New York City will update its immigrant enclaves maps to add Little Italy after criticism over an omission that also left out historically Jewish and Irish neighborhoods. The city’s map had highlighted 30 immigrant communities across the five boroughs.
The change follows backlash after the map resurfaced on social media earlier this week. For readers looking at the map now, the practical result is simple: Little Italy is set to be added, while the city has not laid out the full revision in public detail.
Robert Davi and Astoria
Robert Davi, the actor born in Astoria, Queens, posted a video on X on Friday criticizing Zohran Mamdani. In that video, Davi called Mamdani a jerk for snubbing Little Italy and said, “I hope every New York Italian American and Irish American spits on you when they see you.”
He also said, “I would spit on you if I saw you. Shame on you. You garbage man. Shame on you. Respect the city you're in and understand the people who helped build it.” He added, “My grandparents came from Sicily and Naples and they taught me, speak the English. This is America. God bless America.”
Zohran Mamdani and New York City
Mamdani was born in Kampala, Uganda, and moved to the United States when he was 7 years old. The criticism centered on the city recognizing 30 immigrant communities while leaving out Little Italy and the historically Jewish and Irish neighborhoods that drew the backlash.
That omission became the point of the dispute. Italian-American groups objected first, then the city said it plans to update the map to include Little Italy, which turns the issue from a static list into a revision of who gets named on the city’s public map.
For residents and neighborhood groups, the immediate change is recognition, not a new service or deadline. The open question is whether the update stops at Little Italy or broadens the map further, but the city has only said it will revise the list after the backlash.
