Arthur Avenue is a street in the Fordham section of New York City's northernmost borough, The Bronx. It was once the heart of the Bronx's "Little Italy". In this context, "Little Italy" generally refers to Arthur Avenue and East 187th Street (map).
Although the historical and commercial center of Little Italy is Arthur Avenue itself, the area stretches across East 187th Street from Arthur Avenue to Prospect Avenue, and is similarly lined with delis, bakeries, cafes, and various Italian merchants. Still, Arthur Avenue and Morris Park are viewed as the Bronx's primary Italian-American communities.
The avenue itself is named in honor of President Chester A. Arthur.[1]
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Robert De Niro's directing debut, A Bronx Tale, takes place in the vicinity of Belmont. However, it was largely filmed] in Astoria, Queens. Additionally, the series Third Watch was based on Arthur Avenue initially, with the first episode referring to the firehouse as "Camelot," based on its location at the intersection of King Street and Arthur Avenue. The 1973 film "The Seven-Ups" starring Roy Scheider was filmed on Arthur Avenue and Hoffman Street. In 2003, a scene from the HBO hit series The Sopranos was shot in Mario's Restaurant.
Leonard of James Frey's A Million Little Pieces grew up in this area. Much of the novel Underworld takes place near Arthur Avenue.[2] The author himself, Don DeLillo, grew up in that neighborhood.[3]
The opening scene of the 1955 film, Marty shows Arthur Avenue. The film's main character, Marty Piletti, works at a meat market on Arthur Avenue, and in the movie he considers buying it from its owner.
The 1950s doo-wop music group called Dion and the Belmonts originated in this area, named after Belmont Avenue. Italian rock band Elio e le Storie Tese at the end of their song "Gargaroz" in studio album "Studentessi" featured a mock advertising of a food shop in Arthur Avenue, in Italian language with some strange Americanisms.
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