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\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
Ben Shapiro<\/p>\n
New York City has long been celebrated as a city of immigrant neighborhoods. Little Italy, Chinatown, Harlem, Washington Heights, Brighton Beach \u2014 these communities tell the story of generations of newcomers who helped build America\u2019s largest city while gradually becoming part of it.<\/p>\n
That history makes one omission from Mayor Zohran Mamdani\u2019s recently released map of immigrant communities particularly striking.<\/p>\n
Little Italy wasn\u2019t there.<\/p>\n
Instead, the map highlighted a series of neighborhoods identified as \u201cLittle Pakistan,\u201d \u201cLittle Senegal,\u201d \u201cLittle Yemen\u201d and even \u201cLittle Palestine.\u201d City Hall defended the project by saying it was never intended to identify religious enclaves but rather neighborhoods with substantial foreign-born populations from around the world.<\/p>\n
That explanation raises an obvious question: If the goal was to recognize immigrant communities, how does one leave out perhaps the most iconic immigrant neighborhood in New York City?<\/p>\n
Little Italy is more than a tourist destination. It represents one of the defining chapters in the city\u2019s history \u2014 a reminder of the millions of Italian immigrants who arrived in America, endured discrimination, built businesses and eventually became woven into the fabric of American life. Omitting it while highlighting far newer and, in some cases, unofficial neighborhood designations sends a message, whether intended or not, about which immigrant stories deserve recognition.<\/p>\n
The omission also fits a broader pattern.<\/p>\n
During the protests of 2020, Mamdani posted a photograph of himself making an obscene gesture toward a statue of Christopher Columbus, accompanied by the caption, \u201cTake it down.\u201d Columbus has become a lightning rod in America\u2019s culture wars, but for many Italian Americans, his monuments represent more than one historical figure. They symbolize a community that fought for acceptance in a country where Italians were once treated as outsiders.<\/p>\n
Seen through that lens, leaving Little Italy off the map appears less like an oversight than another step in distancing the city from parts of its own heritage.<\/p>\n
Questions about Mamdani\u2019s priorities extend beyond symbolism.<\/p>\n
According to reporting by City Journal, New York City\u2019s Office for International Affairs recently scheduled a meeting between Commissioner Ana Maria Archila and Iran\u2019s ambassador to the United Nations. The meeting was reportedly canceled after intervention from higher authorities, and the State Department reminded city officials that foreign policy is conducted by the federal government, not municipal governments.<\/p>\n
The same reporting also alleged that staff within the mayor\u2019s international affairs office were instructed to \u201cprioritize diplomatic engagement\u201d with governments viewed as politically aligned with the administration. Among the examples cited were efforts to engage officials connected to Iran and Colombian President Gustavo Petro, as well as participation in conferences hosted by the Party of European Socialists.<\/p>\n
Whether one agrees with those priorities or not, they raise legitimate questions about the role a city government should play on the international stage. New York has every reason to maintain relationships with foreign governments and international institutions, particularly as host to the United Nations. But conducting diplomacy based primarily on ideological affinity rather than municipal interests risks blurring the line between city governance and foreign policy.<\/p>\n
Supporters dismiss these concerns by arguing that a mayor\u2019s authority is limited. They contend that campaign rhetoric often exceeds what any municipal executive can realistically accomplish.<\/p>\n
History, however, offers plenty of examples of political leaders using local offices to reshape institutions, influence public culture, and redirect investment long before they gain broader power.<\/p>\n
Indeed, some investors have already expressed concern about New York\u2019s political direction. If businesses and property owners begin viewing the city as increasingly hostile to investment or economic growth, those perceptions alone can influence where capital flows.<\/p>\n
Ultimately, the controversy over Little Italy is not simply about a map. It reflects competing visions of what New York represents.<\/p>\n
One vision sees the city as the culmination of generations of immigrants who arrived from around the world and gradually forged a common American identity. The other places greater emphasis on preserving distinct identities and highlighting newer communities while giving less attention to older ones that have largely assimilated.<\/p>\n
A map tells a story about what matters, what deserves recognition, and what belongs in a city\u2019s collective memory. When one of New York\u2019s most historic immigrant neighborhoods disappears from that story, people are right to ask why. Whether intentional or accidental, erasing Little Italy from the city\u2019s official narrative risks erasing part of New York\u2019s own history. And if history is any guide, today\u2019s symbolic omissions often foreshadow tomorrow\u2019s political priorities.<\/p>\n
Ben Shapiro is a graduate of UCLA and Harvard Law School, host of \u201cThe Ben Shapiro Show,\u201d and co-founder of Daily Wire+. He is a three-time New York Times bestselling author. To find out more about Ben Shapiro and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ben Shapiro New York City has long been celebrated as a city of immigrant neighborhoods. Little Italy, Chinatown,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":33695,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[22872,22871,4218,5],"class_list":["post-33694","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-italy","tag-ben-shapiro-erasing-little-italy-is-about-more-than-a-map","tag-ben-shapiro-erasing-little-italy-is-about-more-than-a-mapopinion","tag-columns","tag-italy"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33694","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33694"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33694\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33695"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33694"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33694"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33694"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}