Italian Harlem
Italian Harlem is a neiborhood in East Harlem, formerly inhabitated by a large Italian American population. Today Italian Harlem is called Spanish Harlem because of its large Latino population. In the late 1800's and early 1900's a huge wave of immigrants came from Southern Italy and Sicily moved around Pleasant Avenue in East Harlem.
Today
Today East Harlem still has a small existing Italian American population. Few Italian vestiges remain from the old days including a Barber Shop, a Bakery, Patsy's Pizzia and Rao's. Most of the Italian American population has left and replaced by Puerto Ricans, although their is still a small thriving Italian American population.
Today, Italian Harlem still exists. The 1990 Census shows only 918 Italian-Americans living in Italian Harlem. Most of these predominantly older residents are clustered around Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church