Italiano
Italian
Silver LakeFor over a century, the New York metropolitan area has constituted one of the largest (if not the largest of all) “Italian-speaking” cities outside of Italy. However, the majority of Italian immigrants who have arrived in New York, especially in that first major wave, were not able to speak, read, or write (standard) Italian. Most, though by no means all, came from the south, and spoke Italo-Romance languages identified primarily by hometown, popularly known (in Italian) as dialetti (dialects). The New York presence of Italian itself grew significantly across the 20th century through newspapers, radio, schools, and later waves of migration.
C
asa Belvedere: The Italian Foundation is a hub for Italian culture on Staten Island. The borough has a long Italian history, with Garibaldi having spent time there from 1851 to 1853, but became a major area of Italian-American settlement after the completion of the Verrazzano Bridge, which brought Brooklyn Italians in large numbers to the southern half of the island and later New Jersey. While many Italian Staten Islanders have long shifted to English, there remain speakers of Italian, old and new, as well as some who speak other Italian languages such as Sicilian and Neapolitan.
Note that the language above may be used throughout the New York area — this is just one significant site.