New York Songlines: Mulberry Street

West:

Corner: Bite, a very narrow snack bar, occupies the apex of this wedge-shaped building; they promise to "work like monkeys on speed to bring you pleasure in bread."

(329 Lafayette): Eye Candy, vintage accessories; Autonomy, some kind of anarchist thing, apparently.

Here was the godawful Yahoo sign, an embarrassing relic of the dot.com mania. It was replaced by a giant handheld videogame, forcing at least one Songlines reader to "endure movie ads and Playstation demos 24/7."

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Police Building

300: Site of New York's first Police Headquarters, which draft rioters tried to take over in 1863 and where Theodore Roosevelt served as police commissioner (1895-97). In 1909, the headquarters were moved to 240 Centre Street, about four blocks to the south.

West:

Puck Building

Block (259 Lafayette): This Romanesque Revival landmark, one of New York's great buildings, was built between 1885-1893; additional construction in 1899 replaced part of the building that was torn down for the extension of Lafayette Street. (The northeast corner is the original entrance.)

The building housed the offices and printing plant of the Puck humor magazine, which was published until 1918. (William Randolph Hearst bought it in 1917 and closed it a year later.) Years later, the offices of Spy magazine were here. Billy Crystal proposes here in When Harry Met Sally.... Grace works here on Will and Grace.

Be sure to note the gilded statues of Puck as a top-hatted infant.

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271: Ralph Lauren oulet has fantastic brick.

263: Old St Patrick's Rectory is noted for its ironwork.

261: Townhouse dates to 1827.

Corner: The missing building here exposes the airshaft that tenements were required to have after 1901.

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Corner (41 E Houston): A new condo with a wavy brick pattern going up here. Formerly Houston Village Farm, built on the site of Horn and Hardart, maker of Automats.

284: Ghenet, nice Ethiopian ("where angels eat"); VeKa, sophisticated wedding gowns (was Calypso Enfants).

280: Femmegems, a design-your-own-jewelry store.

268: Old St Patrick's Youth center

Old St Patrick's Churchyard

Robert deNiro and Harvey Keitel have a heart-to-heart here in Mean Streets.

266: St Michael's Russian Catholic Church. This neo-Gothic tenement was built in 1858-59 as the Saint Patrick's Chancery Office, which kept documents relating to the archdiocese. James Renwick Jr., who designed the new St Pat's, was the co-architect.

Old St. Patrick's Cathedral

260-264 (corner): New York's first Roman Catholic cathedral, with construction starting in 1809 to a design by Joseph Mangin (the architect of City Hall). It was built behind high walls to protect it from anti-Catholic rioters. A fire in 1868 gutted the building; it was restored by Henry Engelbert, but not before the diocese's seat had moved to Midtown. John McCloskey became the first American cardinal here April 27, 1865. It's now a beautiful but underutilized parish church.

West:

251 (corner): Met Foods

Former Ravenite Social Club

247: This was the hangout of the Gambino mob when John Gotti was running it; FBI wiretaps of his conversations here helped send him to prison. The Feds took over the building, which was owned by a Gambino capo, in 1998. Now houses Amy Chan, a handbag designer whose Asian-styled wares are carried by Claire Danes and Kate Moss. No better symbol of the transformation of the neighborhood could be imagined.

243: Paradise Deli Grocery

241: Objets du Desir was Baby Be Good.

239: Saigoniste, modern Vietnamese style

235: Zoolook Gallery

227-233: Synergy Fitness; Eva; Versani Jewelry; Lilith

223: Velvet Restaurant & Lounge; cozy

219: Smaak, Swedish fashion; Cat Fish Greetings, cards and stationery

217: GiGi, boutique

215: Scrips Elixers, fancy drugstore

Corner (51 Spring): Pomodoro Gourmet Pizza

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250 (corner): John Fluevog Shoes; New York branch of an international chain. Also Selvedge, Levi's fancier alter ego (still jeans, though).

