Actor Robert Davi criticized New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani on July 12, 2026, after a city map highlighting immigrant enclaves omitted Little Italy. The map, which features 30 immigrant communities across the five boroughs, faced backlash for not including historically significant neighborhoods such as Little Italy, Jewish, and Irish areas. In response to the criticism from Italian-American groups, the city announced plans to update the map to include Little Italy.
Davi expressed his discontent in a video on social media, referring to Mamdani as a 'jerk' and urging Italian and Irish Americans to show their displeasure. He shared that his grandparents immigrated from Italy and emphasized the contributions of immigrants to New York City. Davi also described Mamdani as a 'leftist Marxist Communist' and suggested he should leave the United States.
Mamdani, who was born in Uganda and moved to the U.S. at age 7, defended the map, stating it was created under the previous administration in 2023 and acknowledged that it does not represent all ethnic communities in the city. He confirmed that updates, including the addition of Little Italy, are forthcoming. The Library of Congress reports that over 4 million Italians immigrated to the U.S. between the 1880s and 1924, with many settling in New York City.