but no one else had crews in greenwich village proper. i wonder what the genesis is? i remember seeing a doc on Vito Genovese a long time ago, and IIRC when he first came to America he moved to Forest Hills (Queens) but hung out in the city where the 'action' was and eventually set up shop in the Village. maybe that has something to do with it, but there were italians in the area (and presumably LCN'ish activity) long before he arrived. i dont think it was ever solely an italian stronghold, but a good number of italians settled there almost like spillover from little italy a few blocks south/east. the borders of the neighborhoods werent as defined back then. you still got some old people who call everything south of 14th street the lower east side and still call the lower east side the 4th ward

knockerbocker village is a very interesting place as well. obviously more known Bonnanos than anyone else, but guys from just about every family (I think basically all but Colombo) grew up and lived there. lot of people still do; generally when you get a place in a building like that you leave feet first, unless you strike it rich. knickerbocker village and al d'arco's old building at 22 Spring have to have the highest concentration of wiseguys under one roof..its really crazy

[Philly d]

Respectfully I disagree. Back in the day Little Italy and the Village were totally different neighborhoods. People didnt cross paths. Maybe the Village was more Naplatons? But yeah I don't the genesis. Your are right about people calling anything south the LES south of 14th Street - including the East Village. East Village seemed more Gambino.

I knew KV had a few Genovese and wouldnt suprise me about a Gambino. Any Lucheses you know of? Who else was in 22 Spring? Thats a small building.

[Angelo Santino]

By 1910, East Village had Gambino, Bonanno and Genovese contingents. Rather than it being split up by block like traditional gang territory, imagine one street block with several saloons, two of which are owned by Saverio Virzi (Gambinos) and Paolo Navarra (Bonannos). Those saloons served the same purposes of the modern social club. Members, associates and regular criminals went there to congregate and plan scores.

[Rocco]

Any where they can make a buck and NOT get caught...that's where they all operate really. There is no more turf so to speak. If anything that logic of "turf" pertains to union locals..

[Etna]

I feel like they can operate wherever they want as they are the five families of "new york" where the philadelphia family can do whatever they want in their city.

[gohnjotti]

If you’re a mobster you can operate anywhere you want as long as it doesn’t infringe on any other individuals rackets. For instance, loansharking can be done anywhere to anyone. Gambling houses, however, are still contested territory. No whole family has rights over a certain neighbourhood anymore but you if open a card game, gambling parlour, underground casino, etc. anywhere that another mobster seems “too close” he is within his rights to initiate a beef, and there are many examples of this, such as when Colombo acting capo Paul Bevacqua and Anthony Russo sent guys over to beat up a rival gambling parlour that was supposed to be protected by Gambino ruling panel member Joseph Juliano.
Of course, the same goes for Joker-Poker machines.

As others have said, unions could be considered the modern-day equivalent of “territory” since whole families can still claim full control over a certain union. The feasts, like the Colombo-controlled Figli Di Santa Rosalia are also examples since different families are allocated different roles and territory within the feasts.

But if you’re a NY mobster setting up shop in a city supposedly controlled by another family, like Bonanno soldier Vincent Amarante moving to Chicago in 2000, you probably don’t have to pay tribute. Other examples include mobsters moving to L.A. or South Florida - even when those cities’ families still operated in the 1990s, territory wasn’t contested. The Colombos also had a street boss based in Boston and the Patriarcas had no say in the matter.

That’s my take on territory given the recent examples we have to work with.

[Manhattan_]

Geography still plays s role, especially considering each if the 3 Brooklyn Luke crews are named after specific geographic locations: McDonald Ave, canarsie, and 19th hole. Obviously the 19th hole us gone and canarsie is an s-hole, but the lineage is there. The canarsie crew went east. The 19th hole crew still exists in South BK.

The Bronx Luke's were based mainly in central, as mentioned above. Specifically two Capo's : Mike Salerno (willismsbridge, Wakefield). And another in Westchester square under the 6 train and close to Hunts point.

Crea set up on Bronx river road just north if Woodlawn.

Going way back , the Luke's were in the southern blocks of east Harlem. They were indirect descendents if the marello 108th street crew.

Another interesting geographic take is the bonannos Bushwick presence. That crew lineage still exists just north in ridgewood and maspeth. Bonnanos were all over Greenpoint and bushwick and we're dominant there.

The Genovese had Greenwich village and over the river in Hoboken. That crew was so powerful it could have been it's own family.

Great post. Any other family have a member in the Greenwich Village? Never heard of any. Bonnanos had a bunch of guys in Knickerbocker Village.

Thats a good question. I really cant think of any families that were specific to the Village. the 4th ward and little italy are walking distance and had crews from every family there basically, but no one else had crews in greenwich village proper. i wonder what the genesis is? i remember seeing a doc on Vito Genovese a long time ago, and IIRC when he first came to America he moved to Forest Hills (Queens) but hung out in the city where the 'action' was and eventually set up shop in the Village. maybe that has something to do with it, but there were italians in the area (and presumably LCN'ish activity) long before he arrived. i dont think it was ever solely an italian stronghold, but a good number of italians settled there almost like spillover from little italy a few blocks south/east. the borders of the neighborhoods werent as defined back then. you still got some old people who call everything south of 14th street the lower east side and still call the lower east side the 4th ward

knockerbocker village is a very interesting place as well. obviously more known Bonnanos than anyone else, but guys from just about every family (I think basically all but Colombo) grew up and lived there. lot of people still do; generally when you get a place in a building like that you leave feet first, unless you strike it rich. knickerbocker village and al d'arco's old building at 22 Spring have to have the highest concentration of wiseguys under one roof..its really crazy

Greenwich Village did have a small number of Gambino members , mid 70's on Cornelia street between Bleeker and w4th street Guido and Eddie DeCurtis had a social club. Frankie Dapolito was a Gambino captain was also from GV.