Ellis Island, Irish immigration to America

Most of the Italian immigrants arriving in New York City settled in “Little Italy”, from 1^st Avenue to 14^th Street. The Irish, who arrived in the United States from the mid 19^TH century found a home on the other side of the East River, in Brooklyn. Under British domination, Ireland went through a political crisis of about fifty years, reducing its population by half between 1840 and 1844 due to a food crisis. The Irish consumed potatoes in high volume, but in the late 1840s, a widespread potato decease wiped out crops across the country.