Wakefield, apparently, was once largely Italian. Most of the Postal workers were still Italian and many, many old timers in the neighborhood were Italian. On White Plains road there was a storefront simply called "Espresso". It never got any mail and was always closed. One day I saw it open, full of old Italian guys. The clerks were talking about a guy named "Mongo" who used to run the neighborhood.
Near the old A&M bakery, right?
And yes, Wakefield had loads of Italians back then, but it wasn't a "stronghold" like Belmont or Pelham Bay. But Carpenter Avenue, from the hospital all the way up to the Mount Vernon line, was full of private houses owned by Italians. Today that area is 90 percent Haitian and Jamaican. You can't even walk the steets at night.
Not sure about "Mongo," unless they mean Big Mike. He had a few numbers stores in that neighborhood that he ran for the Westside.
But in terms of this discussion, PizzaBoy was talking about what I presume to be a hardcore inner-city neighborhood that has against all odds remained almost entirely Irish.
That's correct, Jonny. Although Woodlawn is actually on the Yonkers line, it's still clearly the Bronx. But it's a little more middle class than the area you described in Chicago. Lots of families and private houses.