248: Ace Grinding, knives and saws

240: Eight Mile Creek, an Australian restaurant that serves kangaroo and emu; below is 24/8, where rugby, cricket and Cooper's are the passions. Also Push, stylish jewelry store.

238: Language, chic clothing and home accessories from all over.

234: Charles' Place, fascinating miniatures; Cake-O, Japanese tearoom featuring piano-playing staff.

232: Lisa Shaib hats

230: Sco, custom skincare

214 (corner): Handloom Batiks, Southeast Asian fabrics.

Corner (45 Spring): Rocky's, old-school Italian.

West:

Corner: Spring Street Lounge

209: Tracy Feith, womenswear in ethnic fabric

205: Impressive building is the Old 14th Precinct building, c. 1870. Appropriately Italianate design by Nathaniel Bush, the NYPD's in-house architect.

199: Malia Mills; sexy swimwear for women of every shape.

197: Shoe, upscale but practical

195 (corner): Paul Frank Store, stuff from that guy who has built a career on that monkey-face logo.

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DeSalvio Playground

Commemorates John DeSalvio, an Italian immigrant who became a Little Italy powerbroker, and his son Louis, a state assemblymember.

200: Ugly building

West:

Corner: Was Nolita's--oddly, because this is the edge of Little Italy proper.

185: The Best Chinese Qi Gong

179: Huaxin Trading Co.

Corner (390 Broome): Cheong Mei Inc.

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188 (corner): Go East, stylish Chinese gifts

184: Tress F/X--"beauty workshop"

180: Da House of Sabbah, fashions for tough girls. Also True Petite, a boutique catering to the small.

178: Umberto's Clam House opened in 1972, but didn't allow anything but seafood on its menu until 1996. Boasts of customers like Robert DeNiro and Martin Scorcese. The famous mob hit happened when the joint was at No. 129 below.

West:

173: Lunella Ristorante

171: Was Tazza di Caffe, where the Genovese family had a bookmaking operation in the early 1990s; said to be the gang's social club.

167: La Mela Ristorante (''The Apple'')

165: Amici II Ristorante

163: Lucky Luciano weaseled out of an early arrest in 1923 by telling police about a large stash of morphine and heroin at this address. Decades later, on March 21, 1978, Salvatore “Sally Bugs” Briguglio, a corrupt Teamsters official who was a suspect in the Jimmy Hoffa disappearance, was assassinated on the sidewalk here. Now Benito II, a restaurant recommended by Ed Koch.

161: Salumeria Italian Food Center

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East:

Corner (385 Broome): Caffe Roma, Italian pastries, used to be run by Eli "Joe the Baker" Zeccardi, a reputed Genovese underboss and loanshark who disappeared in 1977.

Mare Chiaro

176 1/2: Now operting under the name "Mulberry Street Bar," but this is more or less the same bar where Johnny Depp meets Al Pacino in Donny Brasco. It was also featured in The Pope of Greenwich Village, 9 1/2 Weeks, Godfather III and several other movies--not to mention The Sopranos. They all came for the unfaked Little Italy atmosphere of a place that's been open since 1908; why they changed the name, I don't know.

174: Benito I. This place was named for the owner's old boss, but you probably wouldn't see a German restaurant called "Adolf's." Then again, Il Duce doesn't seem to be all that unpopular in this neighborhood.

This was the address of Fire Company No. 40, or "Lady Washington," a volunteer force organized in 1812 and finally disbanded in 1865, when the fire departmment was professionalized. Known as the "White Ghosts," the boys of No. 40 never showed up at the same fire as the Tompkins Engine Company (No. 30) without getting into a fight. Mose Humphreys, the legendary Bowery Boy, is said to have been a member of this company.

172B: Aqua Star Pet Shop

172: Bella Mima

164: Da Nico is said to be a favorite of Rudy Giuliani.

156: Piemonte Ravioli Co., founded 1920--includes Tony's Little Gift Shop.

Corner (188 Grand): Alleva, opened in 1897, is said to be the oldest cheesemaker in the U.S.--specializing in ricotta and mozzarella.

