Area's Little Italy designation is becoming a point of pride

By Chris Sykes, Staff Writer
Lucy DiIura‘s family is proudly Italian-American, and equally proud to reside in the city of Orange.
That’s why, DiIura said, she was happy that Mayor Eldridge Hawkins Jr. and the City Council designated her neighborhood surrounding Lincoln Avenue and Mechanic Street as “Little Italy.“ In her role as event coordinator for the Orange Italian American Organization, which presented a recent festival at the intersection, she said she believed the designation was long overdue.
“It’s a wonderful thing,” said DiIura. “The city should have done this a long time ago. Former Councilwoman Maria Vandermeer was the one who really initiated this four or five years ago. She followed up on it and worked to make it happen.”
Little Italy’s notable locations in the city along the Lincoln Avenue corridor include food markets, bakeries, churches, social clubs and restaurants. There are also other businesses aside from the ones in the immediate area, such as an auto repair shop and funeral home along Henry Street, which provide services to the city.
“Some of these establishments have been in this area since the turn of the century,” Hawkins said. “In the area of Lincoln Avenue and Mechanic Street, a renaissance of architecture and restaurants is emerging. Church feasts and festivals continue as they have in the past. Italian-Americans and those of every ethnic group continue to flock to the feasts and festivals.“
Hawkins said those many attractive qualities and features of the Little Italy area are what make it very relevant to the city’s economic future.

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