Bensonhurst Part 3

Today the neighborhood streets are lined with two family homes many of which were built some 90 years ago. The neighborhood is much more diverse than it was in the early 20^th century or even when I was growing up there.  Many immigrants from the former Soviet Union and China began moving into the neighborhood in the early 1990s. Yet you can still find, though there are not as many left, little Italian cafes and  bakeries where you can get some of the best Italian pastries outside of Italy.  You can also find some of the best pizza in Brooklyn here.

Many of the families that I knew growing up are still living there as are many of my old friends.

The Italian influence still predominates in the neighborhood.  You can see it every where along 18^th ave, especially in late summer when the Feast of Santa Rosalia comes around, simply called “The Feast” by locals.  Santa Rosalia is the patron saint of  Palermo and sometimes as the patron saint of all of Sicily (mnay of the Italian Americans living in Bensonhurst are of Sicilian heritage).  Thousands of New Yorkers flock to this annual end of summer event.