Little Italy's Feast of San Gennaro has come under fire from residents and businesses (mostly Nolita boutiques) that have grown tired of the crowds, mess and noise that come with the annual street fair. This year that coalition might actually succeed in limiting the long-running San Gennaro to south of Kenmare Street. Now San Gennaro devotees are mobilizing in support of the festival on a Facebook group page called "Little Italy and San Gennaro Under ATTACK". The mission statement reads, "We need everyone to come together, regardless of where you live, to save the feast. This is not just an attack on the Feast or on our community Little Italy. This is an attack on our culture and our heritage."
So far over 2,000 members have joined the cause are are coordinating letter-writing campaigns, posting San Gennaro tributes and/or expressing general Italian pride. As Vanishing New York notes, things occasionally get a little heated on the anti-yuppie front, and there aren't many kind words for those Nolita shops. There's also a link to an epic-by-YouTube-standards 12-minute video on preserving San Gennaro in its current state. Meanwhile, in other ethnicity suppressing news, the St. Patrick's Day Parade is getting shortened! Next thing you know, the Bastille Day Festival will be gone. It's a World War!
· Little Italy and San Gennaro Under ATTACK [Facebook via Vanishing New York]
· San Gennaro coverage [Curbed]
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