New York Street Was Referred to as “Little Syria”.. In 1946

The New York Times digs up a forgotten part of New York’s rich history, not too far from the “ground zero mosque” location:

Washington Street was “an enclave in the New World where Arabs first peddled goods, worked in sweatshops, lived in tenements and hung their own signs on stores,” […] All but lost to living memory and forgotten in the current controversy, Washington Street was the “heart of New York’s Arab world, […] it is worth recalling the old sights and sounds and smells of Washington Street as a reminder that in New York — a city as densely layered as baklava — no one has a definitive claim on any part of town, and history can turn up some unexpected people in surprising places.

Very neat.. Make sure you check out the painting in the top of the article.