Little Italy north? (1947)

[Laurence Horn]

At 10:23 AM -0400 9/25/01, Bapopik at AOL.COM wrote:
>    From the NEW YORK HERALD TRIBUNE, 25 January 1947, pg. 11, col. 7:
>
>_Pizzas of Cheese and Sausage_
>_Baked Brown in Sally's Oven_
>----------------------------
>_Golden Stuffed Pies Are_
>    _Baked to Order in This_
>    _East Harlem Hideaway_
>    By Clementine Paddleford
>    Let's do something different tonight.  And why not?  Don't you
>get bored with the smart restaurant-type meal, each just like the
>other?  Heaven knows that we do.  Now is the moment to strike out
>for Sally's at 2217 First Avenue, between 113th and 114th Streets,
>location East Harlem, in the heart of Little Italy.  The pizzas
>you'll love and ditto for Sally, and ditto for Sally's wife, Anna.
>Quaff the red wine; eat pizza pie.

Getting us hungry again, Barry.  I was struck by this application of
"the heart of Little Italy" to a quarter within East Harlem.  For me,
the only "Little Italy" in New York is and was in lower Manhattan,
abutting Chinatown, including the Spring Street location mentioned
later in Barry's post, Mulberry St., etc.  Was "Little Italy" applied
to both these geographically quite distinct areas back in the 40's?
Or was it just a cover term for any part of New York inhabited by
Italians?  It sounds from this context like the former is the case,
and Paddleford should know, but I still find it strange.

(I love the nostalgic value of "pizza pie"--was this largely a New
York designation, or do others remember this as standard mid-century
(or later) usage elsewhere?)

larry