Are you familiar with the Mapgate controversy in New York City? The short version of the story is that the office of Mayor Zohran Mamdani released a map titled “New York City Immigrant Enclaves” as a guide for tourists here in town for the World Cup. Thirty ethnic enclaves were included, most of them identified as “Little ____.” Not included was “Little Italy” in lower Manhattan. Ooops…
When the story broke in NYC a few weeks ago, “Little Italy” podcast host Deborah Zara Kobylt reached out to Appetito’s Editor-in-Chief Andrew Cotto for a conversation on this controversial situation, which has outraged many Italian Americans in New York and beyond.
Cotto, an Italian American and former resident of NYC’s Little Italy, has written extensively about politics in his career as a journalist. He also served as the Editor-in-Chief of Italian America magazine, the official publication of the Order Sons and Daughters of Italy in America, an organization dedicated, in large part, to combating anti-Italian defamation.
The wide-ranging conversation between Kobylt and Cotto on the “Little Italy” podcast touched on many topics related to the "Mapgate" controversy, including the omission itself, the history of Little Italy in NYC, other Italian enclaves in the city, the Italian immigrant contributions and experiences in New York and America, and the conflict involving the honoring of Christopher Columbus.
Watch the full podcast here:
