The controversy surrounding New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s immigrant enclave map continues to draw criticism after it initially omitted Little Italy while recognizing dozens of other ethnic neighborhoods across the city, like Little Palestine, Egypt and Yemen.  The map also failed to identify many of New York’s historic Jewish and Irish communities, prompting accusations that some of the city’s oldest immigrant populations were being erased from its official cultural landscape.

In an interview with Rabbi Daniel Schonbuch, host of The Viktor Frankl Podcast, Andre DiMino, President of the Italian American One Voice Coalition, called the omission “a total disgrace,” arguing that it ignored the Italian, Jewish, Irish, and other long-established communities that played a central role in building New York City. While the city later announced that Little Italy would be restored following public backlash, DiMino said the controversy reflects a broader effort to diminish the historical contributions of these communities.

The discussion also explored the history of discrimination against Italian Americans, including the 1891 lynching of eleven Italians in New Orleans—the largest mass lynching in American history—as well as decades of employment discrimination and enduring stereotypes. DiMino said these chapters of American history deserve greater public recognition, particularly as debates over identity and historical memory continue.

The interview also highlighted the longstanding friendship between New York’s Jewish and Italian communities, whose members lived and worked alongside one another for generations. Both DiMino and Rabbi Schonbuch expressed concern that identity politics increasingly divides communities instead of bringing them together and emphasized the importance of preserving the history of all of New York’s historic ethnic and religious communities.

“If you’re going to be mayor for all the people,” DiMino said, “you cannot ignore the people who built this city.”

Follow Rabbi Daniel Schonbuch at www.rabbiforamerica.com