The diversity of New York City and what it has to offer is the subject of the book New York: The Big City and Its Little Neighborhoods, which highlights some of the ethnic groups that have made their homes here.
The book was written by Naomi Fertitta, who grew up in Beechhurst and now lives in Manhattan. A former photo editor, stylist and creative director, this is her first book.
“It had sort of been roaming in my mind that I didn’t know the city very well even though I spent my whole life in New York,” Fertitta said of how she got the idea for the endeavor.
Fertitta also said she was watching a television program where the host was at a Latin American bakery in Jackson heights and said that she didn’t realize there was a large Latin American community there. She described it as humbling, saying that she knew the city had changed but had a hard time wrapping her head around exactly how much change it had gone through.
Fertitta decided that if she loved the city as much as she claimed that it “was time to explore.” For the book, she visited neighborhoods in all five boroughs to examine some of the ethnic groups that reside there. In Queens, she highlighted Little Athens and Little Egypt in Astoria, New Chinatown in Flushing, Little India and Little Latin America in Jackson Heights and “A Little Melting Pot” in Woodside and Sunnyside.
While deciding what areas to include, Fertitta said she wanted to focus on new and established ethnic enclaves. She also looked at the evolution of the neighborhoods. Also, Fertitta made sure to cover all the different continents with the neighborhoods represented in the book.
Another goal Fertitta had was to make sure she included places where people could go for more than just a meal. She selected places that were near cultural or athletic activities, such as the Bronx Zoo or Kaufman Astoria Studios.
Fertitta teamed up with photographer Paul Aresu for New York: The Big City and Its Little Neighborhoods. She said that she had known him forever and that their spouses used to work together.
“I always loved his work,” Fertitta said. “I just knew that he was the guy so I was really thrilled when he signed on.”
While visiting the different neighborhoods, Fertitta said the thing that surprised her the most was “how warm and welcoming people were in every community we went.” Another thing that surprised her was finding out that the largest Sri Lankan community outside of Sri Lanka is in Staten Island.
“It made the city so much bigger, better, exciting,” Fertitta said. “New York City became a much richer experience.”
Now, Fertitta and her husband take their friends to all sorts of different places. Fertitta also encourages readers to visit these destinations, and even includes subway directions so they can find them.
“It really is like taking a vacation,” Fertitta said.
