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Feel free to leave me some positive feedback, about your experience. It’s always nice to know that people appreciate my efforts! 🙂 Go ahead and make my day! No autographs please! Lol…Thank you!
Italian Harlem
Embracing the memory of when East Harlem was Italian!
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DONATIONS ARE MOST APPRECIATED! GRAZIE MILLE!
Hello! I created this ancestral urban history blog, way back in 2008. At one point or another, I thought about adding a donation button, but felt indifferent about asking for money from my readership. At this point in time, after over 14 years of keeping the memories alive and ticking, I decided to ask for donations! :-) I intend to upgrade this site, by adding more storage space, in order to upload audio, video, more photos, etc. I'd also like to do a podcast, and to finally scan all of the ephemera/memorabilia/vintage photos, that I have been collecting for over 15 years! I look forward to the journey! Thanks so much for your donation! I really appreciate it! Best regards, Angela :-)
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Italian Harlem 
Angela helped me to find information on my family who lived in East Harlem in the 1920’s. Thru her knowledge and hard work, she was able to find information that I had been searching for almost two years! I cannot thank her enough. I commend her on her unwavering dedication to this site.
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Love this thank you. I was born 123 st and Pleasant Avenue 1941…. My family lived there until the late 60/s .. Our name is Giampetruzzi. Mother Aida Father Johnny Red, Brother Frankie Red, sister Jo Red and me Baby or Joan. lol
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Webzines are often a hit or miss proposition. Sometimes they’re great, but more often than not, they’re poorly designed, with equally bad editorial content. But Angela Bella’s “Italian Harlem” is one of the few that need to be regularly read. The images are delightful to look at, and you can quickly tell that the writing isn’t just thrown together. This site is obviously a labor of love for Angela, and she should be commended for her efforts to keep alive the spirit of the neighborhood she grew up in. In my opinion, her “Italian Harlem” is in a category by itself.
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What an amazing website ! I am working on family history and Angela gave me so much background. She gave me such a clear picture of the neighborhood and the parishes
during the early 1900’s. I am so excited about the information she shared. Hopefully with this background, I will be able to find the specific information I am looking for. Thanks, so much !
Cris Herbert
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Angela……Italian-Harlem has been an inspiration for many Friends and Classmates specifically OLMC to communicate once again about a wonderful time and memories growing up in EastHarlem…To the fact that we are creating a dataBase of friends&classmates to distribute so we all will be in the same place.
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I love your site. Thank you so much. It brings me back even though I grew up in Brooklyn. I thought everyone was Italian growing up… even Elvis lol. Grazie tanto, Dio benedica.
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Piecing together one’s family background can be an interesting and rewarding experience but it can also be a bit daunting. I’ve often regretted not paying closer attention to stories shared by family members or for not having asked the right questions or any questions at all for that matter. Nonetheless, I pieced together whatever information I had and started asking questions to those old enough to have some answers; but often times there were contradictory details or dead ends that seemed to defy answers! That’s when I happened to stumble upon Angela Bella Puco’s Italian Harlem website and took her up on her offer to help. Angela did yeoman’s work searching for family connections and among other details found the ship manifest for my maternal grandmother and aunts arrival in New York’s, Ellis Island! Needless to say, these new finds spurred on my interest to uncovering new bits of hidden ancestry. I’m happy to say that my oldest son has now taken up the challenge by researching his mother’s side of the family. Thanks a million, Angela!
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Truly enjoyed this blog, Thank You!
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Brought back wonderful memories. Loved seeing the streets and people even though I recognized no one. Lived there fro 1941 to 1960 ……………Thank you again. Family name Giampetruzzi. ty again
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I saw your photo of your Aunt Columbia it rung a bell because she waqs married to my Uncle Anthony [Tithe] Altieri the last time I saw my uncle he waqs already retired still living op the stairs into their well cared for apartment early on we lived at 351 Pleasant Ave. Aunt Ida lived 1 black away Aunt Mary live around the corner cousin Kiki lived above Aunt Ida. Happy to see pictures of family glad you keep up site.
Thank you Andrew Altieri
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You need more old photos of Italian Harlem I have a photo you might be interested in how do I send it ????
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italianharlem@gmail.com
Send any photos pertaining to Italian Harlem. I will be more than happy to share them! Thank you!
Angela
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The picture of the three people sitting in front of a small brownstone looks very familiar to me. My friend Arnold Maggi and his family lived in and owned that building. It had a small back yard with just a basketball net that we would try to throw a ball through. His father was a sculpture and mad many statues for the churches. This building was on Pleasant Ave. between 116th and 117th street. [The river side]. I mention in the past that Arnold and I live about 150 yards away from each other. Thanks for the memories….Vincent.
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Great web site for those who lived there. Don any one have information on the Jefferson Park Fresh Air Home in Long Branch NJ. We would go there for 10 days in the summer months with mother and children, no fathers. If was sponsored by the Church on 114th street and 2nd Ave facing the Park.
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can somwone add my dad to the list of nicknames in harlem his nickname was Alahambra aka tony rizzo thank you means alot since we left harlem late 80s thank you
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I was born in 1934 at 433 Pleasant Ave. and left East Harlem in 1951. During that span of years I was blessed to go to P.S. 78 on 119th Street, and was an altar boy at Holy Rosary also at 119th Street. After graduating 6th grade at P.S. 78 I attended Thomas Jefferson Jr. High School (part of BFHS) for 2 weeks – once the race riots started my mom had me transferred to St. Cecelia’s on 106th Street. The Irish Christian Brothers were like SS troopers, but gave me the discipline needed to study and go on to Cardinal Hayes HS and then onto Manhattan College.
The brownstone I lived in was located between 122nd and 123rd, across from a small park and the East River Drive. My grandmother and grandfather, Vito and Felicia Celentano lived on the ground and first floor, we lived on the second foor and my aunt Rose and uncle Pat lived on the third floor. My uncle Joe and his wife Catherine lived at 429 Pleasant Avenue and my uncle Daniel Celentano, the artist, lived at 421 Pleasant Ave. My uncle Rocco Celentano lived on 118th between Pleasant Avenue and the Drive. We always had aunts, uncles, and cousins coming to our house to visit their mother and father (my grandparents).
If this wasn’t enough of a blessing from God – I married Marie Raimo, who lived at 437 Pleasant Avenue. If I wrote my life’s story it would end up in the fictional section of the library!
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My grandmother was a Trimarco her family lived in Italian Harlem. She grew up in an apartment on Cathedral Parkway on Central Park North. Around 1900-18. They also owned a pharmacy the Felitti’s on East 114th St. I would like if you could ,post about the politics of Italian Harlem and Mayor LaGuardia who came from there. A relative of mine worked for him his entire career from Congressman to Mayor. It was in it’s day the most progressive community in the US. Thank you.
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This is an amazing resource and I’m so glad I came across your site. If Italian Harlem had survived it would be the biggest tourist attraction in NYC and it is sad that it only exists is in the memories of the people who lived there. Thank you so much for preserving those memories and history. Reading the comments on this site is almost like being able to visit Italian Harlem and meet the people.
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Angela, I came across your site looking for a copy of The Pleasant Ave Connection. One click leads to another and another etc and here I am! Born on E115st between Pleasant and 1st Ave. Moved to 2nd Ave between 116-117 St. Graduated from OLMCS and we moved to The Bronx. Reading some of these comments brought my childhood right back. Thank you!
Marie
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