New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is under fire from an Italian American heritage group after Little Italy was left off a city immigrant-neighborhood map tied to a World Cup tourism campaign — an omission critics called an insult to one of the communities that helped build New York."Zohran Mamdani wants to ERASE Italian Americans.First, he denied our permit for Unity Day 2026.
Now, he is excluding Little Italy as a recognized location all together on the map," wrote the Italian American Civil Rights League (IACRL) on X along with a press release."Italian Americans BUILT NEW YORK CITY.Not third world Ugandans, We stand AGAINST COMMUNISTS," the group added.DAVID MARCUS: COMMIE DEMS WOULD DESTROY EVERYTHING WORLD CUP FANS LOVE ABOUT AMERICANew York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani attends the 2025 New York City Pride March on June 29, 2025 in New York City.
(Noam Galai/Getty Images)The map, titled "New York City Immigrant Enclaves," was created by New York City Tourism + Conventions as part of its NYC Neighborhood Passport campaign tied to the 2026 FIFA World Cup.The NYC Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs has promoted the neighborhood map at pop-up booths across the city.It encourages visitors to explore "diverse" communities, including 30 neighborhoods ranging from the popular Chinatown to lesser-known Little Palestine and Little Haiti.
The map did not mention any Jewish or Irish neighborhoods. Mamdani has touted himself as unapologetically pro-immigrant, backing sanctuary protections for immigrants while advocating for Palestinian rights."Mamdani’s City Hall can find room for every fashionable progressive constituency, but somehow it cannot find Little Italy," IACRL president Mike Crispi said in the press release."Our culture is good enough for their photo ops, our food is good enough for their fundraisers, and our neighborhoods are good enough for tourism dollars — but when it comes time to recognize Italian Americans, they erase us," he added.PRO...