Arthur Avenue is a street in the Belmont neighborhood of

the Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, which serves as the center of the Bronx's "

Little Italy Little Italy is the catch-all name for an ethnic enclave populated primarily by Italians or people of Italian ancestry, usually in an Urban area, urban neighborhood. The concept of "Little Italy" holds many different aspects of the Italian cul ...

". Although the historical and commercial center of Little Italy is Arthur Avenue itself, the area stretches across East 187th Street from Arthur Avenue to Beaumont Avenue, and is similarly lined with delis, bakeries, cafes and various Italian merchants. The Bronx's Little Italy has an Italian immigrant heritage that dates back to around the 1910s or 1920s. Arthur Avenue and Morris Park are viewed as the Bronx's primary

Italian American Italian Americans () are Americans who have full or partial Italians, Italian ancestry. The largest concentrations of Italian Americans are in the urban Northeastern United States, Northeast and industrial Midwestern United States, Midwestern ...

communities. Other Italian-American communities in the Bronx are the working class and middle-class neighborhoods of Schuylerville,

Country Club A country club is a privately-owned Club (organization), club, often with a membership quota and admittance by invitation or sponsorship, that generally offers both a variety of recreational sports and facilities for dining and entertaining. Ty ...

, Pelham Bay, and sections of Fordham. The avenue itself is named for former U.S. president

Chester A. Arthur Chester Alan Arthur (October 5, 1829 – November 18, 1886) was the 21st president of the United States, serving from 1881 to 1885. He was a Republican from New York who previously served as the 20th vice president under President James A. ...

In popular culture

Robert De Niro Robert Anthony De Niro ( , ; born August 17, 1943) is an American actor, director, and film producer. He is considered to be one of the greatest and most influential actors of his generation. De Niro is the recipient of List of awards and ...

's directing debut ''

A Bronx Tale ''A Bronx Tale'' is a 1993 American coming-of-age story, coming-of-age crime film, crime drama film directed by and starring Robert De Niro in his directorial debut and produced by Jane Rosenthal, adapted from Chazz Palminteri's A Bronx Tale (p ...

'' takes place in the vicinity of Belmont. However, it was largely filmed in

Astoria, Queens Astoria is a neighborhood in the western portion of the New York City Boroughs of New York City, borough of Queens. Astoria is bounded by the East River and is adjacent to four other Queens neighborhoods: Long Island City, Queens, Long Island C ...

. The series ''

Third Watch ''Third Watch'' is an American crime drama television series created by John Wells and Edward Allen Bernero that aired on NBC from September 23, 1999, to May 6, 2005, with a total of 132 episodes spanning over six seasons. It was produced ...

'' was based on Arthur Avenue initially, with the first episode referring to the firehouse as "Camelot," based on its location at the intersection of King Street and Arthur Avenue. The 1973 film " The Seven-Ups" starring

Roy Scheider Roy Richard Scheider (; November 10, 1932 – February 10, 2008) was an American actor and amateur boxer who achieved fame with his leading and supporting roles in celebrated films from the 1970s through to the mid-1980s. He was nominated for t ...

was filmed on Arthur Avenue and Hoffman Street. In 2003, a scene from the HBO hit series ''

The Sopranos ''The Sopranos'' is an American Crime film#Crime drama, crime drama television series created by David Chase. The series follows Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini), a New Jersey American Mafia, Mafia boss who suffers from panic attacks. He reluct ...

'' was shot in

Mario's Mario's is an Italian-American restaurant on Arthur Avenue in Belmont, Bronx. in 2000, the James Beard Foundation named it an America's Classic. History The Miglucci family still runs the restaurant after first opening in 1919. In the 1930s, ...

restaurant, which had been the planned site of a mob hit in ''

The Godfather ''The Godfather'' is a 1972 American Epic film, epic crime film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, who co-wrote the screenplay with Mario Puzo, based on Puzo's best-selling The Godfather (novel), 1969 novel. The film stars an ensemble cast inc ...

'', which was turned down by the owner of the restaurant Leonard of

James Frey James Christopher Frey ( ; born September 12, 1969) is an American writer and businessman. His first two books, '' A Million Little Pieces'' (2003) and '' My Friend Leonard'' (2005), were bestsellers marketed as memoirs. Large parts of the stor ...

's ''

A Million Little Pieces ''A Million Little Pieces'' is a book by James Frey, originally sold as a memoir and later marketed as a semi-fictional novel following Frey's admission that many parts of the book were fabricated. It tells the story of a 23-year-old alcoholic ...

'' grew up in this area. Much of the novel ''Underworld'' takes place near Arthur Avenue. The author himself,

Don DeLillo Donald Richard DeLillo (born November 20, 1936) is an American novelist, short story writer, playwright, screenwriter, and essayist. His works have covered subjects as diverse as consumerism, nuclear war, the complexities of language, art, televi ...

, grew up there. The opening scene of the 1955 film, '' Marty'' shows Arthur Avenue. The film's main character, Marty Piletti, works at a meat market on Arthur Avenue, and in the movie he considers buying it from its owner. Early scenes in the mid-1960s film, '' The Incident'' take place on 183rd Street and Third Avenue and in the Third Avenue El station (once the primary El station for Arthur Avenue). The scenes, featuring Martin Sheen and Tony Musante, involve the mugging of a pedestrian. The Belmont station filled in for one on the Jerome Avenue El line, which is the line that forms the film's narrative. The 1950s

doo-wop Doo-wop (also spelled doowop and doo wop) is a subgenre of rhythm and blues music that originated in African-American communities during the 1940s, mainly in the large cities of the United States, including New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, ...

music group called

Dion and the Belmonts Dion and the Belmonts were an American vocal quartet prominent throughout the late 1950s. All of its members were from the Bronx, New York City. In 1957, Dion DiMucci joined the vocal group the Belmonts. The established trio of Angelo D'Aleo ...

originated in this area, named after Belmont Avenue. Italian rock band Elio e le Storie Tese at the end of their song "Gargaroz" in studio album '' Studentessi'' featured a mock advertising of a food shop in Arthur Avenue, in Italian language with some strange Americanisms. A reality TV show called ''Mama's Boys of the Bronx'' was about grown men living on and around Arthur Avenue in the Bronx with their mothers.

Lady Gaga Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta (born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known for her image reinventions and versatility across the entertainment industry, she is an influ ...

's music video for " Eh, Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say)" takes place in and around Arthur Avenue/Little Italy. In 2016, Arthur Avenue was named one of "America's Greatest Streets" by the American Planning Association. The 2019 movie '' Bottom of the 9th'', which stars

Joe Manganiello Joseph Michael Manganiello ( ; , ; born December 28, 1976) is an American actor. His professional film career began when he played Flash Thompson in Sam Raimi's ''Spider-Man''. His breakout role was as werewolf Alcide Herveaux in five seasons ...

and

Sofia Vergara Sofia is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the western part of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river and has many mineral springs, such as the ...

, was filmed throughout the neighborhood, specifically featuring Arthur Avenue. The screenplay for the film was written by Robert Bruzio, who grew up on Arthur Avenue.

References

External links

The Real Little Italy and Best Restaurants Are in the BronxArthur Avenue Website Official Site BronxLittleItaly.com
{{Bronx streets Belmont, Bronx Italian-American culture in New York City Italian-American culture in the Bronx Little Italys in the United States Streets in the Bronx Italian-American history