You can throw the article out right here. The Westies killed much more among themselves than they ever did for the Italians. And Featherstone never set foot in the neighborhood again. And Hell's Kitchen is still made up largely of "theater service people"? Really?

A 300 square foot studio apartment in that neighborhood will run you close to two grand a month today. That's a fact, look it up. So unless she means well-paid actors and actresses by "theater service people," she's just putting some spin on the story to keep the "Old New York" mystique alive.

Believe me, I wish the neighborhood still had that kind of character. You can't swing a dead cat on the West Side today without hitting a Panera Bread or a Starbucks. I'm sure the article was well intended, but it ended up a typical pre-Saint Paddy's day article straight out of the Irish Echo.