New York City has long been celebrated as a city of immigrant neighborhoods. Little Italy, Chinatown, Harlem, Washington Heights, Brighton Beach - these communities tell the story of generations of newcomers who helped build America's largest city while gradually becoming part of it.

That history makes one omission from Mayor Zohran Mamdani's recently released map of immigrant communities particularly striking.

Little Italy wasn't there.

Instead, the map highlighted a series of neighborhoods identified as "Little Pakistan," "Little Senegal," "Little Yemen" and even "Little Palestine." City Hall defended the project by saying it was never intended to identify religious enclaves but rather neighborhoods with substantial foreign-born populations from around the world.

That explanation raises an obvious question: If the goal was to recognize immigrant communities, how does one leave out perhaps the most iconic immigrant neighborhood in New York City?

Little Italy is more than a tourist destination. It represents one of the defining chapters in the city's history - a reminder of the millions of Italian immigrants who arrived in America, endured discrimination, built businesses and eventually became woven into the fabric of American life. Omitting it while highlighting far newer and, in some cases, unofficial neighborhood designations sends a message,........

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