DONATIONS ACCEPTED WITH GRATITUDE!
Posted: May 23, 2020 Filed under: donation | Tags: donation, East Harlem, east side, gratitude, grazie mille, historian, History, Italian American, Italian East Harlemites, Italian Harlem, Italian Immigration, Italy, labor of love, Manhattan, New York City, nyc history, Pleasant Avenue, second generation italian american, Urban History 10 Comments
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 12 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 🙂
$12.00
Antonino Carroccio: A Day in the Life
Posted: February 3, 2018 Filed under: Angela's picture galleries, digital photography, East Harlem, Italian East Harlem, NEW YORK ITALIANS, Tenements, Vintage Photography | Tags: carroccio, cheese shop, History, Italian, Manhattan, New York City, Nostalgia, nyc, shops of italian harlem, vintage east harlem 2 CommentsAbout a month and a half ago, I checked my email inbox, and found this wonderful vintage photo. It made my day! Grazie mille, Paolo!
The man standing near the doorway is Antonino Carroccio. He is the paternal grandfather of Paul Carroccio, who was kind enough to share this fabulous vintage photo, circa 1928. The man sitting in the truck, was Morris Croot, a farmer from Holland Township, New Jersey.
Antonino was part owner of a family-run cheese shop, “Latticini” located at 311 East 107th St., N.Y.C. His father, Alfio Carroccio, came to America in 1890, and settled in a tenement building at 311 E. 107th Street. Subsequently, Alfio opened this latticini/cheese shop, selling mozzarella, ricotta, eggs, butter, milk, etc. After establishing this business in East Harlem’s Italian quarter, Alfio returned to Sicily around 1904, and left the business to his sons, Antonino, and Alfio, Jr.
Paul mentioned in his email to me, that the cheese was originally made locally in East Harlem, but the milk they bought to make the cheese, came from New Jersey. However, the family continued to do that until 1908, when they decided to rent a location in New Jersey (to make the cheese) nearby to where they bought the milk, for freshness sake. So began the shipping of cheese (in ice) to East Harlem! The cheese from the Carroccio’s Latticini shop was sold to local residents, Rao’s restaurant, on Pleasant Avenue, and many other establishments. Hey, come to think of it, I bet that my grandparents, and great-grandparents bought cheese and other items from this cheese shop! If only I could ask them! AIEH…thanks for the memories!
My Motivation Behind the Creation of ItalianHarlem.com- My Father, Albert :-)
Posted: October 27, 2015 Filed under: Angela's picture galleries, But Not Forgotten!, East Harlem, Genealogy & DNA, Italian Americans, Italian East Harlem, Vintage Photography, Voices of East Harlem | Tags: 1800's, 1900's, Blogging, Digital Memorial, East Harlem, Family, Family History, Harlem, Historical, History, Immigrants, Italian, Italian American, Italian East Harlem, Italian Harlem, Italian Immigrants, Little Italy, Manhattan, Memory, Motivation, New York City, Nostalgia, nyc, Tenement, Tenement Life, Tenements, Turn of the Century, Urban History, Urban Jungle 10 Comments In December of 2007, I was 3 years into my “whirling dervish” obsession of gaining every drop of family history knowledge that I could garner. It became self-evident that my ancestral journey had begun, and so I conceived the idea of creating a website to memorialize, and forever “etch” into existence, the information that I would render from this extensive research. I named my website “Pathway to My Ancestry,” and so began the painstaking steps to build the site on the then existing “Live Spaces” platform. A few years into building the site, live spaces was drawing to closure, thereby necessitating me to find another platform to maintain my website. Hence, I found WordPress, and so here I am, and hopefully, will continue to be! In the interim, I had to transfer whatever was transferable to the new website, and decided to change the title of my blog to “Italian Harlem.”
Consequently, my ancestral journey transitioned from a personal family history journey, to a much broader sense of consciousness…that of the desire for public awareness of a now defunct Italian community in New York City. This “microcosm” of an urban neighborhood was “developed” in the 1870’s, with the building of tenement housing, and was originally inhabited by Italian immigrants, primarily male laborers. I discovered a broader sense of the “pulse” of this Italian community, through the voices of my father, his brothers, sisters, cousins, and others who once lived in East Harlem, when it was referred to by its residents as “Harlem.” As I listened to the stories of a bygone time, resounding with carefree thoughts of the “good old days,” it occurred to me that there was much more to this old neighborhood than the stories that were resonating in my mind. I was right! The posts that I have shared, and will share, within this blog, are a testament to the true nature, and fabric of a place that really mattered to a multitude of Italian immigrants and their families.
