From The Peopling of New York City
The Past and Future of Italian American’s on Staten Island
New York City is a city of immigrants. The five boroughs all share in this common history. However each borrow attracted different immigrant groups and for different reasons. In researching the demographics of Staten island one is struck by how many people of Italian American descent settled here. In fact Staten Island has the highest percentage of Italian Americans of any county in America (34.8 %) (American Communities Survey, 2). Why did so many people from the same country settle here? What contributions did they make? How has there continued presence affected the Island?
There were many reasons that Italian Americans came to Staten island instead of the other boroughs of New York City. One major reason were the types of jobs that were available. Three fourths of all immigrants who came to the United States came from the south of Italy (Davis 218). The South was substantially less developed economically then the North. Most Italians who came to the united States were farmers by trade. The fact that land was substantially cheaper on Staten Island was a major factor drawing immigrants the Island.
An important part of Staten Islands immigration picture is the history of the people who came here. Before the 1800’s Italy was split into many citta irrendente. After the Napoleanic Wars the general unification of Italy began that did not end until about 1870 (Richards, 24). This unification process posed several problems for the South. The South (with the exception of Salerno) was much less industrialized then the North. The unification of Italy ended the old system of feudalism and created widespread instability (Richards, 73). Much of the land and money wound up in the hands of the upper classes. Southern Italy also endured a great many other hardships. The Italian unification had cost the South over one million lives lost in failed attempts to reject unification (Richard, 94). The South seriously lacked natural resources in coal, oil, and lumber. Natural disasters abounded throughout the early 1900’s. Mt Vesuvius destroyed crop yields. Mt Edna also erupted often in the early decades of the millennium. Both volcanoes are in Italy. The Sicilian earthquake of 1908 killed thousands and damaged infrastructure. These social and natural disasters lead to what has been called the Italian Diaspora where over 25 million Italians, mostly from the Mezzogiorno (Davis, 115).
Compared with the north Southern Italians were, due to a lack of industry and natural calamity poorer and less educated. This lead to a prejudice in Italy that further drove them fro the country (Davis, 152). The Italian immigrants who came to the United States also faced substantial prejudice when they arrived. In 1891 11 Italian Americans in New Orleans were publicly lynched (Richards 118). This prejudice existed throughout the country including in New York City where newly arrived Italian immigrants were often denied jobs. Prejudice also grew after World War Two. Many Italians were forced to register as “enemy aliens” and many Staten Island fishermen were forced to surrender their fishing boats (Richard,315). This combination of Racism faced both at home and in the new country produced a community of Italian Americans very sensitive to race and to other groups.
Many of these factors attracted immigrants to Staten Island. Many Italians had settled all over New York City by the early and mid 1900’s. However as new groups moved into the Bronx and Queens Italian Americans often began to experience and in some instances cause ethnic tension. Staten Island was a substantially more ethnically homogenous place and many Italians came here. In addition to being relatively free of “new” groups it was already very Italian. This consolidation to Staten Island occurred at the same time that many traditional “Little Italians” in Manhattan and Queens began to die out (Davis 217). Another historical factor was the building of the Verrazano Bridge in 1959 that displaced many residents.
Another large reason Italian American’s came to Staten island was the strong community and network of organizations that already existed here on Staten island. For example there is the Knights of Columbus that still has active chapters on Staten Island. This organization has had numerous impacts positively on my family. Another example is the order of The Sons of Italy that was founded as far in the past as 1849, before Staten island was part of New York City. Many immigrants needed help -- My grandmother says that her parents would not have been able to get set up in this country without the support the community gave. The director of the knights of Columbus spoke about how many immigrants never really learned English well. Their children often did but they remained within and depended on the community here.
Originally most immigrants who came here from Italy were single men. Though three quarters of them hailed from agricultural areas over ninety-five percent of them settled in cities (Richards, 213). However a second wave of immigrants came and brought their families. These families required housing that was often not affordable in New York City. Hence many people moved into Staten Island.
Staten Island has many essential characterizations that separate it from the other Boroughs of New York City. These include a relative cheapness of land and a somewhat more racially homogenous atmosphere (though the CSI student I interviewed thought Staten Island to be quite diverse). These factors combined with the unique History of the South of Italy lead to the creation of a borough that has had a profoundly Italian American character.