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San Gennaro Festival Begins

2008_09_sangen.jpg
Photograph by jeannetics on Flickr

The smell of sausage and zeppole wafting through Nolita has returned: Today marks the start of the Feast of San Gennaro.

The festival, which includes savories, sweets, and games, will end on September 21, but the highlight is when, per official website, "the Statue of San Gennaro is carried from its permanent home in Most Precious Blood Church on Mulberry Street through the streets of Little Italy." Of course, neighbors aren't so happy. One sent a desperate email to Curbed, calling it a "rampage" and "despicable affair."

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Comments [rss]

  • sharpshoota

    #9 and 10

    You sound like a moron. I personally don't mind the feast but if that feast and what it has turned into represents your culture and heritage then you should be ashamed. I would. I would also be ashamed that a neighborhood called Little Italy has the collection of the worst Italian restaurants in the city all in one area. Work with your fellow Italian-americans to improve the feast and bring back some class to it. There is nothing different about than any other lame street fair in NYC except it has a bunch of lame restaurants serving sauce that taste like it came out an Aunt Millies. Sad but true.

  • BigLips

    I don't know what I dislike the most about the feast.

    But let me begin by saying that I AM ITALIAN.

    It was kind of fun 25+ years ago, and only in small servings. It amazes me that the City allows something like this to continue. Year after year the group of cops (getting paid 1000s of dollars) hang out together at the end of Mulberry, googling at the somen.Doing NOTHING about crowds, traffic, no street light.

    It has always been a zoo. Anywhere where there is a midway, you have got sleeze.

    Probably Bloomberg can't chance opposing the Feast for fear that his legs would be cut off!!

  • soopaman

    I love the feast! Its gives me a chance to break out my silver chains and hair gel.

    If you guys knu anyting chew would know dat in Idaly all dey sell is dem ZEPOLICE and sawseeg and peppas everywhere. Dis is just like being in Idaly so stop hatin!!

  • WorksInDUMBO

    I agree--it has become just another street fair. Only a really, really cramped/crowded street fair that never seems to end!

  • JacqueMehoff

    gee, go move to little chitaly.

    that's open mindedness right there.

    anyway, the Feast will be a non-event. it's getting shorter every year. There's only so many tour buses they can fill for this attraction.

    It was much more fun in the old days. now it's obvious done for the money. I mean there's Freak Shows now for a $1 you walk pass the smallest woman in the World.

  • TKaisen

    "Hey, let's move to this place where they've been having this feast for 100 years."

    "Yeah, cool."

    *six months later*

    "BAN THE FEAST, I'VE BEEN HERE HALF-A-YEAR AND CAN'T GET TO MY APARTMENT"

  • jaems

    Stay classy Bellissima G.

  • Bellissima G

    Everyone who is complaining about San Gennaro Feast are absolutely IGNORANT! Go complain about how you were all born without intelligence. I am an extremely rightfully proud Italian American and find it DISGUSTING that racist people with narrow minds moved in Little Italy. You did not move to "Little America" so STOP DISCRIMINATING against the San Gennaro Feast that has been going on for years!!! You have nothing better to do and are CLASSLESS people who feel good about being racist against Italians. You don't like the feast? MOVE OUT!! You have a problem with the scent of the sausage, zeppoles and other foods? TOO BAD!

    No one is threatening you to eat anything!! What's DISGUSTING IS how you people who complain are so ignorant and judge the whole concept and people of the feast with NO KNOWLEDGE. If anything, I WOULD BE MORE THAN HAPPY TO AND AM VERY WILLING TO BUY PROPERTY IN MULBERRY STREET TO BUY OUT ALL THE NON-ITALIANS, SO WE CAN GET THE JUDGEMENTAL DISCRIMINATING JACK ASSES OUT.

    You all want to keep complaining about an 11 day feast, I am complaining that DISGRACEFUL NARROW MINDED PEOPLE LIKE YOU LIVE THERE. GO MOVE TO CHINATOWN I AM SURE THE DEAD FISH SCENT 24/7 365 DAYS A YEAR IS MORE YOUR STYLE THAN THE AROMA OF SAUSAGE AND ZEPPOLES 11 DAYS OF THE YEAR!

  • Bellissima G

    Everyone who is complaining about San Gennaro Feast are absolutely IGNORANT! Go complain about how you were all born without intelligence. I am an extremely rightfully proud Italian American and find it DISGUSTING that racist people with narrow minds moved in Little Italy. You did not move to "Little America" so STOP DISCRIMINATING against the San Gennaro Feast that has been going on for years!!! You have nothing better to do and are CLASSLESS people who feel good about being racist against Italians. You don't like the feast? MOVE OUT!! You have a problem with the scent of the sausage, zeppoles and other foods? TOO BAD!

    No one is threatening you to eat anything!! What's DISGUSTING IS how you people who complain are so ignorant and judge the whole concept and people of the feast with NO KNOWLEDGE. If anything, I WOULD BE MORE THAN HAPPY TO AND AM VERY WILLING TO BUY PROPERTY IN MULBERRY STREET TO BUY OUT ALL THE NON-ITALIANS, SO WE CAN GET THE JUDGEMENTAL DISCRIMINATING JACK ASSES OUT.

    You all want to keep complaining about an 11 day feast, I am complaining that DISGRACEFUL NARROW MINDED PEOPLE LIKE YOU LIVE THERE. GO MOVE TO CHINATOWN I AM SURE THE DEAD FISH SCENT 24/7 365 DAYS A YEAR IS MORE YOUR STYLE THAN THE AROMA OF SAUSAGE AND ZEPPOLES 11 DAYS OF THE YEAR!

  • Dirk

    Hey you people, street fairs are more than just tube socks, hip-hop CDs and one-dollar massages!

    There are t-shirts with crazy slogans, magnifying glasses, cheap bed sheets, corn on the cob, and one-dollar pad thai....

  • thefacts

    Today's San Gennaro Feast has no connection to the Feast we used to know that featured Italian culture, family and tradition. Today it is about tube socks, hip-hop CDs and tacky games.

    How could anyone seriously call it Italian when it is run by a Jew, Morty Whats-his-name.

    And Bloomberg. Yeah, Bloomberg likes it. His Office grants the permits. He said so.

    But do you think Morty and Bloomberg would have this sh*thole in their neighborhood? Oy vey!

  • bagelman

    "With that feast on, ya can't even move

    in your own neighborhood...I hate that feast with a passion."

    - 'Johnny' in Mean Streets

    (he wasn't talking about NoLiTa)

  • NannyState

    Tonite's entertainment: Lead Zeppole.

    bada boom!

  • Future Taliban

    "San Gennaro Festival Begins"

    That's right. Why, you got a f*ing problem with that?.

  • emilydickinson

    San Gennaro has become a depressing disgrace. There are very few mom and pop vendors anymore, which was always what made the feast fun. Last year, I decided to give it one more shot and went to watch them bring out that the saint and it was pathetic. It has devolved into the same generic 'As Seen on TV', 'Fresh Fruit Smoothies' and '$1 Dollar Aggressive Massage' that every over Manhattan street festival has turned into. It's sad because it used to be a cool, fun crazy little slice of New York.

    (P.S. : The Pina Colada's don't have booze in them).

  • GOP

    "[T]hrough the streets of Little Italy."

    Little Italy is about one block long now. Editorial: Through the street of Little Italy.



  • babyhitler

    tips for san gennaro festival. #1- don't go, it's run by the mob.

  • brooklynbs

    I'll just wait until the next "festival" in my neighborhood. The vendors will all be the same.

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