Mamdani says he will change map of immigrant neighborhoods after backlash

NEW YORK CITY (WABC) -- After facing backlash, Mayor Mamdani says he's making changes to a map of New York City's immigrant neighborhoods.

The map highlighted 30 areas across the five boroughs, including Koreatown, Little Pakistan and Little Yemen, but it notably left out Little Italy.

New Yorkers were not happy.

Mamdani says he's making adjustments.

Ferrara Bakery in Manhattan's Little Italy was opened in 1892 by Ernest Lepore's family.

"We love celebrating pastry and cookies. And it's a valid product. And it brings us back to how did they do it years ago," Lepore said.

He was a little surprised when Little Italy was not originally included on the city's "Immigrant Enclave" map, released as part of a tourism guide amidst the World Cup.

Three Chinatowns, Little Bangladesh, Little Poland and more than 20 other vibrant immigrant communities across the five boroughs were highlighted.

However, in a town famous for being a melting pot, the map's release lead to swift backlash about the cultures that weren't included.

Staten Island Borough President Vito Fosella, an Italian American, says the problem wasn't just the lack of Little Italy, but also no mention of Jewish Americans in Brooklyn, nor Sri Lankans on Staten Island and more.

In a statement, he said, "Ignorance is not a good ingredient for highlighting the sacrifices of so many who built this City and gave so much."

On Friday, Mayor Mamdani announced he would add Little Italy to the map, which he said was created in 2023.

"When we inherited it, we added a few additional neighborhoods. It's clearly not an exhaustive list of the more than 200 ethnic communities that call our city home. We are going to be making additional changes in the future to reflect that," Mamdani said.

Former Mayor Eric Adams' spokesperson said they don't accept the blame for the oversight.

Tourists, meanwhile, in Little Italy are just glad to hear it was remedied.

"I think it's really cool because, like being Italian, it's cool to see all like the little shops and like the culture because I can't go to Italy, it's pretty hard to get there," Gianna Catalanotta, with Visiting NYC, said.

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