The Real Little Italy

Pictures from the day below the blog!

Today was loaded. I filmed 116 GB of Footage on Arthur Avenue. I haven’t filmed that much in a day since Japan. But before we got to Arthur Avenue, I had to get there. That journey started with a familiar face!

Turns out Cigar Man from yesterday lights up on sunny days too, leading to a 25 minute fascinating conversation about living in Williamsburg over the past 55 years and how the town has evolved. And he has a name! Paul.

I’m so excited to show him this picture (see Cigar picture) next time I see him. On Arthur Avenue I caught 1 cigar roller and 100 cigar smokers. Maybe that one roller was the supplier for the neighborhood — who knows?

Yet the cigar-rolling was nothing compared to the jam-packed day we had.

The concept I’m testing for a YouTube video is which Little Italy in NY is best — and I set constraints of 2 hours and $50. Keeping the footage to just one video will be a tough task because after interviews with a cannoli baker that’s an old friend of Joe Pesci as well as a guy who spent the past 60 years of his life working in the neighborhood selling Parmagianno Reggiano — cutting those moments up into pieces feels foul idk.

Constraints brought the best out of us today.

The rush made it so much easier to make a video. I look back at my past few months and I always have to tiptoe my way in and ask for the boss and the boss’s boss and the boss’s boss’s boss who may end up saying — eh we don’t do videos on social media.

COMPLETE OPPOSITE EXPERIENCE TODAY. I was getting to bosses instantly while filming. Guy who own’s Mike’s Deli, Dominick’s, Tietel Brothers, Gino’s Pastry Shop, and more. They were not only happy to meet me, but they truly welcomed the camera and were genuinely interested in what I am trying to do. That meant a lot to me and I’m so excited to share these conversations and moments with you.

Final Thoughts

I’ll leave you all with this: if you are debating whether you should travel the extra 30 minutes to go to the more “authentic” version of a Little Italy, chinatown, koreatown, etc, do me a favor. Embrace the journey. It’s not just about snapping a picture of noodles for your instagram story. People drive 2 hours to go to Arthur Avenue EVERY WEEK to buy their Italian goods. Stop complaining about the extra 20 minutes and GO.

And please interact with the workers. Get to the owners. Talk to other customers and ask why they decide to go to that place. The stories are endless. Just find an excuse to break open that conversation.

My mother is now demanding I hang out with her for the rest of the night, so this is to be continued. Thanks for the read.

Enjoy some photos from the day!

-Jack