Little Italy is a neighborhood in Manhattan, New York City, once known for its population of Italian immigrants.
Formerly, the neighborhood included all of Elizabeth, Mott and Mulberry Streets north of Canal Street, together with the surrounding area. As Italian-Americans left Manhattan for other boroughs and the suburbs in the middle of the Twentieth Century, the neighborhood recognizable as Little Italy gradually shrank. Large portions of the neighborhood were absorbed by Chinatown, as immigrants from China and other East Asian countries moved to the area. The northern reaches of Little Italy, near Houston Street, also ceased to be recognizably Italian, and eventually became the neighborhood known today as NoLIta, an abbreviation for North of Little Italy. Today, the section of Mulberry Street between Broome and Canal Streets, lined with Italian restaurants popular with tourists, remains distinctly recognizable as Little Italy.
The Feast of San Gennaro is a large street fair, lasting 11 days, that takes place every September along Mulberry Street between Houston Street and Canal Street.