Brooklyn Italian: Remembering Williamsburg will take you on a journey back in time. To a neighborhood in the borough of Brooklyn, New York, called Williamsburg. From the beginning of its existence in 1638 to present day, through the rise of industry, two world wars, the Depression of the late 1920s, the rise of the mafia and the immigrants who settled there in search for a better life. In their own words, long-time residents tell their stories of a time when on summer evenings, family and friends gathered on stoops to talk about the happenings of the day or just to share a cup of coffee, when children played stick ball, jacks, and hopscotch till the street lamps came on.... When a handshake meant trust and respect was earned.

They came for a better life for themselves and their children. Many enclaves with cultural differences, yet sharing one vision: to pursue the American dream. The freedom to choose, to become, to survive. While notables such as Corning Ware, Standard Oil, and Domino Sugar found Williamsburg to be a profitable place to call home, other notables were making their mark in Williamsburg as well such as the Bonanno family underboss Carmine Galante and the infamous Bugsy Siegel and Alfonse Capone. In their own words, long-time residents of Williamsburg Brooklyn share their life history in letters telling the world what it was like living during the Great Depression, WWII, poverty, and survival.

As with each generation change is inevitable and it’s change that allows us to pass on the stories of the generations before, preserving the past to become an integrated part of our future.