Do made guys still command respect and have cachet in Italian neighborhoods?

[HoagieNose]

Do made guys still command respect and have cachet in Italian neighborhoods? Anyone witness any firsthand recent instances?

[NothingNew44]

How many real Italian neighborhoods are left? Most you’d think of have been taken over by other ethnicities or become imitations for profit margins. That’s a general statement, but accurate in my experience.

[HoagieNose]

Yeah your right. That’s kind of what I meant. Like those neighborhoods all changed over the last twenty years. So I guess it’s not the same. They aren’t even noticed as much I guess

[PolackTony]

Mulberry St is a theme park and Bensonhurst is now “Beijing-hurst”. There are still plenty of Italians left in SI and the East/SE Bronx though, apart from big concentrations all throughout LI, North Jersey, and Westchester. In Chicago, Taylor St is long since gutted, Grand Ave is heavily gentrified, and Bridgeport has large Chinese and Mexican populations. Melrose Park and Elmwood Park are now heavily Latino, though some other areas around the Western suburbs such as Addison seem to have retained a big Italian concentration. South Philly and South Jersey still seem to be going strong, despite some demographic change, however. I don’t know other cities well enough to really comment.

[Pogo The Clown]

South Philly and South Jersey still seem to be going strong, despite some demographic change, however. I don’t know other cities well enough to really comment.

Speaking of South Philly I'm reminded of the scene from Rocky Balboa where Rocky is running through the Italian market in South Philly and it's all Mexicans and Orientals. Or the scene where Paulie makes the comment about how all the food cooked at Rocky's Italian restaurant is done by Mexicans. And this movie was 15 years ago. I can only imagine how much worse it has gotten since.


Pogo

[PolackTony]

South Philly and South Jersey still seem to be going strong, despite some demographic change, however. I don’t know other cities well enough to really comment.

Speaking of South Philly I'm reminded of the scene from Rocky Balboa where Rocky is running through the Italian market in South Philly and it's all Mexicans and Orientals. Or the scene where Paulie makes the comment about how all the food cooked at Rocky's Italian restaurant is done by Mexicans. And this movie was 15 years ago. I can only imagine how much worse it has gotten since.


Pogo

My understanding is that there has been a lot of Latino and Asian (a lot of Vietnamese apparently ) migration to South Philly, as well as some gentrification. But I have a friend who lives near Packer Park and that section at least seems to remain very strongly Italian.

[PolackTony]

It’s worth considering too, that even in neighborhoods where Italians are now the minority, but a substantial one where they compose like ~25% of the population, own many properties and businesses, and have had a long-standing presence, a “racket subculture” may still persist. While there are tons of Chinese, or Uzbeks, etc, in Bensonhurst or Gravesend, the Italian minority is still a visible and significant presence. Bridgeport in Chicago still has many old school Italian families, despite the large Chinese influx. There are many Latinos and Albanians in Morris Park, Bronx, but still quite a few Italians from what I can tell. Not that the majority of Italians in these areas have or want anything to do with the mob, of course. But while greatly diminished, there is still some basis for that kind of street culture to persist I think.

As an analogy, I lived in the Sunset Park area of Brooklyn for a while. The area has a major concentration of Chinese, but they form like ~40% of the total neighborhood population. My impression is that they have an OC presence, revolving around gambling, prostitution, some drugs (ketamine seems to be especially popular among the Chinese in BK). I have absolutely no idea who these guys are, what their networks or activities are like (apart from some obviously shady karaoke bars and “massage parlors”). But I’d imagine that many Chinese in the neighborhood know who these people are.

[SB1825]

South Philly and South Jersey still seem to be going strong, despite some demographic change, however. I don’t know other cities well enough to really comment.

Speaking of South Philly I'm reminded of the scene from Rocky Balboa where Rocky is running through the Italian market in South Philly and it's all Mexicans and Orientals. Or the scene where Paulie makes the comment about how all the food cooked at Rocky's Italian restaurant is done by Mexicans. And this movie was 15 years ago. I can only imagine how much worse it has gotten since.


Pogo

My understanding is that there has been a lot of Latino and Asian (a lot of Vietnamese apparently ) migration to South Philly, as well as some gentrification. But I have a friend who lives near Packer Park and that section at least seems to remain very strongly Italian.

70% according to this website https://statisticalatlas.com/neighborho ... k/Ancestry

[Gabagool718]

Gravesend definitely still has a strong Italian presence along with pockets of bhust/dyker and BayRidge Marine park and some pockets of mill basin (although it’s gotten quite dark there over the past 20 years), east Bronx throngs neck country club and alotta old timers in Morris park as well (Pelham bay has really gone to shit) Howard beach and Middle village in queens are probably the most Italian areas in NYC outside of Staten

[Amershire_Ed]

I have a buddy that lived around 15th and Tasker a few years ago and he was the only white guy on his block. It was like 97% Vietnamese.

[Jbravo]

South shore staten island

[PolackTony]

Gravesend definitely still has a strong Italian presence along with pockets of bhust/dyker and BayRidge Marine park and some pockets of mill basin (although it’s gotten quite dark there over the past 20 years), east Bronx throngs neck country club and alotta old timers in Morris park as well (Pelham bay has really gone to shit) Howard beach and Middle village in queens are probably the most Italian areas in NYC outside of Staten

Marine Park for sure. I didn’t mention HB etc as I’m rarely in that area of QU. I’d estimate just based on personal impression that Country Club is around 50% Italian. Throggs Neck really encompasses several distinct areas, of course, so areas like Locust Point, Silver Beach, the waterfront by Schurz Ave, still have many Italians (as well as Irish, some German-Americans), while, say, Lafayette and Tremont is heavily PR/Dominican now. Pelham Bay has really changed dramatically even in the last decade, and Morris Park as well, but the eastern end of MP (what some call “Indian Village”, right next to Jacobi) seems to have changed a bit less. But tons of Albanians all through that whole Pelham Pkwy/MP area, of course. It wasn’t that long ago that one still saw some Italians around Westchester Square, I don’t know how many are left today.

[Extortion]

It’s worth considering too, that even in neighborhoods where Italians are now the minority, but a substantial one where they compose like ~25% of the population, own many properties and businesses, and have had a long-standing presence, a “racket subculture” may still persist. While there are tons of Chinese, or Uzbeks, etc, in Bensonhurst or Gravesend, the Italian minority is still a visible and significant presence. Bridgeport in Chicago still has many old school Italian families, despite the large Chinese influx. There are many Latinos and Albanians in Morris Park, Bronx, but still quite a few Italians from what I can tell. Not that the majority of Italians in these areas have or want anything to do with the mob, of course. But while greatly diminished, there is still some basis for that kind of street culture to persist I think.

As an analogy, I lived in the Sunset Park area of Brooklyn for a while. The area has a major concentration of Chinese, but they form like ~40% of the total neighborhood population. My impression is that they have an OC presence, revolving around gambling, prostitution, some drugs (ketamine seems to be especially popular among the Chinese in BK). I have absolutely no idea who these guys are, what their networks or activities are like (apart from some obviously shady karaoke bars and “massage parlors”). But I’d imagine that many Chinese in the neighborhood know who these people are.

Yes. You’re thinking of these guys:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_Leon ... ssociation