West:

Corner (189 Grand): Banco Stabile is an old bank building from 1885--the bank, a small family operation, is no longer in business, but the building is maintained as a sort of time capsule by the family's heir.

151: Il Palazzo (''The Palace''); the food is as good as Il Cortile's, according to Zagat--and a little cheaper.

149: Paolucci's in the Stephen van Rensselaer House, a two-story Federal building dating to 1816--unfortunately covered with stucco. The building was moved here from the corner of Grand. The restaurant, opened in 1947, is noted for its gnocchi. Update: Paolucci's has closed and the stucco has been removed.

147: Taormina, named for a Sicilian resort; John Gotti used to eat here every Wednesday night.

141: Cafe Biondo, another reputed Gotti fave. Once owned by Joseph ''Joe Butch'' Corrao, said to be a Gambino capo who had an NYPD detective on his payroll until 1991. Its espresso is recommended to Italian tourists.

133: Sal Anthony's SPQR--the Latin acronym for "The Senate and People of Rome." Anthony has a whole raft of Italian restaurants. Under previous ownership, it was said to have been backed by Matty the Horse Ianniello, a Genovese capo. Upstairs used to be the offices of the San Gennaro Society when it was a Genovese operation.

131A: Sandy's--hats, sunglasses etc.

129 (corner): Da Genaro's, named for San Genaro, patron saint of Naples. Was Umberto's Clam House, which on April 6, 1972 was the site of one of New York's most famous mob hits. Joe Gallo, a Colombo soldier on the outs with the family, was shot three times while celebrating his 43rd birthday here. The restaurant was owned at the time by the brother of Matty Ianniello.

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148: Caffe Palermo; Baby John DeLutro, who used to own it in the 1980s, allegedly headed a $150 million drug operation; he did time on lesser charges.

146: Angelo's of Mulberry Street, since 1902. Ronald Reagan ate here once.

140: Hawaiian Moonlighters' Club; it's been said that Gotti's crew moved here after the Feds took over the Ravenite Social Club.

138: Pellegrino's; linguini Sinatra is the house specialty. Was PJ's of Little Italy.

136: Paesano of Mulberry Street has an unimpressive set of celebrity customers-- Andrew Dice Clay, one of the Brady Bunch, etc.

134: Costa Azzurra (''Blue Coast'') claims Luciano Pavarotti and the elder George Bush as customers.

132A: Il Fornaio (''The Baker''), in a newish building (1985) designed to evoke the spirit of Little Italy.

132: Caffe Sorrento, named for the town in Naples

West:

127: Casa Bella was co-founded in 1976 by Michael Sabella, a reputed Bonanno capo; in Italian, "Ca' Sabella" means "here's Sabella."

125: Il Cortile ("The Courtyard") is said to be the best restaurant on Mulberry Street. Actor Danny DeVito got married here; Danny Aiello eats here a lot. It's the model for the restaurant Nuovo Vesuvio on The Sopranos.

117: Due Amici was Teresa's of Mulberry Street; Lo Spuntino, opened 1972, means ''The Little Snack.''

115: Fratelli Ristorante

113: Cha Cha's In Bocca Al Lupo Cafe (''In the Mouth of the Wolf'') boasts about its outdoor garden, and the fact that it replaced a 110-year-old butcher shop--is that really something to brag about?

Most Precious Blood Church

109: This weirdly suburban-looking structure is actually the administrative offices of the church, which is on Baxter Street. The blood is that of Saint Januarius, i.e. San Gennaro, whose feast is anually celebrated on this street. In Naples, a substance thought to be the saint's 1,700-year-old blood regularly liquifies in what is said to be a miraculous fashion. The church was barred from operating the popular feast, since it was being used as a front by the Genovese family.

105: Sambuca's Cafe seems to be the New York branch of an Italian chain. The World Cup is big here, as is tiramisu.

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128: Foranzo Italian Imports, since 1958

122: Positano Ristorante, named for a town on the Italian Riviera.

120: Buona Notte Ristorante (''Good Night'')

112: Luna Restaurant, founded 1919. The Voice recommends its ''antique credibility.''

110: This was the address of Jack Casey, the title character of the 1951-52 TV show Crime Photographer.

108: La Bella Ferrara, long-standing pasticceria

West:

91: Tongin Mart Inc

87: Wing Le Seafood Market, popular with frugal gourmets.

81: Hochang Trading Corp

79: Note the passageway to a rear tenement.

77: In 1855, immigrants from Ireland's Tiperary clustered here.

75: Hong Keung Seafood & Meat Market, even better bargains here.

73: Pho Viet Huong, Vietnamese eatery that features bo bay mon, an all-beef feast.

71 1/2: Hai Cang Seafood, fish so fresh they flop.

71: Shunwo Trading Inc

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86: Wong's Rice & Noodle Shop

84: Many Irish immigrants from Mayo lived at this address in 1855.

76: In late 1851, this was the address of Bridget McCarty, a madam who ''specialized in procuring young virgins for her clients.''

Museum of Chinese in the Americas

70 (corner): Opened in 1980 as the Chinatown History Project, this was the first fulltime professional museum dedicated to Chinese-American history. Built in 1897 as P.S. 23.

West:

Columbus Park

This park was created in 1897 an effort to destroy the old Five Points neighborhood, considered to be Manhattan's most dangerous slum. (The park's southwest corner was one of the five points.) It was originally laid out by Calvert Vaux, who co-designed Central Park. The pavilion in the north end of the park is part of the original design.

Earlier known as Mulberry Bend Park or Five Points Park, it was renamed after Christopher Columbus in 1911 to honor the neighborhood's then-Italian population (though it is not much of an honor to be associated with a conquistador who was personally responsible for the deaths and enslavement of thousands of Native Americans). Now the main park of Chinatown, it's used by practitoners of Tai Chi, Kung Fu and Chinese chess.

59 1/2: The address of Abraham Florentine, one of the very few native-born American adults living in Mulberry Bend in 1855. His hiring by the Metropolitan police inflamed suspicions that the new force was a nativist plot. An attack on Florentine on July 4, 1857 sparked riots between the Bowery Boys, supporting the Metropolitans, and the pro-immigrant ''Dead Rabbits.''

39 1/2: Before the park was here, this was the address of Bandits' Roost, an alley notorious for its dangerous characters-- immortalized in a photograph by Jacob Riis.

19: The address of the saloon of Walter Roche, a politically connected Irish immigrant. A social club/gang formed here, the Roche Guard, was called the Dead Rabbits by its enemies. In 1856, the local polling station was located inside this highly partisan tavern.

7: Here was the saloon of Tom ''Fatty'' Walsh, a political rival of Tammany Hall's Boss Tweed. His daughter, Blanche Walsh, was a leading actress around the turn of the 20th Century.

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48-50: This address served as a hospital during the Civil War.

42: Was Giambone Restaurant, popular with Mafiosos on trial down at the federal courthouse. Now a coffin company.

40: Asia Roma; Chinatown meets Little Italy at this karaoke hideaway with Italian-Asian fusion food.

36: NG Fook Funeral Services, one of several Chinese funeral parlors on the block

32: Was Moneta's, of which a 1940 restaurant guide said: "Although if this restaurant isn't in a slum neighborhood, it is hanging right on the edge, the food, in the Italian style, is so perfect that it is still able to charge $2.00 for a table d'hote dinner."

30: Was the Pasta Pot.

26: Wah Wing Sang, the oldest of the funeral parlors, dating back to the 1950s. The funeral of Benny Ong, leader of the Hip Sing tong, was held here in 1994.

24: Blessings Florist, catering to the funeral trade

22: Chinese Cheung Sang, another funeral parlor

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20: This was the apartment of Mildred Russo, an elderly U.S. district court clerk who used to tip the Gambino family off to sealed indictments. She was caught in 1984 and sentenced to a year's house arrest here.

6: A second-hand dealer at this address, Mayer Rosenthal, was accused of ''fencing half the stolen calico, muslin, shawls, silk and threads in New York''-- Five Points.