John’s of 12th Street in NYC has a rich history intertwined with the Italian Mafia. Located in the East Village, this iconic Italian restaurant opened in 1908 and quickly became a popular spot for mobsters. During Prohibition, it operated as a speakeasy, making wine and whiskey in the basement. One of the most notorious events associated with John’s was the 1922 assassination of Umberto Rocco Valenti, a Morello family hitman, who was killed there during a “peace meeting”. The restaurant’s old-world charm and connection to the Mafia have made it a legendary spot, even featured in shows like Boardwalk Empire and The Sopranos.
We meet inside the back room of this iconic “Red Sauce Joint” for many reasons including the historic relationship to the beginnings of the NYC Mafia.

1 hour 15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is coextensive with New York County, the smallest county by geographical area in the U.S. state of New York. Located almost entirely on Manhattan Island near the southern tip of the state, Manhattan constitutes the center of the Northeast megalopolis and the urban core of the New York metropolitan area. Manhattan serves as New York City’s economic and administrative center and has been described as the cultural, financial, media, and entertainment capital of the world.

• Admission Ticket Free

St. Mark’s Church in-the-Bowery is a parish of the Episcopal Church located at 131 East 10th Street, at the intersection of Stuyvesant Street and Second Avenue in the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. The property has been the site of continuous Christian worship since the mid-17th century, making it New York City’s oldest site of continuous religious practice.

5 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

The population of Manhattan’s 17th ward – which includes the western part of the East Village and Lower East Side – grew from 18,000 in 1840 to over 43,000 by 1850 and to 73,000 persons in 1860, becoming the city’s most highly populated ward at that time.  As a result of the Panic of 1837, the city had experienced less construction in the previous years, and so there was a dearth of units available for immigrants, resulting in the subdivision of many houses in lower Manhattan.

40 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

The Basilica of Saint Patrick’s Old Cathedral, sometimes shortened to St. Patrick’s Old Cathedral or simply Old St. Patrick’s, is a Catholic parish church, a basilica, and the former cathedral of the Archdiocese of New York, located in the Nolita neighborhood of Lower Manhattan, New York City. Built between 1809 and 1815 and designed by Joseph-François Mangin in the Gothic Revival style.

• Admission Ticket Free

The neighborhood was long regarded as part of Little Italy, but has lost its recognizable Italian character in recent decades because of rapidly rising rents. The Feast of San Gennaro, dedicated to Saint Januarius (“Pope of Naples”), is held in the neighborhood every year following Labor Day, on Mulberry Street between Houston and Grand Streets. The feast, as recreated on Elizabeth Street between Prince and Houston Streets, was featured in the film The Godfather Part II.

30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

The Ravenite Social Club was an Italian American heritage club at 247 Mulberry Street, in Little Italy, New York City. It was used as a mob hangout for the Gambino Crime Family and its notorious Boss John “Dapper Don” Gotti and the storefront later became a shoe store, and as of 2022 is a men’s clothing store

15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Opened in 1968 a family owned restaurant which is an icon of Little Italy. Here we eat my favorite eggplant rollatini

30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Enjoy a FULL SIZED Sicilian Cannoli.

10 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

A great spot for adding photos to your visit to NYC. The iconic buildings seen in multiple movies and TV series make for a great backdrop to this Mafia experience.

45 minutes • Admission Ticket Free