Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.There’s not much of Manhattan’s Little Italy left, mainly a couple of blocks, populated with Italian restaurants and tourist stores featuring trinkets and “Kiss me, I’m Italian” and “Fuggedaboutit” T-shirts. Few Italian-Americans still live in the neighbourhood of old tenement buildings and narrow streets, where a small museum tries to keep a fading ethnic heritage alive.
One such tenant who remains might not for long: an 85-year-old Italian-American grandmother who has lived in Little Italy for more than 50 years says she is being forced out by her landlord. That landlord? The Italian American Museum.
“Why would you want to throw me out when I lived here all my life?” asked Adele Sarno, a feisty, raspy-voiced woman who proudly tells how she once served as queen of Little Italy’s most well-known event, the annual Feast of San Gennaro. “This is my neighbourhood.”
In 2010, she received a letter seeking to increase her rent from $850 (£570) a month to $3,500, far more than the retired shopkeeper says she can afford. The spat is the latest involving the museum to cause a commotion in Little Italy. An Italian restaurant that had been open for decades closed last week in a separate rent-related dispute. AP
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments