Besides the MDC, ofcourse.

Don't know, seems like Manhattan has became gentrified over the years with neighborhoods like East Harlem, Little Italy, and Hells Kitchen going away. I'm sure some still do

I wonder if any still live in Williamsburg and what they think of all the hipsters there!

The Graham ave section of Williamsburg still has plenty of mobbed up spots & made guys living there. You have to understand that W'burg is like 6 different, separate neighborhoods in 1 (Italian, Hasidic Jews, Puerto Ricans, Hipsters, Polish..)

I had read once that John "Jackie Nose" D'Amico live in an east side high-rise...

I walked down 10th avenue in the former Hell's Kitchen recently. The change in manhattan, the rate of develoement is undescribable. I wonder how manhattan's uninterrupted growth occurrs while the rest of us are still in recession?

As for williamsburg, yeah there are still some italian shops and stuff on graham, lorimer and metropolitan. I think a lucchese bookmaker and pork store owner was recently arrested there. East williamsburg is also where durso recorded his genovese pals. Also Bamontes restaurant is still in operation next to the BQE.

napolitano pharmacy right of graham ave , i always assumed that was sonny black related, never had the balls to ask in anyone in there motion lounge is now a fancy architects office or something pretty weird

Yep. Most of the Italians are in Via Vespucci (e.g. North end of Graham Ave).

I think the hipster area is on the north side by the river, right? North 5th street seems to be
one of the trendy blocks.

Two words: Bloom Berg .

But all kidiing aside, it's Bloomy's "branding" of Manhattan that has turned the place into Hollywood East. The economy never affects places like Beverly Hills, right? Well, there's so much money living in Manhattan today that construction has become recession proof. I read an article just this week stating that over SEVENTY FIVE PERCENT of new construction below 96th Street is on "luxury buildings," with an average starting price of over $800,000 for a one bedroom. It's crazy.

Now I admit that I voted for Bloomberg the first two terms, but I couldn't get past what he did with the term limits just to get himself four more years. That's why I hope to God someone can knock this Quinn out of the box. Voting for her is like voting a fourth term for Bloomberg.

Not to get off topic but who's running against her PB?

It looks like Weiner will primary her for the Dems. A year ago that would have been a joke, but he's building some steam now. The Republican nominee is still anyone's guess. I was hoping that Ray Kelly would have run, but that's a longshot right now.

News had Weiner on the front page the other day playing goalie

Wasn't Guiliani a pretty solid mayor? I've heard Bloomberg has done a pretty good job. But if there's a reasonable republican running it would be interesting to see how that turns out. The GOP tends to be more moderate in the northern states.

Well, Bloomberg isn't a real anything. He changes parties whenever it suits him. Not that that matters to me. I favor the Independents nowadays anyway. And like I said, Bloomberg's first two terms were solid. I voted for him twice, but his ego is out of control now.

Okay, enough of that. Back on topic.

Right of course. So I was under the impression manhattan wasn't exactly a hotbed for wiseguys. Being it the touristy part of New York

Right, but that's now. Don't forget that Mulberry Street, the West Village and East Harlem all fall within Manhattan's boundaries. So at one time, you had three neighborhoods that were hotbeds for OC activity. And that's not even mentioning the mid-westside, formerly known as Hell's Kitchen, which was Ground Zero for the Irish hoods (and more than a few Italians as well).

So obviously there's still some crews of the 5 families in Manhattan. So since many of the neighborhoods are gone, where do they even operate in now?

Nicky you still have a presence there without physically being there.

PB I remember in another thread you mentioning you're more likely to find a gay guy or a Chinese dude on mulberry street this day and age made me laugh but it's true. I still remember visiting little Italy a few years ago seeing all the Italian flags and shops but wondering where all the Italians were.

That's right. The main mob "presence" in Manhattan is in construction. There aren't any "Little Italiies" left in Manhattan. So as far as things like social clubs and numbers stores go, well, they're pretty much all gone. The wiseguys split for the suburbs and the outer boroughs, just like Italian Americans in general.

It's funny, though. The old Little Italy (Canal Street to Houston Street, and the Bowery to around Lafayette Street) has gotten to be one of the most expensive neighborhoods in Manhattan. A full one bedroom will run you at least $3000 a month down there. It's just ironic because the reason that the Italians all left was to assimilate into "nicer" neighborhoods. Today that's one of the nicest neighborhoods in Manhattan.

It's a shame that those very same Italian Americans who want to move back there now are often priced out. According to the 2010 census, there isn't a single Italian born resident living in that zip code. It's all over.

AT PB well if there aren't any Italians left in that area then who occupies it ? I have an idea but I think we both know the answer to that

Does ANYONE besides the super rich live in Manhattan anymore?

Yuppies and professionals. The hipsters can't even afford that area. Why do you think Williamsburg took off like it did? It's in close proximity and about 2/3rds the price (For now; the real estate market will eventually put an end to that, too).

The Chinese are getting priced out as well. At the 2010 census, the Chinese population below Canal Street dropped for the first time in fifty years. Hell, even the gays are getting priced out of the Village. They moved on up to Chelsea. And God knows that they're good at managing money (relax, that's a GOOD stereotype).

Well, I never said you had to be SUPER rich. But if you're making less than a hundred grand a year you're going to have a hard time today. A professional couple should easily be able to swing it.

Can anyone explain to me why Realestate is so damn expensive in little Italy and the village? Or New York and the northeast in general? North end Boston is super expensive as well

It's a trend. The Hollywood types have really made lower Manhattan jump in price this past five or so years. More tv shows are being filmed here than ever before. It's a supply and demand thing.

I just feel sorry for people who have lived in a neighborhood all their lives, who get priced out, all to make room for a twat like Lindsay fucking Lohan. And I'm just using that particular twat as an example. It could be any one of them.

I own property in three boroughs, Manhattan among them. My property on West 8th Street is my pride and joy. It belonged to my aunt and uncle for many years, and I'll never sell it. Ever. But I try to at least be reasonable with the rentals. I'd much rather rent to three NYU kids than some hipster writer schmuck with televison aspirations .

I tell you what when I was deciding what college to go to i was accepted to Suffolk which is in the right in the middle of downtown Boston. They only offered one year of guaranteed housing. So we were looking at places in the north end and the shopping district. We could not find a place cheap enough to stay all three years, not even with a roommate. North end is fun: great food, shops, entertainment, and plenty of Italians still live there but to live there as college student you gotta get a job or something because rent is only going up.

That in a nutshell is why I decided to go to Lasell instead haha

I bet your property in Manhattan is worth a fortune! It's interesting to me how NYC has evolved. In the 1980's NYC was still pretty raw and you still had rough areas in Manhattan. Now all those areas are gentrified. Times Square was seedy but now it's all touristy.

There was also a small "little italy" on 1st avenue between 14th street and 8th street. Veniero's, DeRoberts and Lanza's are located there. Luciano was raised in the neighborhood (10th street) and the mob supposedly operated a bar called LuLu's there. Gambinos also operated out of DeRoberts. I don't know if it could be classified as a "little italy" but it was a heavily italian downtown section and was not attached to the mulberry little italy or the greenwich village section.

Would love to see a map with all the historical crews and there old haunts mapped out. Gigantes old social club is an upscale tea shop now.