January 20, 2005
Little Italy shrinks, making way for tourist version
A few more of Little Italy's oldest shops and restaurants are being forced out by rising rents, according to The Villager.
Paolucci’s restaurant, established in 1947, closed last Friday and will move to Staten Island; The Big Cigar Company and Little Italy Gift Shop will be closing; and the E. Rossi & Co. Italian gift shop at the corner of Mulberry and Grand streets since 1936, will move at the end of the month. From The Villager: Lillian Tozzi, a lifetime Little Italy resident, said that landlords are charging more now because Little Italy has become a tourist attraction. “The new landlords have come in and realized that these businesses are popular and not paying much rent. Now that Little Italy is a tourist attraction they’ve found a gimmick, a way of making fast money,” she said.
However, Tozzi noted, it is not just landlords raising rents that force the businesses to close. “In reality, the new businesses have pushed the old mom-and-pop businesses out. The new Little Italy is geared more toward tourism and a carnival atmosphere,” she said. Danny Paolucci, owner of Paolucci’s, saw his monthly rent rise to $20,000 from $3,500 when new owners bought his building. But the story also quotes Robert Ianniello -- president of the Little Italy Merchants’ Association and owner of Umberto’s Clam House -- who says "(t)hey weren’t being charged market rates before, and now they are."
Earlier: Nolita shopping guide (penny pinchers look away)
Forget it Vinnie, it's Chinatown
Head to the Bronx for 'Real Little Italy'
January 20, 2005 10:45 AM in Downtown, Foodology, History, Shopology, Sightsology
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