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Tag: Lanza’s Restaurant

Retracing The East Village’s Historic Little Italy

October, the month when we mark Columbus Day, is also Italian-American Heritage and Culture Month. That combined with the recent celebrations around the 125th anniversary of Veniero’s inspires a closer look at the East Village’s own historic Little Italy, centered around First Avenue near the beloved pastry shop and cafe. While not nearly as famous […]

12 historic Italian-American sites of the East Village

October is Italian-American Heritage and Culture Month! That’s a perfect time to take a closer look at the East Village’s own historic Little Italy, centered around First Avenue near the beloved pastry shop and cafe. While not nearly as famous or intact as similar districts around Mulberry Street or Bleecker and Carmine Street in the South Village, if […]

Even More on the Mob

We’ve already established that the mafia in the East Village liked their cannolis and their veal scallopini.  This next bit of history is is consistent with that pattern.  Lanza’s Restaurant, located at 168 1st Avenue in a tenement built in 1871, was opened in 1904 by Sicilian-Italian transplant Michael Lanza.  It is rumored that in […]