On most days, Bensonhurst’s new Italian-American community center looks like a miniature UN, with immigrants from all over gathering together for events and classes. Since the 1950s, Bensonhurst has been synonymous with Italian-American – the Little Italy of Brooklyn.

But over the past 15 years, the demographics of the community have shifted, and now over a third of the residents are Asian-Americans. “We used to walk outside and smell the aroma of the sauce, the Ragu, being made. Now you go outside and you smell the dumplings,” said Joseph Rizzi, director of external affairs at the Federation of Italian-American Organizations.