Once one of the largest Italian neighbourhoods on the east coast, Manhattan’s Little Italy, located on Mulberry Street between Broome and Canal Streets, has now shrunk to a mere few blocks of Italian restaurants and street vendors. Chinatown has encompassed most of the area, and you will rarely hear Italian spoken in the street or offered in area churches and schools. Still, it is a great place to experience some of the Italian culture, or at least the food.

Bordered by Canal Street to the north, Chambers Street to the south, Broadway to the west and the Manhattan Bridge to the east, Chinatown has grown in leaps and bounds in the past few decades, gradually encroaching upon neighbouring areas such as Little Italy and the Lower East Side.

Accommodation

There is not a lot of new construction in Little Italy, and most of the housing consists of older, tenement-style apartments inhabited by old-timers. In comparison to the rest of Manhattan, the limited housing available in this area has been a bit less expensive than others, but it is really hard to find. People looking for housing have instead been moving to an area a little bit north of Little Italy, or Nolita. This area is fairly reasonable now, but promises to eventually become the next Soho or Tribeca, and prices will surely rise. Upscale shops have moved into the area, and some new high-end apartment buildings are being built, with units costing about $2 million.

Housing in Chinatown remains mostly crowded, tenement-style buildings. There is virtually no new building presently going on in Chinatown and it remains one of the most densely populated areas in New York City. It is also one of the least diverse: the residents are almost exclusively Chinese, and many speak only Chinese.

Shopping & Amenities

Little Italy and Nolita are home to some well-known, upscale shops, whereas walking through Chinatown is like walking through a gigantic open-air market. Hundreds of vendors line Canal Street every day, selling various wares from jewellery and perfumes to clothes and DVDs. In addition, Chinatown is host to 200 Chinese restaurants and fruit, vegetable and fish markets.

Entertainment & Leisure

Some restaurants of note in Little Italy include the famous Umberto’s Clam House (www.umbertosclamhouse.com), as well as Da Nico (212 343 1212) and Il Cortile (212 226 6060). And the neighbourhood still celebrates the Feast of San Gennaro for 11 days each September. The entire street closes to vehicular traffic and pedestrians are free to stroll from one food vendor to another, sampling the sausage and peppers, calzones, pastas and tiramisu while listening to live bands and playing games for prizes.

Of course, Chinatown is where to head if you’ve got a craving for genuine Chinese food. You can’t go wrong with Jing Fong and Ping’s Seafood.

Health

The hospital most easily accessible to residents is Downtown Hospital (212 312 5000). Hospitals in or near Chinatown include the St. Vincent’s Hospital Chinatown Clinic (212 431 5501), located at 25 Elizabeth Street.

Education

Schools near Little Italy include the Little Red School House and Elisabeth Irwin High School, both located at 196 Bleeker Street (the website for both is www.lrei.org). Children in this area often attend schools in Greenwich Village, the East Village or Gramercy Park.

Educational institutions in Chinatown include the Chinatown Martial Arts and Fitness Center (212 566 2200), the YMCA of Greater New York (www.ymcanyc.org), PS 124 (212 966 7237) and Shuang Wen School (212 602 9700), a dual language elementary school.

Traffic & Public Transport

The following trains will get you down to Little Italy and Chinatown: R, N, W, Q, D, B, J, M, Z. The roads are congested, made even worse by the fact that these areas are popular stops on the routes of New York’s many open-top bus tours.

Safety & Annoyances

In Chinatown the sheer number of people is bound to annoy, while in Little Italy the high prices might.