As I am drawing near to the 11th year anniversary of what has become a nostalgic endeavor of “genealogical/anthropological/sociological/historical” research of “Ye Olde Italian Harlem,” I must tell you that this historical journey has been, and will continue to be an intrinsic part of my life here on this planet. My interest in preserving the memory of Italian Harlem will never falter. My research is a true passion of mine, one of many passions that I am fortunate enough to have in my life, including first, and foremost, my beautiful children, a loving and devoted husband, and my adorable rescue Shih Tzu furbaby “Romeo.” I also embrace my love of photography, and my fascination for the metaphysical sciences!
If there was one person that instilled in me an interest in the history of Italian Harlem, it was my father. My dad was born in 1924 in a tenement apartment on East 110th Street, right next to St. Ann’s Church. He was one of 7 children. His dad, Anthony (Tony) was a produce shop owner, who also sold fruits and vegetables on a pushcart on First Avenue. My dad’s mom, Catherine (Katie) was a seamstress, church secretary, playwright/producer, milliner,(hatmaker) homemaker, realtor, entrepreneur…a true Renaissance woman. I learned so much about my grandparents, and great grandparents, thanks to the amazing memory of my father, Albert, and his siblings. I am forever grateful to them for sharing with me, through their youthful eyes, their life and times in the old neighborhood.
My father, who was “larger than life,” passed away 3 days before his 89th birthday, in January of 2013. I dedicate this website to the memory of my wonderful and charismatic father, who was known by many as “Uncle Al.” Although he had hoped to live to “a hun 10,” (as he would often say,) his bright spirit and memory lives on throughout this weblog and within the lives of those who knew, and very much loved him.
An East Harlem Scene from “The Godfather”: Sonny Corleone(James Caan) beats up his brother-in-law Carlo(Gianni Russo.)
Posted: July 6, 2013 Filed under: East Harlem, FYI, Italian East Harlem, Movies Filmed in East Harlem, New York City, Pleasant Avenue, Tenements | Tags: ahun 18th Street, East 118th Street, East Harlem, New York City, The Godfather Movie 7 CommentsThe Godfather Movie:Click on this link to view YouTube video- Sonny Corleone(James Caan) beats up his brother-in-law Carlo(Gianni Russo.)
In this scene from The Godfather, James Caan seeks revenge for the unmerciful beating of his pregnant sister, Connie Rizzi. He heads for East Harlem’s E. 118th Street, to brutally beat up his wife-beating brother-in-law Carlo Rizzi(played by Gianni Russo.)
The scene was filmed on the 500 block of East 118th Street. My family and I lived there before this movie was filmed. The stoop that Carlo(wearing an orange and tan suit) is standing on-before he attempts to run from crazed Sonny, is 503 East 118th Street.
Note of Trivia: Most of the principal photography took place from March 29, 1971 to August 6, 1971, although a scene with Pacino and Keaton was shot in the autumn. There were a total of 77 days of shooting, fewer than the 83 for which the production had budgeted. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Godfather#Production)
This particular scene was filmed in the summer of 1971.(My educated guess, based on the filming timeline, and the fact that the children are being soaked by the “johnny pump.”)
Tenement Interior- Circa 1900-1910
Posted: June 19, 2013 Filed under: digital photography, Vintage Photography | Tags: New York City, Tenement Leave a commentPublisher: Detroit Publishing Company. From the Library of Congress digital archives.
http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/det1994001696/PP/
West Side Story – Prologue
Posted: March 28, 2011 Filed under: Music, New York City | Tags: East Harlem, Italian Harlem, New York City, Tenements, video, West Side Story, YouTube Leave a commentVodpod videos no longer available.
I know…what does this have to do with East Harlem? Hey, it’s Freedomland! Need I say more?
Posted: March 8, 2011 Filed under: New York City | Tags: Bronx, Co-Op City, Freedomland, freedomland usa, New York City Leave a commentI couldn’t resist posting this archived video of the short-lived “Freedomland Amusement Park,” once located in Co-op City, Bronx, New York. (1960-1964.) Click on the link below to view the video stream.
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