I might have been overly harsh on NYC, but when I spent time there last summer, and not just in Manhattan, it struck me how much the place has changed. It was chalk full of white yuppies, Chinese, Indian/Pakistani/Bangladeshi/Arab types (they didn't appear happy or personable either), they didn't represent the NYC I grew up thinking existed. It wasn't just the lack of Italian Americans either, those old black and Irish American neighborhoods are quickly coming a thing of the past too. NYC isn't going to be producing the next Jimmy Burke anytime soon.
Well that's a fair point, but a lot of that has to with the fact that there aren't really many Italians immigrating here anymore. The overwhelming majority of Italian families in the US came here between 1880 and 1920. General attrition has thinned the bloodline and these neighborhoods can't possibly stay Italian anymore. The Italians, Irish, European Jews, et al. have assimilated into mainstream American society. The "New Immigrants" are the ones that you just mentioned (Chinese, Indian/Pakistani/Bangladeshi/Arab types).
For the record: Do we really need another Jimmy Burke? The guy was a psycho killer
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