Where is Little Italy? Mamdani's map of immigrant neighborhoods faces criticism

New York City Without Italians, Jews, or Irish?

It appears that Mayor Zoran Mamdani’s map of “immigrant enclaves” might suggest this.

“Mamdani City Hall can find space for every trendy progressive group, but somehow it can’t find Little Italy.”

This map, which outlines 30 immigrant communities across the five boroughs, has faced criticism for omitting one of the city’s well-known “small” areas, Little Italy.

The listed enclaves feature places like Chinatown in Manhattan, Little Egypt in Queens, and Little Haiti in Brooklyn.

“They could include a Little Bod Tibet, but where’s Little Italy, the original ‘Little Neighborhood’?” City Councilwoman Joanne Arriola (R-Queens) remarked to the New York Post.

She also questioned, “What about neighborhoods like Woodlawn in the Bronx, home to a significant Irish immigrant population? Are Irish and Italians irrelevant for city leadership?”

Mike Crispi, president of the Italian American Civil Rights League, accused Mamdani of “erasing” Little Italy, calling it “cultural erasure.” He emphasized its historical significance to Italian immigrants who contributed to New York’s identity.

“Mamdani City Hall can find space for every fashionable progressive group, but somehow it can’t find Little Italy,” Crispi reiterated.

The league’s social media account further expressed outrage, stating, “Italian-Americans built New York City, not third-world Ugandans. We oppose the communists!”

This isn’t the first conflict between Mamdani and the Italian-American community. In the previous mayoral campaign, he faced backlash after older posts resurfaced in which he was seen disrespecting a statue of Christopher Columbus.

The map was also criticized for not including neighborhoods with sizable Jewish populations. Author Avital Chizik-Goldschmidt commented, “The mayor’s office created a map featuring Little Africa, Little Poland, and Little Palestine but failed to represent 11 percent of the city’s population. It’s perplexing.”

Former Republican mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt described the exclusion of Italian, Jewish, and Irish enclaves as “deliberate subversion,” labeling it as “intentional vandalism.” He equated this omission to excluding similar ethnic neighborhoods from Los Angeles.

A City Hall spokesperson defended the map, clarifying that it focuses on neighborhoods with substantial foreign-born populations rather than religious designations, and noted that Little Odessa, included on the map, has a large Jewish population.